The Calgary Flames Fabulous Fun Ride™ is heading for the second round. Eliminating the aging Vancouver Canucks in six games, the Flames kids will get more experience in this post-season than pundits expected from Calgary coming into this season.

STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS: | Broadcast Schedule

Rogers NHL GameCentre LIVE | Stanley Cup Playoffs Fantasy Hockey

New Sportsnet app: iTunes | Google Play

With a surprisingly productive D-corps and solid goaltending from Jonas Hiller despite being out-shot regularly, the Flames managed to out-score the Canucks thanks to advantageous shooting and save percentages. They closed out the series in spectacular fashion scoring four third-period goals in the final game to snatch away a 7-4 victory from a desperate Canucks side that leapt out to a 3-0 lead early.

As predicted entering the series, Vancouver posted dominant possession numbers producing more 55 percent of the shot attempts in the series despite the final losing outcome. The Canucks’ inability to convert attempts into goals was a familiar theme for Flames opponents this year—they allowed an average of 59.5 Score Adjusted Shot Attempts per 60 minutes this season (27th in the NHL), yet only gave up 2.6 goals against per 60 (18th).



Sportsnet Magazine: An all-access pass to the Stanley Cup Playoffs, including a behind-the-scenes look at Coach’s Corner and exclusive camera angles in Montreal. Download it right now on your iOS or Android device, free to Sportsnet ONE subscribers.

Jonas Hiller thrived on the heavy workload he faced, and his .944 save percentage through the first five games lends credence to that theory. Ironically his being pulled in the elimination game after surrendering two goals on three shots wasn’t exactly the turning point Vancouver hoped for, despite Calgary’s backup Karri Ramo allowing two more goals after entering the net.

At the other end of the rink, Eddie Lack couldn’t find any consistency, posting an .886 save percentage before Ryan Miller was called upon to take over. The main distinction here was largely on low danger-shots from long distance. Lack allowed five goals on 36 long-distance shots, giving the Flames 14 percent shooting from lafar—very few teams will win consistently allowing such goals at that rate.

The offensive push from Vancouver—particularly in Games 4 and 5, where they managed a ridiculously high 24 high-danger shots combined—struggled to produce results until the final game. Meanwhile, the Flames effectively capitalized on their far more limited chances, producing five goals on only 12 high-danger shots in the final two contests. When all is said and done, the contrast in finishing was the most meaningful disparity in a series that will likely serve as further ammunition for those that argue possession and shot attempts are less meaningful than analysts suggest.

Moving into next season, the Canucks will need to assess how much longer they can rely on an aging core of the Sedin twins, Alex Edler, Kevin Bieksa and Dan Hamhuis. It’s unlikely that they will make significant changes to a formula that was good enough to land a playoff spot and likely deserved a better fate given how they controlled the series. A more plausible outcome is an attempt to smoothly transition the club to the next generation by continuing to integrate more youth, increasing the workload for the likes of Chris Tanev and Bo Horvat as they become the team leaders.

Calgary is beyond the stage anyone would have expected this year and will likely be more than happy with any outcome in future rounds of the playoffs. Given the strength of the Western Conference, it’s doubtful that the Flames will be able to knock off Anaheim or whichever team comes out of the Central Division.

The other problem with Calgary’s reliance on late game heroics—as they have for much of this season—is they have likely met their match in the Ducks. That being said, maybe the Flames kids will keep pushing forward because they don’t realize how unlikely their run has been this season. Fearlessness has worked for them so far.