This weekend against Montreal is the Flames’ Waterloo series

Back in June 1815, Napoleon Bonaparte and his armies suffered a resounding defeated at Waterloo, currently part of Belgium. Napoleon had returned from exile a few months prior and had become intent on returning to power, leading to the eventual climatic battle at Waterloo with the Seventh Coalition and ultimately Napoleon’s defeat.

Since then, “meeting one’s Waterloo” has become synonymous with facing a great test with a final and decisive outcome. This weekend’s series of three games in four nights with the Montreal Canadiens represents the Flames meeting their Waterloo for the 2020-21 season.

The numbers game

The Flames head into the series with 11 games remaining, while Montreal has 12…