TEMPO TIME

They've all found themselves on the flip side of the equation: Play out of their skin and still find a way to get skinned.
Meaning they also fully understand their recent reality beats that alternative.

"Oh, yeah," confessed Derek Ryan, standing in front of the predominantly black fold-up Flames portable back-drop Saturday afternoon. "I've been on a few teams like that, for sure.
"And it's really frustrating.
"The most important thing we can take away from the last couple of games is that winning teams are able to find ways to win even when not playing your best.
"The fact we've been able to do that is great.
"The fact that we haven't played our best, isn't.
"I wouldn't say it's hard to escape that" - start taking winning simply as a matter of course - "mentality, but it is comforting to know that we have such a good team that we are able to win games that maybe we shouldn't."

In the wake of Friday's 4-3 hard-graft submission of the invading Florida Panthers, coach Bill Peters took time to remind his charges that to keep playing with matches means at some point burning your fingers.
"We haven't played well here for a while and it's been masked by the fact that we've gotten wins, but we haven't played well,'' Peters made a point of emphasizing, post-game.
"We continue to win and we think: ''Well, we're obviously playing well', and: 'That's good enough.'
"That the effort's good enough. The execution's good enough. When in reality it's not at the level we should be at and can be at."
Amidst the squeals of small-fry fans out at WinSport - it is Esso Minor Hockey Week, after all - the Flames finalized preparations for Sunday's visit by the Arizona Coyotes, the third of a five-date homestead leading into the All-Star break.
It's an unfamiliar position they find themselves in at the moment: The hunted, instead of the hunting.
Which does take some getting accustomed to.
"We have to realize teams are coming in to play us hard," lectured skipper Mark Giordano. "A team like Florida last night, fighting for their playoff lives, they showed way more desperation in the first period than we did.
"In saying that, I thought in the second and third we found that desperation level we needed. But it's far from ideal, waiting until you're down 2-0 to do it.
"Look at the top teams. Tampa never takes the foot off the gas. They play the same way, every night. They have a certain tempo and they stick to it. We play best at that same tempo. When we play that way, we're a hard team to contain, too.
"But we've got to be that team on a more consistent, every-night, 60-minute basis.
"It's execution at the start, sure, but it's also a mentality, a commitment, to matching other teams' desperation from the first minute of games."

Which means the Western Conference pacesetters plan is to jump all over the Desert Dogs early and often.
"Our starts,'' agreed defenceman Noah Hanifin, "are huge.
"It seems the trend has been to start pretty poorly and kinda pick it up as the game goes on.
"For us, just focussing on being really ready to play the game at the start. That'll help us play a full 60.
"It's nice even if we're not playing to our full potential to get those points instead of losing.
"But we care about getting better. We want to go far in the playoffs and try and win this whole thing so we have to improve on some parts of our game.
"That's the process."
Between now and a nine-day, no-game layoff that begins Jan. 23 and ends the 31st, the Flames play four at the 'Dome, and one away.
"These next few games set you up," emphasized Giordano. "You want to create separation, right? First and foremost from the playoff line. In our division, there are three teams together, right there, battling.
"We want to pile up as many points as possible.
"You want to go into that break feeling good about the game, about yourself, about the team and the way it's headed.
"That allows you to get good rest, to feel rejuvenated for the final stretch."