As I watched Sean Avery mouth off to Jarome Iginla near the start of the contest last night, one thought ran through my mind:
"that's a stupid thing to do."
And it was. Avery was soon treated to a Jarome initiated pile-drive into the boards. Little did Avery know that many of his teammates would be tasting much of the same for the rest of the evening.
Yes, it was a fine return to form for the Flames. And despite missing 3 regulars (and losing one their hottest forwards to injury in the 2nd), Calgary was able to employ physical domination to pull out a much needed victory.
Characters like Iginla, Regehr and (especially) Phaneuf set the tone early and often with tenacity and big, booming bodychecks. The Dion, in particular, was a veritable juggernaut on the ice, knocking down everything in his path. He also managed to paste that loudmouth Avery with an open ice-check. Which was delightful sight to be hold (for Flames fans, and probably any other hockey fan).
In addition, Calgary also benefitted from a clutch performance from Jarome Iginla. While he didn't collect a lot of points, the single tally he did manage happened to be the game winning goal. Shorthanded no less. On a night when just about everyone who played on his left wing was useless in the offensive zone, Iginla managed to turn a lot of nothing into a little bit of something. Add in the bruising physical play and the goaltending of Kipper and you get a hard fought win.
And, oh yeah...Only 8 more points till play-offs!
Positives:
- Defensive zone play. Through smart play and intimidation, the Flames allowed only a handful of scoring chances against all night. Their PK was also perfect on the night.
- Jarome Iginla. Avery pisses him off right away resulting in a fired up Jarome. The Flames Organization should pay Avery to play on whatever team Calgary is playing against.
- Dion Phaneuf. Just when I think he's going to succumb to the NHL grind and start
looking like a rookie, he turns in a performance like this one. Bar none the most explosive hitter on the ice last night. Made 3 hilight reel bodychecks. Also assisted on the GWG.
- Jordan Leopold. Cool, calm and poised. Was the picture of a top 2 d-man last night.
- Jamie Lundmark. Only had 5 minutes of ice time in the game before a high-stick sent him to the dressing room. Still managed to increase his scoring streak with another goal, however. Hopefully he will be back in the line-up soon.
- Craig Mcdonald/Byron Ritchie. fast skating duo were tireless forecheckers and actually created a couple of good scoring chances.
- Shean Donovan. Looked faster than almost anyone on the ice when he got going. Nearly scored in the 3rd thanks to a great individual effort.
Negatives:
- Powerplay. Looked stagnant last night. Wasted all 5 opportunities.
- Offense. The 2-1 score was probably flattering to the Kings. Calgary had a number of chances to put the game out of reach but (naturally) couldn't bear down.
- Ference and Marchment. Make me nervous every time they're on the ice. Marchment is just too damn slow and Ference just isn't terribly bright.
- Kristian Huselius. Just plain bad. Couldn't make anything happen in the offensive zone. Made errant passes and shot pucks into shin-pads and did little else.
- Lombardi. Basically the Flame's #2 centerman. Needs to start having more of an impact overall.
Next up - the penultimate battle between the NW division leaders! Flames VS. Avs!
