Thanks to the lack of television coverage (not including some kinda elusive satellite package), I was relegated to fuzzy online hilights and next-day-paper-coverage for my Flames/Bruins game info. All I really know, therefore, is that Calgary scored 3 goals almost immediately and then spent the rest of the game fending off the Boston counter-attack. That's what it sounds like, at least. And by "Calgary fending off" I mean "Kipper fending off". Which brings me to the most significant accomplishment of the evening; Miikka's league-leading 5th shut-out. Keep in mind that Hasek is the only other tender to have more than 2. With the win Saturday night, Kiprusoff is now tied for 3rd overall in term of victories, and is second in the league with a 2.06 GAA (Hasek's first at 1.99). If the Flames had actually shown up for the season-opening road-trip, Kipper would no doubt be the league-leader in most, if not all, of the significant goaltender statisitcal categories. Should his outstanding play continue for the remainder of the year, I would expect some Vezina and Hart nominations for the Kipper come season's end.
On another, more critical note, Calgary's EXPECTED hart candidate, Jarome Iginla, has a total of 3 points in the last 8 games...all of which came in the New Jersey/Calgary contest. Creatures named Huselius and Langkow have more points than Iggy over that span. Hell, a creature named Stoll on the Oilers has more points on the season than the Flames $7 million dollar man. Despite all of his leadership and toughness and grit and work, I submit that this is unexceptable. Iginla is a two-time Rocket Richard winner and, at 28, is entering the prime of his career. The erasure of the red-line and increased crack-down on obstruction has emancipated players like Jagr, Forsberg and Alfredsson, but seems to have had little effect on Jarome. Iginla's been the deciding factor in a few victories this year (3-2 over Minny and 4-1 over Jersey come to mind), but he's been conspicuously absent from the scoresheet far more frequently. Is it fair to critisize Iginla when he's leading a team that's 10 games above .500 in points? Maybe not. However, consider that he is currently 57th in the league in terms of overall scoring and around 40th in terms of goal production. Petr Prucha and Nathan Horton have more goals than Iggy. Have you been wondering why the Flames are the second worst goal scoring team in the NHL? Look no further. Being one of the top 5 paid athletes in the league, Jarome's performance so far this season has been, overall, subpar. Of course, the first person to admit this would be Iginla himself, no doubt...
The good news for Flames fans is: the team is winning anyways. The other (potential) good news is Jarome's penchant for 2nd half scoring. Which begs the question how good would (will?) Calgary be if Jarome was scoring? Perhaps we'll find out...
