The Calgary Flames finished off 2019 with something that’s become all too common in the latter stages of the year: an uneven effort culminating with a loss. The benefactor on New Year’s Eve were the visiting Chicago Blackhawks.
Following the loss, interim head coach Geoff Ward made an assessment that was pretty much in line with how the team played two nights previous against Vancouver – especially in terms of what was missing.
“Energy… Execution…,” mused Ward. “I think our forecheck was non-apparent the last two hockey games at the start of the game. I felt we were really passive early.