The signs are there. There’s growing evidence. The results are starting to show. Perhaps there is reason to believe the Flames are a second-half team, poised again to make a winter surge and this time qualify for the playoffs.

It’s more than just the fact Calgary pushed closer to .500 (they’re still four games under because an overtime/shootout setback is still a loss). It’s the belief that players are putting in stronger individual efforts and that, in turn, is resulting in a stronger team effort.

The Flames didn’t win on their recent four-game eastern road trip, but by all rights they played well enough to deserve four points. The top line of Jarome Iginla, Olli Jokinen and Curtis Glencross is starting to cash in on chances. And much like last December, the fourth line of Tim Jackman, Tom Kostopoulos and this time Matt Stajan is the unit that jump-started the attack, more by effort than production.

Rene Bourque is still a work in progress, but he’s capable of scoring in bunches. Lee Stempniak plays with more consistent effort, but he too is a bunch scorer. The same can be said, point-wise, for Blake Comeau and Brendan Morrison.

A lot of what unfolds in 2012 rests on the shoulders of Mikael Backlund. The third-year Swede has the credentials to be a difference maker when it comes to secondary offence. He showed that late last season and he’s only now starting to show it again.

If the Flames can spread out the production, they will in turn spread out the defence that automatically focuses attention on Iginla.

And how about the defence? Jay Bouwmeester is still stuck on one goal, but boy is he playing a more entertaining brand than his first 185 games in a Calgary uniform.

Then there’s the return of Anton Babchuk and potentially Mark Giordano. We all know what Giordano brings to the table, but perhaps it’s what Babchuk can offer that’s most unheralded. Say what you want about his erratic play in his own end, it’s the booming shot on the power play that is extremely valuable.

One thing the Flames attack is missing is the cannon from the point. There isn’t a defenceman in the lineup now who has an above-average blast that can strike fear in the penalty-killing unit of the opposition. Babchuk has one of the heaviest shots in the league, exactly what the power play needs.