EDMONTON – When the Calgary Flames showed up for the Heritage Classic shirtless and wearing overalls, it was hard to tell whether the lads with cowboy hats and boots were paying tribute to Alberta farmers or Chippendales.
Or so the playful banter went, on a day that started with hope, opportunity, face paint and flybys.
It wasn’t the only thing they couldn’t execute Sunday in front of a sellout crowd at Commonwealth Stadium that relished watching what ails the Flames most – their inability to score.
This team simply can’t find a way to create offence.
More to the point, they can’t score even-strength goals.
For the second game in a row, the Flames were unable to score an even-strength goal, extending such a streak to almost three full games.
By the time the 20th anniversary weekend of the pond hockey tribute wrapped up with a 5-2 loss, the Flames had more wardrobe changes than scoring chances.
Scoring both their goals on the power play, the Flames generated just four high-danger scoring chances while playing five-on-five, compared to 19 for the host Oilers.
During their five-game losing skid, the Flames have scored three goals while at five-on-five.
The lines are a jumbled mess, no one is meshing with anyone and there doesn’t appear to be any end in sight.
Trying out endless line combinations in a vain attempt to create some sort of connection between the team’s 12 forwards, Ryan Huska was asked just how big a challenge it has been to find any successful combinations.
“That's a fair question,” said the Flames coach, whose club has been outscored 20-6 their last five.
“It has been (a challenge)right now, and you look at some of the players that were missing.
“Unfortunately Adam Ruzicka couldn’t go tonight - he's the guy that has some chemistry with certain players. No Pelletier or Rooney - they're all different guys up front that we expected to be in the mix.
“But we have to get ourselves something soon.
“You can't rely on one line to go out there and as a coaching staff trust that they're gonna get the job done. You need more.
Unsure which line he feels he can, in fact, rely on right now.
Sorry to nitpick, but if this team’s inability to piece together any lines capable of scoring has anything to do with the loss of three lads who’ve never scored more than eight goals in an NHL season, this team is in more trouble than anyone fathomed.
This team needs their top players to act like it.
Otherwise, this tailspin threatens to end the season before it begins.
“It doesn't concern me,” said poor ol’ Mikael Backlund, who has very little choice but to throw boundless optimism at his beleaguered bunch.
“It's something we’ve got to work on.
“Obviously a tough start, but I know we're capable of scoring more and I know we have a lot of good players down there.
“So I know it's going to come.”
It’s hard to know when.
Following a weekend of family time, merch grabs and various other distractions, the Flames were far from their best early on when the Oilers – who showed up in oilfield work wear and hard hats – dominated from the start.
It took six minutes for the Flames to record their first shot on goal, at which point the Oilers were already up 1-0 and about to go up 2-0 after the Flames squandered their first of two 5-on-3 opportunities in the first.
Nazem Kadri’s first of the season narrowed the gap with a power play redirect before the Oilers went up 3-1 under a darkening sky and temperatures that ranged between plus-3 celsius and minus-2.
A.J. Greer’s first as a Flame came as a power play expired, making it a tighter game kept close only because Jacob Markstrom continued his stellar play.
Kadri, who added another dash to his league-leading minus-11, had precious little time to enjoy his first snipe of the year before his club surrendered another goal a minute later.
Unlike everyone else in town, he insists he isn’t concerned about the team’s inability to form formidable lines or score with regularity.
“I don't think so,” said the former 30-goal man who had the one shot on goal on a line with Jonathan Huberdeau and Matt Coronato.
“I mean, you know, we’ve got to find ways to be able to do it.
At the end of the day, I think you’ve got to just kind of stay with the process, even though it's frustrating right now.
“We're putting in work - it's just not a work ethic thing.
“A bounce here or there and you know that the game will change. It’s a game of momentum.
“And sometimes when things aren't going your way, you feel like you're behind the eight ball all the time. And I think that's where we're at right now.”
They’re snookered alright.
The bounce that proved most lethal came early in the third with the Flames pushing for the equalizer, before Vincent Desharnais scored his first NHL goal with a floater from the point that took a wild hop off the ice and finished top shelf on Markstrom.
A sold out crowd of 55,411 at Commonwealth Stadium roared its approval on to all but cap the 38th outdoor celebration the Oilers do desperately needed.
Mikael Backlund insisted all weekend someone would wake up Monday morning feeling a whole lot better about themselves.
He didn’t mention just how devastating it would be to wake up as losers.
Again.
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