The Calgary Flames were eliminated from this year’s Stanley Cup play-off race Tuesday.
Calgary’s 2-1 loss to San Jose at home and Colorado’s penalty shoot-out victory in Vancouver combined to wash away the Flames’ tenuous hopes of earning the western conference’s final play-off berth.
This is the first time since the 2003 season that there will be no play-offs for the Flames. A team that was supposedly built specifically to be a play-off powerhouse will now have to be content with watching the post-season from the comfort of their couches, at least while they’re not working on their golf game.
Possibly my most story-telling image of the night came 
an hour after the game. Head coach Brent Sutter, following a rather muted press conference, walks off alone to an uncertain future, head bowed and shoulders slumped.
There will be some interesting developments in the days, weeks and months to come and the coach’s employment will likely be brought into question.