The Calgary Flames season came to a premature end a number of weeks ago, and Flames fans were not happy with how the team performed this season. With lofty expectations, the team underperformed in almost every category, and the consolation only came this past week when the Oilers were swept by the Jets in the first round of the playoffs.
Back in January, TWC polled Flames fans about how the Flames and various players would perform in 2021. There were 28 questions, each about a different individual or team statistic. As promised, the winner will receive a Calgary Flames puck and some TWC stickers.
Let’s see how everyone did!
Calgary Flames Over Under Predictions
First off, this is how fans responded to the various questions before the season began.
Most questions had a decent split with only a few were heavily skewed heavily towards the over or under side. It was a pandemic season with a new division structure and unique schedule, so there were a lot of conflicting opinions on how the Flames would ultimately do.
Calgary Flames over under results
The results after a rough season skewed almost exclusively towards the under side of the line.
On this chart, we see that only four questions ended up going over the initial line, and the remaining 24 had under has the correct prediction.
Biggest hits
Milan Lucic power play goals: 4.5 – UNDER
In hindsight, this was a very high bar for Milan Lucic to hit, and he did not hit it as expected. Lucic finished the season with two power play goals, but as one of the team’s most consistent players this season, it could have been closer.
Success Rate: 83%
Connor Mackey games played: 14.5 – UNDER
One of the most intriguing young defenders in the Flames system, Connor Mackey featured in just six games this season. However, Mackey was named a Canadian Division AHL all-star and played very well for the Heat. Considering this was his first season of pro hockey, he is definitely a player to watch next season, when he’ll likely get many more than six games.
Success Rate: 77%
Oliver Kylington games played: 34.5 – UNDER
Despite posting solid results when he was in the lineup, Oliver Kylington was unable to lock down a regular spot in the Flames’ top six and ended up skating in just eight games this season. Kylington is a prime candidate to be selected by the Seattle Kraken in the expansion draft, but should he remain on the Flames’ roster next season, he should get into more games as well.
Success Rate: 75%
Biggest misses
Rasmus Andersson power play points: 9.5 – UNDER
This was a shocker. Every single TWC writer (at the time) chose the over on this one, but the line was built based on his past production. He set his career high for power play points in 2019-20 with four, but he was in the conversation to quarterback the Flames’ top unit this past season, and 10 power play points in 56 games seemed easy enough. With just six power play points on the season, it was a new career high for Andersson, but he fell extremely short of expectations this season.
Success Rate: 6%
Team wins: 29.5 – UNDER
This is the telling question. Most fans expected the team to make the playoffs, and even challenge for the North Division crown. For comparison, the Jets finished the season with 30 wins and finished third in the North. The Flames managed 26. If they had gone even .500 against the Ottawa Senators, they likely would have hit 30 wins and made the playoffs to boot. What could have been.
Success Rate: 17%
Elias Lindholm Goals: 20.5 – UNDER
Elias Lindholm showed that he could be a reliable center in the NHL, and after Darryl Sutter put Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk on his wings down the stretch, Lindholm showed he might even be a top tier 1C in the NHL. Unfortunately, he was not able to hit the 21 goal mark, and finished the season just short with 19 tallies.
Success Rate: 22%
The winner
Congratulations to Kyle Terrio for guessing the most correct over/unders. With a whopping 22 out of 28 guessed correctly, your pessimism paid off. We’ll be in contact to give you your prize.
Thanks to everyone who participated. Stay tuned for next season’s over/under predictions poll!
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