from Eric Duhatschek of the Globe and Mail,

Starting the season, oddsmakers had the Flames as the longest of long shots – 100 to 1 or more – to win the Stanley Cup. Recently, they’ve been upgraded to 40 to 1. Now, at the very least, they have played themselves into the mix.

Year over year, the biggest difference this season is the work ethic the Flames became known for a year ago has been translated into points in the standings. The reality is, there’s a lot of hockey left to play and early enthusiasm can easily fade in the grind of the regular season and before the adrenalin rush of the playoff race licks in.

It is one reason why coach Bob Hartley divides the season into a series of seven-game segments, mimicking a playoff series.

“Internally, we have that seven-game mindset, and we really believe in that and follow that,” defenceman Mark Giordano said. “We’re in a good spot. We’re over .500. It’s still early. There’s still a lot of time to go both ways, so we have to make sure we maintain a good mindset. If we lose one, we try to bounce right back.

“But when you get this confidence that we have going right now, I think it’s really important to pile up as many points as possible to get yourselves right in that hunt – and then stay in it for as long as possible.”

more