Flames coach Geoff Ward slams his team's recent play: 'It's inexcusable'
A four games series against the Vancouver Canucks led to the Calgary Flames splitting it right down the middle, with both teams winning two games. For Calgary coach Geoff Ward, that simply wasn't good enough and he took some time Wednesday night to let his team know that after a 5-1 loss.
"Inconsistent is probably the best way [to describe it]," said Ward. "But we've been talking about that for a while now. It's time to put this thing to bed and take charge and take control of what we can. We certainly can control the way we start. We certainly can control how we pay attention to details, how hard we compete, how much we care. All those things are certainly within our control."
"It's time for us to start giving a shit about it," Ward added.
Slow starts and inconsistent play have certainly been hampering the Flames and Ward has every right to question his players' compete level. In 16 games, Calgary has gone 8-7-1 and currently sit in fifth out of seven teams in the all-Canadian North Division. You can't blame Ward for feeling his team should have done better against Vancouver, the sixth-place team in the North. The Canucks are tied with Calgary in points with 17, but have played four more games than the Flames.
"It's not what you make all the time, it's what you leave. And to leave those opportunities that we gave them after making the hockey game 2-1, it's inexcusable," said Ward.
Many fans on social media are placing the blame squarely on Ward for the Flames' troubles this season. If Calgary is thinking about a coaching change, there's been no indication of that so far.
| POLL | ||
FÉVRIER 18 | 129 ANSWERS Flames coach Geoff Ward slams his team's recent play: 'It's inexcusable' Should Geoff Ward be fired as Calgary's coach? | ||
| Yes | 72 | 55.8 % |
| No | 57 | 44.2 % |
| LIST OF POLLS | ||
| G | A | PTS | ||
| Brandon Hagel | - | 5 | 5 | |
| Sebastian Aho | 1 | 3 | 4 | |
| Nico Hischier | 3 | - | 3 | |
| Jakob Chychrun | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Seth Jarvis | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Nikita Kucherov | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Zachary Bolduc | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Will Cuylle | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Lars Eller | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Jake Guentzel | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Alex Iafallo | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Ivan Ivan | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Ivan Barbashev | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Drake Batherson | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Simon Edvinsson | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Jack Eichel | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Morgan Frost | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Shayne Gostisbehere | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Miro Heiskanen | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Anze Kopitar | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Complete stats | ||||
| STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Jets | 21 | 17 | 4 | - | 34 | |
Wild | 20 | 13 | 3 | 4 | 30 | |
Devils | 23 | 14 | 7 | 2 | 30 | |
Hurricanes | 20 | 14 | 5 | 1 | 29 | |
Golden Knights | 21 | 13 | 6 | 2 | 28 | |
Maple Leafs | 21 | 13 | 6 | 2 | 28 | |
Capitals | 20 | 13 | 6 | 1 | 27 | |
Flames | 21 | 12 | 6 | 3 | 27 | |
Stars | 19 | 13 | 6 | - | 26 | |
Rangers | 19 | 12 | 6 | 1 | 25 | |
| Conference | Cumulative | ||||||