"I think so, yeah definitely," forward Shawn Thornton said when asked whether the team is more optimistic after a loss than they have been recently. "Obviously, we had some real good chances and just didn't bury them enough. Usually if we get three goals, it's enough, but [Thursday] we needed six or seven. So I mean, the effort was there. We made some mental mistakes but the effort was there. Our confidence hasn't flown south and we're just getting ready for [Saturday]'s game instead of dwelling on [the loss]."
Forward Steve Begin, who has been more of a physical presence lately, seemed to be taking the same approach and said he knows that he and his teammates just need to have that intensity that helped them reel off two straight wins this past week.
"We had 50 shots, we had chances and it just didn't work out," Begin said. "We're in the same boat as Calgary, because we're both trying to get in the playoffs or stay in and need these two points, so it's going to be a hard game again and they will all be hard from now on. We need to bring our best game and an intense game."
Begin went through a similar season with the 2008-09 Canadiens, when the Habs — after a first-place finish in the Eastern Conference in 2007-08 — never gained momentum and barely made it into the eighth playoff slot. Once in the playoffs, of course, the Habs were swept by the Bruins.
The rugged forward said there is a much better dressing room in Boston and that he is more confident the Bruins can get it together to make the playoffs and make some noise.
"No it's different here for sure," Begin said. "There was so much off-ice stuff with that team [in Montreal]. Here, we're just struggling to be consistent, but we got a good bunch of guys and I'm confident in this team."
Defenseman Andrew Ference didn't skate Friday but told the media it was simply a "maintenance day" to rest his groin. He should be good to go against the Flames.
Forward Vladimir Sobotka did skate for the first time since he was injured against Atlanta on Tuesday. Following practice, head coach Claude Julien acknowledged that Sobotka suffered a "mild concussion.
Sobotka, apparently, has passed all but one of the league-required tests to play again and was symptom-free Friday, which allowed him to skate.
"It was deemed a mild concussion, very mild concussion, and obviously when you have those things, you have to go through different stages," Julien said. "He's doing better and obviously for him to skate today, he's headache-free. Today he's going to do what they call a neuro-psych test, which is the last thing that he has to do. If he passes that, then he's good to go."
The Flames also practiced at Ristuccia Arena and afterwards, captain Jarome Iginla expressed concern and hope for his former teammate, Marc Savard, who is out indefinitely with a Grade 2 concussion.
"I heard that it's been a slow one as far as headaches go, and obviously he has to be sure about it and safe," said Iginla, who texted with Savard immediately following the injury on March 7. "You always want to get back and help the team and rush. I'm sure it's killing him to be out down the stretch drive, but it's more important because he has a lot of years to get back … and be healthy again."
