from Eric Duhatschek of the Globe and Mail,
The laundry list of what the Flames need to do differently to compete with the Ducks does not require an advanced math degree. Defensively, they need to get better inside position on the Ducks’ forwards, who steamrolled their way to the net at will against Calgary’s smaller rearguards.
Offensively, they needed to get far more traffic in front of Ducks’ goaltender Frederik Andersen, who had a solid and efficient night in goal, but except for an early breakaway save against Josh Jooris, wasn’t tested much.
A superhuman effort from Ramo in goal wouldn’t hurt, either. The Flames were underdogs heading into the series and usually the underdog’s best chance occurs when a goaltender morphs into the second coming of Georges Vézina and just stops every puck.
Naturally, Ramo was excited to get his first-ever playoff start, after two consecutive appearances in relief of Jonas Hiller, noting that while the Ducks are “talented and skilled and not afraid to go the net … it’s still just a hockey game.”
Hartley was in there, promoting good cheer, the way he usually does.
“I can’t fault the effort on our team,” Hartley said. “Those guys, they always prepare well. They always go hard. Are we the perfect team? No, we’re still a young hockey club and we’re learning every time we step on the ice. That’s the way it is. Our players try to play the right way. Will we always have our execution as good as we like, or play our best game? No. But it’s a game of mistakes and those guys go through the wall for us.
“This team has no quit.”
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