Want to briefly touch on the Calgary victory over the Hawks yesterday as well as some of the surprising upsets that occured around the NHL on Monday...
Calgary managed to fight off a determined Chicago team to win their 3rd in a row and go 4 points up on Edmonton for the division lead. I was only able to watch the latter half of the contest during my lunch break, so any events occuring in the first half of the game aren't familiar to me. From what I saw, though, Kipper held the fort, Iginla played more like himself, and a tired and depleted Calgary squad managed to win by the skin of their teeth. Not that I mind terribly. I didn't really expect Calgary to win, given their tough recent schedule and bevvy of injuries. However, some great goaltending and a slumping opponent conspired to give the Flames the 2 points...
As for the Senators and Canucks...what the...? Granted both teams have some injury issues (Bochenski, Havlat, Alffie, Hasek vs. Cloutier, Salo, Jovo) but I dont think anyone could have predicted yesterday's outcomes. The Senators have a very capable back-up and one of the best bluelines in the league. I NEVER would have guessed that Ottawa would absorb an 8-3 drubbing, even at the hands of the relatively high powered Thrashers. In some strange and petty way, it's somehow nice to know that even the mighty Senators can be blown-out now and again. Not that I anticipate the "again" happening any time soon.
And then there are the sinking Canucks - I was pretty stunned to see them bow to the Blues by 3 goals. It's sounds like things are getting pretty ugly in Vancity...and bound to get uglier if Salo's injury lasts any longer than a game or two. Given their lack of a #1 goalie and thin back-end, expect the Cancuks to make a deal to right the ship soon. Anything less than a decent #1 tender and a gritty, stay-at-home defenseman would be a surprise (to me at least). Of course, as already mentioned in this blog (and elsewhere), the demand for goalies is currently very high round these parts (Colorado, Edmonton,Vancouver), which will probably result in an appropriately high asking price should the Canucks look to deal. Expect Morrison and a draft pick to be part of the package (at least)...
And now for the Calgary games PandN:
Positives:
- Darren McCarty. Great play to set-up the game-winning goal. Speaking of which...
- Lombardi. Scores a timely (and nifty) goal for the second time in as many games.
- Kristian Huselius. 2 points, including another tricky goal from behind the oppositions goal-line. 16 points in 14 games since coming to Calgary.
- Jarome Iginla. Looked much more like himself. Needs to continue to play like he did against the Hawks.
- Shean Donovan. Another assist to stretch his modest streak to 3 games.
- Miikka Kiprusoff. Steals another win. Currently leads the league with 21 wins and 5 shut-outs.
Negatives:
- Lose both Nilson and Ritchie to injury. Calgary's injuries just keep piling up.
- The cheap-shot submarine by Spacek on Ritchie. he richly deserves the 2 game suspension for that bonehead play.
- Outshot and outplayed. A tired Calgary club frequently looked to be on their heals against the Hawks. Thankfully, Chicago never seems to win when they outshoot their opponent.
- 0-4 on the PP. After rolling along nicely the last few weeks, the Flames powerplay hit a snag yesterday. A chance to put the game away in the 3rd on a 5on3 was squandered.
Next up - Toronto!
