Speaking of disappointing, could there have been a more ignoble end to the Flames 5+ game ES shut-out streak? Kipper flubs a shot resulting in a big rebound and his teammates stand dumbly around (or skate away...which I'll get to later) while a rival scores the GWG. Pathetic. It's one thing to be outdone by a highight reel end-to-ender or a slick tic-tac-toe passing play. But witnessing the streak end in such a fashion was like discovering your most favorit-ist and most respected celebrity dead on the toilet with his pants around his ankles and a porn mag open on his knees...
Which leads in to my nominee for "scapegoat of the game": Tony Amonte. His was the penalty that lead to the 5on3 goal. And it was his baffling decision to skate away from the Hemsky rebound in the third and allow Sykora to score the game winner. If, like me, you were yelling at the screen "What the FUCKING HELL are you doing?" you probably woke up today still puzzling over what could have possibly been going through Tony's aged brain during that sequence. Following is my official "reasons for Amonte's bonehead gaffe" list:
- Some effects of advancing age include senility and incontinence. Take your pick.
- Since removing the mullet, he's been looking for new ways to anger and disgust people.
- He took "over" on the over/under for the game.
- Petr Sykora resembles a high-school crush that had rejected Tony in the past. The hurt and embarrassment came rushing back when he saw Sykora bearing down on the rebound and was forced to turn away.
- He got tired of people complimenting his play.
Tanguay and Langkow both reverted to play that had annoyed me earlier this season: Langkow was worse than useless in the face-off dot and frequently buggered simple passes all night. Tanguay was frequently trying to force passes through multiple defenders resulting in give-aways. Not to mention part of me was secretly glad Zyuzin got injured half way through the game. He looked lost whenever he was on the ice.
Bright-spots? Lombardi was pretty strong for most of the contest, despite not getting on the scoresheet. So was Lundmark, who pushed the issue whenever he was on the ice. Huselius scored in his 4th straight game, although the goal was a gift. Chuck played a decent first period, but was definately lacking most of the SHAZAM! he displayed against Detroit.
Not much else to say. Calgary played well enough to lose. In fact, just after they had thrown away their 5th straight PP I turned to the girlfriend and said, "Calgary's going to lose. I bet you Edmonton scores some garbage goal with about 5 minutes left." Then I began humming "Coming in the Air Tonight" by Phil Collins. Just one of those games.
Luckily the Flames have a chance to redeem themselves almost immediately against the Blackhawks this evening. I honestly thought that Chicago would be the team to snap the November winning streak (as they did last year), but now that that's done with, Im hoping the Flames can get back to the excellent defense and at least semi-competent offense that characterized the 6 games previous to Tuesday night's crapfest.
