Flames Sing the Blues

“In the third period we didn’t have the push we needed. It was really a 0-0 hockey game going into the third period and we needed a push. We had it for a while.” – Dustin Boyd

It’s easy to picture a steaming coach Sutter pointing a wagging finger and addressing his troops like a scolding mother admonishing an ill-mannered child with a “just wait until I get you home” threat. While this image may raise a chuckle among perimeter pundits, it’s doubtful the Flames will be laughing when they arrive for their next practice at the Saddledome.

Five losses in the last seven games. Five losses by a single goal. Three straight defeats by a solitary tally. On Tuesday evening, there were enough brutal giveaways – Curtis Glenross’s back-to-the-play-picture-perfect-backhand-pass to Brad Boyes among them – missed assignments, sloppy line changes, ill-timed penalties and wasted powerplay opportunities for Sutter to fill a folder of footnotes.

But are coach Brent Sutter’s rants and raves producing more rhetoric than impact? Lately it seems Sutter’s spews have been falling on ears that are colder than Tiger Woods’ reputation. One thing is certain – the players aren’t picking up his messages.

After Sunday’s disappointing loss to the Colorado avalanche, the Flames whipper and snapper chastised his club for their sub-par effort by hinting that the coaches cared more about winning than the players.

If the uniformed members of his team wanted to prove to the suits that they were just as committed to success as the brass behind the bench, they failed to convince this observer on Tuesday evening.

For the fifth time in seven games, the Flames failed to deliver a convincing effort on the ice. The St. Louis Blues, who posted a 4-3 decision on the negative side of Flames win/loss ledger, wrote the latest chapter in this recurring and less-than-alluring story.

Once again, the Flames gave the puck away without remorse, sent far too many men to the penalty box, were outshot by a comfortable margin and failed to convert on a powerplay opportunity in the dying moments of the game.

In today’s NHL – where player salaries and long-term contracts give the clerks far more leverage than the messengers – coaches who use verbal barrages and media manipulation as motivating tools sometimes seem to be as outdated as wooden sticks and the neutral zone trap.

Perhaps it’s time to go back to the drawing board and hope that letters such as X’s and O’s can succeed where words have failed.