Scoring has been an issue this season for the Flames, a team that finished third in that metric last year when they finished first in the Western Conference.
This year, it's been a tougher slog.
The last three games have magnified that, with Calgary managing three goals in an 8-3 loss to the Oilers, followed by a 3-1 defeat to the Sharks and a 3-2 edging by the Predators.
The Flames are generating plenty of chances, but not finding paydirt often enough.
That said, Ward would still like to see more pucks on the net.
Andersson scored in the loss to the Preds, wristing a shot from the point that found its way through a maze of traffic.
Nothing fancy.
But that's the point, said Ward.
"I mean, that's how you score at this time of year," he explained. "We talked about it a lot. You know, point shots with traffic, funnelling the pucks to the net with traffic, making sure you execute on basic rush plays.
"When you look at the playoff scoring, that's how it is. I mean, we've looked at it over a couple of years now where I sit down and categorize every goal that's scored in the playoffs and how it's scored, and those three ways are the three most common ways by far, it's almost 2-to-1 to any other category of scoring. You know, it sounds simple, but simple works. The law of averages is there. You throw more pucks to the net and make the goaltender make more saves, your chances of scoring more goals is greatly enhanced."
