Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now) is a powerful love ballad written by Phil Collins. The song tells the story of a distraught man. A man looking for a way to get back at his ex-girlfriend, saying she should “take a look at him now,” referring to the break-up and his current situation as an “empty space.” However, the man considers getting back with her, but realizes that reconciling with her would be “against all odds.”
Although the song was written in 1984, it is possible to find parallels to situations in 2024. Take the Calgary Flames, for instance.
Since 2022, the team has been in a rebuild of sorts, letting go of several key players who have played a role in creating past success. Players like Matthew Tkachuk, Andrew Mangiapane and the late Johnny Gaudreau found new teams. The team has brought in players like Danil Miromanov, Saint John Sea Dogs legend Johnathan Huberdeau and Kevin Bahl as replacements.
Yet, the Flames are doing what they can with the hand they’ve been dealt this season, just like the distraught loverboy in Against All Odds.
As a result, the Flames are coming back stronger, asking those fans that stopped supporting them during the rebuilding to “look at them now.”
In the early part of the season, Calgary enjoyed a surprising start, which consisted of the team going 5-1-1 in their first six games, reeling off 11 points. The five wins have all come on home ice, while the losses have come against the Carolina Hurricanes and the Seattle Kraken.
The last time the Flames went 5-0 at home was during their 1988-89 Stanley Cup winning season. That Flames team included Mike Vernon in goal, Joe Nieuwendyk, Lanny McDonald and Nova Scotian Al McInnis.
Currently, Calgary sits first in the Pacific Division and near the top of the Western Conference, not bad for a team that many had in the NHL’s basement at the start of the season, myself included.
Flames head coach, Ryan Huska, told NHL.com “they feel better about themselves, for sure,” referring to the team’s hot start. “You don’t squeeze your stick quite as tight when you get your first win out of the way. I think that’s one thing.”
“The way we look at it, every day is a new day. So, when you talk about starts, for us, that’s the first 10 minutes where we want to make sure we’re ready to play. For us, that’s really all that matters.”
During Calgary’s flaming hot start to the season, the team has not had a player who puts the team on their back.
Instead, the team has enjoyed contributions from players up and down their roster. Those players include Connor Zary, Rasmus Andersson and Dustin Wolf. Wolf has won all three games he started in net this season, owning a .936 save percentage.
However, Justin Kirkland has been providing the spark as of late. Kirkland, who usually plays for Calgary’s American Hockey League affiliate in Stockton, California, has carved out an impressive story during his brief time in Calgary. The longtime journeyman has registered three points in his last six games, capped off with an impressive performance last Tuesday night against the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Flames won that game 4-3, thanks in part to Kirkland’s winner in the sixth round of the shootout.
“It’s awesome. I got to play with [Kirkland] my first pro year in Stockton. As soon as I saw he was going for the shootout, I knew we were going to win. He’s Mr. Automatic when it comes to shootouts and I don’t think I’ve seen him miss yet, knock on wood, let’s keep it that way,” Flames goaltender Dustin Wolf told reporters after the game. “It’s awesome to see what he’s doing.”
Granted, the start that the Calgary Flames have had is nothing short of a miracle. It is like something out of a great hockey movie like Youngblood or The Mighty Ducks. However, when will the clock strike midnight on the team’s Cinderella run? Some hope the hot start will last, while others want the Flames extinguished.
No matter what you think of the team’s surprising start, the Calgary Flames are an early feel-good story.
