'Create That Spark'

DETROIT – At 1-2-1, it’s make-or-break time for the road trip.

Win against the Red Wings and you fly home with five of a possible 10 points on your longest voyage of the year.

Lose?

Well, we’d rather not go there.

While it’s far too early to suggest any game is of the ‘must win’ variety, the Flames know they need to bounce back from a tough night in Columbus, re-establish their identity, and get that good feeling back in the dressing room after taking some positive strides earlier in the week.

“It’s big,” Blake Coleman said of Sunday’s Motor-City Matinee. “Obviously, you'd rather be a game above .500 on the road, but 2-2-1 would be pretty solid and put us in a pretty decent situation going home, where to the onus would then be on us to take care of business.

“You’d feel a lot better about your game going home with five points versus three, that’s for sure.”

The Flames – who were on the tail end of their first back-to-back situation of the season – were handed a 3-1 defeat at the hands of the Blue Jackets on Friday. While everyone agreed there was no issue with the team’s work ethic, the players lamented their own “sloppiness” with the puck, while Head Coach Ryan Huska critiqued the finish around the net. Ultimately, both proved fatal as the Flames fired 37 shots on target, but were unable to bear down and connect on their best looks.

“There were a couple of errors in that game that looked like they were maybe caused by fatigue and that ended up being the difference,” Coleman said. “Ultimately, we played hard – we played pretty well, honestly – but I don't think as we were as hard offensively as we needed to be to win that game.”

It’s that takeaway that leads us here – a rare practice day following a back-to-back, thanks to Sunday’s early start time and lack of a morning skate.

Chemistry is the hottest topic around the team these days, and with the Flames in need of a boost offensively, look for the coaching staff to make a few changes to the forward units for Sunday’s tilt.

“We're still searching for that 5-on-5 look that's going to give us the best chance to win, night in and night out,” said Coleman, who based on Saturday’s practice at Little Caesars Arena, could be reunited with Mikael Backlund and Andrew Mangiapane. “Some of the lines are really new and there's some familiarity with our line coming back together. At the end of the day, the coaches are going to try and do what they can to create a little bit more creativity 5-on-5. 

“Sometimes, it can be a good thing to play with new guys and create that spark. Other times, it's good to build on some existing chemistry. 

“But I think we're still looking for that right combination right now.”

In every game on the road trip, the Flames have been the better team in creating high-danger opportunities. In fact, they’ve essentially doubled their opponents in each of the four games at 5-on-5, but have scored only twice from the interior.

That number has to be better. 

So, in shaking up the combos and – hopefully – encouraging some creativity, the Flames are hoping the goals will start coming in bunches.

“We're getting some chances, but I think we can be a little bit more dangerous with how we're playing the game,” Huska said. “It doesn't come at the expense at how we're playing away from the puck or defensively, but if we can find a combination or a touch more chemistry with guys that can maybe find a little bit more creativity while they're trying to generate offence, will be a good thing for us. 

“So, it's not about getting the chances – it's the quality of chances. And really, when you look back at our games, the Grade-A chances that we've been able to get have steadily increased. 

“Now, we need to make sure we're in that area to finish.”