James Neal knows a thing or two about the NHL playoffs and the Flames winger will be looked at for leadership as Calgary begins its series against Colorado on Thursday. The winger was signed as a free agent as a missing piece of the puzzle by Calgary over the summer after playing in the Stanley Cup final with both the Vegas Golden Knights last year and the Nashville Predators in 2017. Now he will be seeking to propel the youthful Flames deep into the playoffs and hopefully this time actually win the cup. Neal struggled offensively this season, ending up with 7 goals and 12 assists compared to 44 point season with Vegas last year. He has also missed 19 games due to injury but head coach Bill Peters isn't worried. Left winger Matthew Tkachuk says the team does not have a lot of playoff experience,. The Flames were swept by Anaheim in the first round in 2017. This is the time of year that Neal steps up.