user: ### NOW ANSWER:
Question: What is the sum of the dates in december that were against the atlanta flames before game 40?
Columns: ['Game', 'December', 'Opponent', 'Score', 'Record']
Types: ['real', 'real', 'text', 'text', 'text']
Sample row: [26.0, 1.0, 'Washington Capitals', '4 - 1', '11-11-4']
SQL:

assistant: SELECT SUM("December") FROM "Table" WHERE "Opponent" = 'atlanta flames' AND "Game" < 40.0;