Just kidding. As if that will ever happen.
Anyways, finally the wait ends as the Flames 4 day post roadtrip holiday comes to a close tonight against the Canadiens. Both teams are desperate for victories, but for very different reasons.
The Canadiens, after starting the season off strong, have fallen to 10th place in the Eastern conference and are looking to climb back into playoff contention. Of course, the Habs have won both games since firing Claude Julien last week, largely upon the back of their special teams play. Since "the sacking of Claude", Montreal has 10 goals in 2 games, 7 of them on the Powerplay and 2 shothanded. The hottest Hab right now, Mike Ribeiro, was previously maligned for his lacklustre play so far this year. He posted 3 goals in the 2 victories. The bad news for the Canadiens tonight? They've lost their #1 d-man (Markov) to injury, they're post-coach-firing karma may be used up, and the Flames have won 4 in a row at the Dome.
Calgary, on the other hand, managed to salvage some dignity from their 4 game American excursion by defeating the Wild 4-1 on Saturday. In contrast to Montreal, Calgary needs to win tonight in order to stay atop the perilous peak that is the NW division lead. Both Colorado and Vancouver have recently pulled into a tie with the Flames for leadership of the division, with the slumping Oilers only 4 points back. Of particular interest to Flames fans tonight will be whether Jarome Iginla can continue his modest nominal surge against the Habs. Iggy has 4 goals in his last 6 games, including the game winner in Minnesota. It's rumored that he will play on a line with Lombardi and Rhino this evening, while the Wildly (get it?) successful combination of Hussy-Langkow-Amonte will look to contribute secondary offensive flair. In addition, Flames faithful will most likely witness the (re)return of Hamrlik tonight, which should help contain Montreal's quick and shifty forwards...
And now for a gameday threat: "WIN FLAMES. OR I WILL VOTE FOR THE GREEN PARTY."
