The Calgary Flames top line, and the power of the purple Gatorade lead the team to three wins this week. In a week with injuries and lineup changes, the team still managed to keep their spot atop the Western Conference.

We recap our 2018-2019 predictions as we close out the 2018 calendar year, and share our thoughts on Bill Peters so far as the coach, as well as looking ahead to the 2019 portion of the season, and what the Flames need to do to last as a top team in the West.

This week had ups and downs for the Flames, but can be summed up as 3...2...1. Three wins before the loss to the Oilers (the end of a 5 game streak), two suspensions and one loss. We discuss how the Mikael Backlund injury and the suspensions have changed the Flames lineup and compare this year's depth to last year.

Garnet Hathaway has more goals 31 games into the season than James Neal. What does that mean for Neal? Is this already turning into a bad contract?  And we answer fan questions about Derek Ryan and if the Flames can end the season as #1 in the West.

The Flames ended the week with 5 of a possible 6 points this week, on a week when they arguably didn't play great hockey.  We discuss how Mike Smith looked in two consecutive starts, and what the goalie scenario might look like for the rest of the season.

With the Flames having some injuries, we see Oliver Kylington and Ryan Lomberg draw into the lineup. We discuss how these guys looked, and if Lomberg deserves a spot on the NHL roster. Will Dillon Dube's demotion to the AHL prove to be the best move for him? As well we recap some Stockton Heat team news, and look ahead to the Flames December schedule, and our thoughts on what the team's record has to do to make this month a success.

This week we're joined by Hockey Hall of Fame broadcaster Peter Maher to discuss his career, listen to Calgary Flames stories, discuss the current Flames team, and talk about his new book If These Walls Could Talk: Calgary Flames: Stories from the Calgary Flames Ice, Locker Room, and Press Box (available at Amazon and bookstores everywhere).

The most important news item this week, is the Flames beat the Oilers. David Rittich looks like he's going to be leaned on as the starting goaltender for a while. The guys debate if that's a good idea, and what the Flames need to do to give Rittich the right chance as a starter.

Dan asks the question of how much Ryan Huska has been influential in the success of Juuso Valimaki and Rasmus Andersson this season?

We also take a look at the Stockton Heat, and the great play from Oliver Kylington and an unusual suspect - Nick Schneider - who is the starting goaltender in Stockton while Gillies and Parsons are hurt.

SportsClubStats.com has some interesting stats showing off their playoff probabilities for the Flames, which you can view here.

The Flames have returned from their California road trip and we break down three very different games from this week - including the goaltending in each game as the Smith vs. Rittich debate continues. 

Our main discussion this week centres around some of the players that we, and our listeners, have tagged as "disappointing so far". We discuss what we need out of these players for them to not to have a disappointing season.

And just for fun, Dan and Matt kick around the idea of the Flames acquiring William Nylander, what it would take, and if that cost would be worth paying.

One month into the season the Flames are riding high in a four game win streak. The Calgary Flames finally seems to be coming into their own, but how long can the team win games in the last 20 minutes? and how much is their goaltending to blame for their bad starts?

We can't avoid the goaltending discussion again - who should get starting minutes? Do the Flames need to acquire a goalie, and if so at what cost? Can the team promote from within to solve their goaltending issues? Outside the net the Flames have a lot of players doing things right. Sean Monahan was the first star of the week, and Monahan, Gaudreau and Tkachuk are in the top 10 in league scoring with Lindholm not far behind at number 13.

Plus, we debate if Dillon Dube should be in the NHL or AHL right now, who his replacement might be, and answer a question for a Flames fan in the UK.

Coming off of a 3 game losing streak, and a disastrous game against the Penguins, the Flames played the best defensive game we can remember against the Leafs to break the losing streak, and the Flames are now guaranteed to end October with at least a .500 record.

TJ Brodie has been getting a lot of criticism from Flames fans. Matt suggests trading him and Dan asks what we think a reasonable return would be - and we discuss Michael Stone and Mark Jankowski's positions in the lineup going into November and what the Flames schedule looks like for the next month, as well as our predictions for the coming week.

Sorry for the delayed show this week. Our producer had bronchitis so it took him a little longer than usual to feel ready to work.

We're 10% of the way through the season and the Flames have a 5-3 record - their best start in recent memory, and one of the highlights of the team has been backup goalie David Rittich. The guys gave Rittich a hard time early on - have they changed their tune?

Despite the great record we have some concerns about a few players on the roster, which we discuss and put our General Manager hats on to decide what to do with these players.

The Flames notoriously start slow almost every season, but 5 games in and they are over .500? Could it be?  What are the Flames doing differently and how do they look compared to last year's team?

This week we discuss the healthy scratches of Mark Jankowski and Michael Frolik, why they were likely benched and what their response should be.  As well we discuss the changes we're seeing in Sam Bennett's game, how the rookies are doing and what Rasmus Andersson has to do to stay here after Hamonic comes back.

All this and more as we recap the first 5 games of the season, and look ahead to the next week.