5 Reasons for Flames Fans to be Hopeful Heading into the Final Playoff Push

           The Flames are heading into a short break on a 7 game win streak, which has turned many heads in the NHL. The Flames before the win streak were fighting for the final Wild Card spot, now they are tied with the Anaheim Ducks for third in the Division and are comfortably holding the 1st Wild Card spot. Here are 5 reasons to be hopeful heading into the final playoff push.

3 M Line:

The Line of Mathew Tkachuk - Mikael Backlund - Michael Frolik has been the best and most consistent line all year. This line is tasked with shutting down the other teams top lines, and they still put up a lot of points. Here are the stats of the 3M Line:

Mikael Backlund: 20 Goals, 27 Assists, 47 Points and a +11

Mathew Tkachuk: 12 Goals, 30 Assists, 42 Points and a +12

Michael Frolik: 14 Goals, 23 Assists, 37 Points and a +10

They have stuck together all year, and when Johnny Gaudreau went down with a broken finger, this line carried most of that work load. Not only have they been outstanding offensively but they have been spectacular defensively. They combine a +33 and that is been played against every teams top line. There is no doubt in the last 16 game of the season, this line will be a big factor in this teams success.

Brian Elliott/Chad Johnson:

Consistent Goaltending has been hard to come by in Calgary since Mikka Kiprusoff. But this year the Flames have got solid goaltending at the right times. Early in the year, when the Flames season was slipping away from them, Chad Johnson stepped up and led the Flames to a 6 game win streak putting them ahead of multiple teams in the playoff race. Brian Elliott could not get the job done early in the year, so Johnson stole the starting job from him, but Elliott took it over when Johnson got very cold and Elliott stepped up and became the Goalie Flames fans thought they were getting in the off season trade. Here are the goaltending stats throughout the year:

Chad Johnson: 18-13-1 with a 2.54 GAA and a .913 Sv %

Brian Elliott: 18-13-3 with a 2.65 GAA and a .905 Sv %

Now these statistics aren't great but they are a big improvement from last year when the Flames had Karri Ramo and Jonas Hiller. What is different about last year is our goalies have stepped up at the right times this year. Consistent Goaltending will be key in the final push for the Playoffs.

New blue Line:

Part of the Flames issues throughout the season was their depth on the Blue Line. Near the trade deadline they brought in 2 new defenders. Michael Stone(on the left) and Matt Bartkowski(on the right). Their Previous 2 defenders were Dennis Wideman and Jyrki Jokipakka. Jyrki Jokipakka was dealt at the deadline as a part of the Curtis Lazar trade and Dennis Wideman has been serving as a healthy scratch. The Flames D pairings are as follows:

Giordano - Hamilton
Brodie - Stone
Bartkowski - Engelland

Clearly these moves have worked as the Flames have gone 7-0-1 with their new blue liners. Here are their stats as part of the Calgary Flames:

Michael Stone: 2 assists in 7 games played and a +3

Matt Bartkowski: 1 assist in 8 games played and a +4

Since Michael Stone came along TJ Brodie did not need to play with Dennis Wideman which has helped Brodie a lot with his offensive and defensive game. TJ Brodie still sits at a -21 though. Matt Bartkowski was brought in to solidify the third d Pairing and has done a phenomenal job defensively alongside Deryk Engelland.

Production from their "Big Guns"

Its no secret this season has not gone the way Johnny Gaudreau would have liked it to go. In the past few weeks, these 2 players and also Michael Ferland have been playing their best hockey of the season. Here are the stats from Gaudreau, Monahan and Ferland the past 7 games:

Gaudreau: 2 Goals, 7 Assists, 9 Points and a +9

Monahan: 2 Goals, 6 Assists, 8 Points and a +9

Ferland: 5 Goals, 0 Assists, 5 Points and a +9
These stats were from @DarrenWHaynes on twitter.

While Gaudreau was not producing offensively, he spent lots of time at practice working on his defensive game, which translated into games. Many Flames fans have been very worried about Gaudreau throughout the season and I can see why, his offensive numbers are down from last year. But Gaudreau is getting plenty of chances, what is different last year from this year is that last year the chances went in the net. Gaudreau has been playing well all season but not getting rewarded with goals. As for Michael Ferland, 2 weeks ago he was playing on the fourth line, now he is a main contributor to the offensive game. But he never left his main style of play, a rugged player who hits a lot and gets player mad. The Flames "Big Guns" have played excellent recently and as a result their team is winning.

Their Remaining Schedule:

The Flames play 9 of the Final 16 games at home and of those 16 games, 7 are against division opponents that are also in the heat of the playoff race. The Flames haven't played great at home this year, but most of those home struggles were at the beginning of the year when they were loosing lots. Recently they have been playing well at home. 12 of their final 16 games are against western conference teams. The Flames also play every other day for the rest of the season, so if they can get on a role early after their break that could play a big effect in the results. All of these important division and west conference games will make or break their playoff hopes, so get ready, its gonna be a exciting finish to the season.