The Flames loss to Dallas Thursday night was bitter sweet, after a fashion. Bitter because, well, they lost. Sweet in that the loss wasn't a blow-out like the previous three, which is perhaps an indication of improvement. Plus, they DID manage to salvage a point from the affair. Anyhow, here's a break-down of some of the positives and negatives I personally observed during the contest:
Positives:
- First, the play of Reinprecht, Kobasew and Lombardi, particularly the latter. Lombardi was the biggest offensive threat for the Flames on this night, and set-up each of his line-mates for the team's only 2 goals. He showed fantastic speed and poise in the Star's end. Hopefully the line persists and continues their stellar play.
- Dion Phaneuf. Yes more gushing about the 20 year old rookie. Played a bunch of minutes, fought (and cut) 220 pound Bill Guerin, and was steady all night long. Also, had a hard hit on Modano near the start of the game.
- 25 shots allowed. A vast improvement over the last few contests. Obviously indicates improvement in defensive zone coverage.
- 5 on 5 play. Calgary again outscores the competition (2-0) while at even strength.
- 3 Goals allowed (including overtime). This was a winnable contest - the Flames needed only to bury more of their chances. This could not have been said about the previous losses this season.
- Timely Penaly Kill. Despite giving up another 2 PP goals, Calgary DID manage to kill off a 4 minute Reinprecht double-minor in the third period, which allowed them to tie it up later. Yay!
Negatives:
- Penalty-Killing. Another 2 goals against for the worst PK in the league. Calgary's penalty kill right now is failing to do all of the things necessary to succeed - no significant pressure on the points, little pressure on the side-boards, and too many cross-ice feeds are infiltrating the coverage. Last night, for example, Mike Modano passes the puck cross-ice through the slot to Daly, who then feeds it back in front to Lehtinen for an easy tap in. Not one Dallas Star is hit and not once in this sequence is the puck touched by the Flames penalty killers. That simply can't continue to happen.
- Powerplay. Several opportunities, with nothing to show for (0-4). Again. Calgary is setting up well enough in the offensive zone, but can't seem to generate any genuine scoring chances. Passes are usually relegated to the perimeter. In addition, forward puck possession down low is often tenuous and usually ineffectual. Frequently appears stagnant without a lot of movement.
- Jarome Iginla. While he didn't play horribly in this game, Iginla is the $7 million dollar face of the franchise, and needs to bury at least some of his multiple chances. It is especially siginificant in this kind of game - a 3-2 loss - that neither Iginla nor any of his line-mates garnered a point. In addition, during the 3rd period, while Calgary was trying to rally to tie, Iginla was held shotless. To be certain, Iginla did have some scoring opportunities during the contest, but as per his penchant for starting slowly every year, was unable to convert. In addition, had 3 give-aways over the course of the evening, which was 2nd highest on the team.
- Mikka Kiprusoff. Made some big saves near the end of the 3rd period and in overtime. However, still had a save percentage of below .900, which is unacceptable for a NHL caliber #1 goalie. Also, the second goal of the night was a highly stoppable shot by Skoula from the top of the circle. Of course, Skoula should not have been allowed to simply walk in and shoot unimpeded...but that's another issue.
All told, this game was still a tentative step in the right direction. That Calgary was able to fight back and tie the game after trailing 2 - 0 is encouraging. Now that the team is playing a closer approximation of NHL hockey, Calgary simply needs to improve their special teams to something better than last, and have their "money men" (Iginla, Kipper) step-up and be the world beaters we all know they can be. Here's hoping the upswing continues and translates to a much needed victory in Edmonton on Saturday night...
