GETTING FIRED BACK UP

Can rest, truly, be a weapon?
While tonight's foe, the Winnipeg Jets, were off on a Thanksgiving turkey trot in St. Paul, Minn., the Flames were catching up on some well-deserved R&R.
The key, now, is re-lighting the engines and bringing their best against a grumpy opponent - one that took a 7-1 flogging square on the chin less than 24 hours ago, the latest in an ugly, five-game skid.

The Jets have been outscored 18-5 in that span, too.
It's often said that a wounded animal can be the most dangerous. If that holds true, the Flames will need to bring it tonight in the second of a three-game homestand.
"It was nice," said Blake Coleman, who, among other things, used the three-day break to get some important dental work done.
"Obviously, it was a pretty tough stretch of our schedule that we went through and a lot of travel, a lot of hockey, and I think we would all pretty much agree that we were feeling it in that last home game against Chicago.
"It was good to get a little breather and I think guys used it the right way, re-charged their bodies a little bit, and now it feels like the start of another segment here.
"It will be nice to get back and play a game again."

When things are going this well, how can you not be excited?
The locals are in the midst of a seven-game point spree that's included four consecutive victories. They enter the game tonight tops in the west, and are close to a 50-win pace through the opening quarter of the campaign.
Of course, none of that means anything.
Yet.
If you don't turn the page and keep it up for the next five months, what good is a great start?
It's a lesson Coleman learned as a two-time Cup winner with the Tampa Bay Lightning, and he's hellbent on bringing a similar mantra to the Flames locker-room.
"In my experience with Tampa - and I think I've preached on it a little bit - is never getting too high and never getting too low," Coleman said. "You're never quite as good as you think you are, and you're never quite as bad as you feel you are.
"We're on, what, a seven-game point streak right now? It's easy to feel good about yourself and get a little complacent, and that's when things can go a little sideways.
"I think you've got to throw that out; start fresh.
"We had these three days off and Darryl does a great job as far as keeping our focus on segments of the season and not looking at the big picture. It's just looking at these small little segments, and control what you can control on that day, in that segment."
Certainly, getting off to a quick start in their return to game action will be a big focus for this group tonight - especially with a Jets team, on the other side, in desperate need of some good fortune. The Flames have potted the game's opening goal in 16 of their 20 games this year, and won 12 of them they do.
But if they don't - and the stats tell us that could level out at some point - there shouldn't be any panic.
If you stick with your foundation, everything will work out.
"We had a similar approach in Tampa that kept us competitive," Coleman said. I think the biggest test for a team is when things go a little south and it's going to happen at some point - that's the reality of this league, it's a tough league to win. But it's the teams that know how to right the ship and keep that composure and not get flustered by things like that. So far, the group's been really good - we've responded well after losses and things like that.
"It's been a good 20-game stretch, but it's only 20 games and it's still really early.
"Lots to learn, lots to build on, but it's been a good start."