Huzzah! Here's some double-plus-good numbers that resulted from last night's Flames win:
2 - Wins in a row.
2 - Points up on Vancouver for the NW division lead.
2 - Consecutive games in which Simon has scored. Unprecedented this season!
3 - Powerplay goals. The Flames went 3/5 on the PP.
7 - Game high hits by the Dion.
9:53 - Ice time for Kristian Huselius last night: the only Flame below the 10:00 mark. Seems like Sutter has lost some confidence in Beetlejuice recently.
31 - Saves by Kipper. Now tied with the league lead in wins with Turco.
71 - Points for the Flames, currently #1 in the NW division thanks to the Blues continued domination over Vancouver.
Yup, Calgary played spoiler last night by beating the Ducks and thereby making the Quacker's quest for a playoff spot that much tougher. I didn't manage to see the game, thanks to the total lack of TV coverage, so I can't really comment intelligently on the team's play. But...a win is a win is a win. If the Flames score three and allow less than two, it's typically a good performance.
On a "calder trophy"/"should-be-going-to-Turino" note, the Dion's hit total from last night's game got me curious as to how he ranks for season total hits by d-men so far...
the answer? 4th! In the league! Only Chara, Kasparaitis and Robidas are ahead of the 20 year old rookie. Wow. Just wow. Consider that Bouwmeester - he of the 0 goals on 100+ shots who was recently selected for Team Canada - isn't even in the top 30 in hits. Things that make you go HMMMMM....
(On a odd-stat note...Chara has apparently taken 19 face-offs so far this year. What's even stranger is that Murray is getting him to take draws even though he's terrible at them - 37% success rate.)
Next up is those baffling Blues. I'd hate them if they didn't keep beating the Canucks. As it is, one more St. Louis victory over Vancouver might just make them my second favorite team in the league...
