That about sums up the Flames defensive capabilities last night. Vets Hamrlik and Zyuzin were consistently bad all evening and Kipper turned in his 2nd big stinker of the pre-season (5 goals on 21 shots, 0.76 SP). The Flames, especially the three guys mentioned, should be grateful the Shark's top line of Bell, Cheechoo and Thornton weren't there to make them look even more foolish.
Some positives can be taken from last night's shellacking, however:
Kristian Huselius scored a couple and was a threat for most of the contest. His linemate, Jamie Lundmark, turned in his best game so far as well. Lundmark set-up both of Juice's goals and showcased some fancy stickhandling throughout the contest. Amonte, the right-winger of the unit, was the probably the only veteran to work his ass off all game.
Also, Andrei Taratukhin was mildly impressive. His experience and hockey sense shone through in the neutral and offensive zones, especially during the first two periods. If he'd had better linemates, he probably would have generated some points.
The checking line of McCarty, Yelle and Nilson was probably the most consistent and cohesive forward line for Calgary. They didn't get into a lot of trouble in their own end and actually managed to apply some good offensive pressure at times during the game. Yelle hit the post on a two-on-one during the 2nd period.
Tanguay and Iginla hooked up for the Flames 2nd tally on a pretty break-away passing play. Aside from that, they were thoroughly average. Tanguay is still trying to force plays that aren't there. Also, neither of the vets were terrbily interested in getting invloved in the defensive zone. Dustin Boyd was good at times but clearly a raw rookie in others. Still needs some time in the minors to bulk up physically.
I thought Mark Giordano was the 3rd best d-man on the ice for Calgary behind Regehr and Phaneuf. He was paired with Regehr 2.0, a coupling that was occassionally overwhelmed by the Sharks forecheck, but I was still struck by Giordano's overall solid play. Easily better than both Zyuzin and Hammer last night.
I finally noticed Friesen as well. He used his speed to beat an icing call and actually had a couple of chances on net. Yay!
Final Thoughts:
Im not terribly worried about Kipper's play. As frustrating as it is to watch the vezina winner let in 3 rather questionable goals, one has to remember that this is what preseason is for: practice, working-out-kinks and such and such.
The only thing that is a little anxiety provoking is the fact that the Flames still haven't scored more than 3 goals in a game. Just like the first 15 contests last year. Also, we can't seem to score at even-strength. Just like, well, nearly all the contests from last year. At this point, I care more about Calgary scoring some preseason goals than I do about them winning some preseason games.
Hamrlik better step it up. He's been quite terrible the last 2 games I've been to. He doesn't get the same leeway Kipper does, because, well, Kipper's proven a lot more to me than Hammer has.
Next up - the Canucks!
