On January 24th, the Calgary Flames' 2016-17 campaign looked poised to remain a miserable affair.

With the club holding a 24-24-3 record, teetering between promise and disappointment, a 5-1 drubbing at the hands of the Montreal Canadiens had them positioned to spiral out of control.

And their head coach was well aware.

“We were pathetic,” head coach Glen Gulutzan said immediately after the loss, according to Sportsnet's Joe Pack. “It was a pathetic display. No bite back, no kick back, accept it right down, our top guys didn’t do anything and we need somebody to step up.”

He wasn't done.

"Our starts have been good but one little shot goes in, we crumple. We just crumple. We have no resolve to stay with it; we have to look internally here at ourselves - everybody, everybody in the organization - and see how we’re going to pull ourselves out because the league doesn’t feel sorry for you."

A little over a month after that spirited tirade, Gulutzan's club seems to have received the message. The Flames have rounded into shape, and they're doing far more than keeping their heads above water:

Calgary's performance through the 14 games that followed their coach's rant has hinged on their improved defensive play over that span - the Flames have allowed the second-fewest goals in the league (33) since Gulutzan's meltdown.

Netminder Brian Elliott has been a key part of that equation.

After looking decidedly human through the season's early goings, prompting Chad Johnson to temporarily claim starting duties, Elliott has begun to look like his old self.

The veteran 'tender posted a respectable .925 save percentage through the above-mentioned stretch, earning nine of Calgary's 11 wins (the second-most wins of any netminder in the league since January 24th).

And in front of him, the team's formerly dormant first line has found new life. Johnny Gaudreau, the club's offensive focal point, has scored at a point per game pace since the late-January turning point (14 points through 14 games).

Rearguard T.J. Brodie is in that same boat. After struggling through the campaign's early months, Brodie has rediscovered his offensive swagger, putting 10 points on the board during those 14 games - tops among all Flames defensemen.

For both players, those totals are roughly double what they managed in the month preceding the Flames' dominant stretch.

Whether Gulutzan's frustration was the catalyst that spurred the Flames' resurgence or not, it's clear something changed for the formerly stumbling club. And just in time, it seems, as the Flames still have a wild-card spot in their grasp, leaving them primed to make it back into the postseason after a year on the outside.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.