It's no secret the Calgary Flames have struggled on the defensive side of things to start the season. Through 10 games so far, Calgary has surrendered 33.35 even strength shots per sixty minutes of ice, the seventh-worst rate in the league. Despite boasting one of the best shut down lines in the NHL (the Mikael Backlund line) and an enviable blueline, the Flames have had a lot of problems shutting down the opposition.
A primary area of concern has been their play in the neutral zone. Specifically, the bad guys are having a very easy time of gaining the zone with control, due to poor gap control and a willingness to give up the blueline.