The turn-around is on a wide arc and Calgary seems to be in the middle of the 180 degrees. They certainly seem to be trending to the good, the recent loss to the Blues notwithstanding. They've held the opposition to 23 shots or less through the last 5 games and have a +36 shot differential over that period. They've won 4 of their last 6 games overall and the PK seems to be becoming more respectable.
The scoring remains inconsistent, however, with the PP the leading culprit behind the power outage. In fact, I believe that particular special team has been a negative contributor recently thanks to the Hawks two SH goals a few games ago. On one hand, it's hard to believe that a team with Iginla, Tanguay, Huselius and Phaneuf will struggle on the man-advantage for much longer. On the other hand, who the hell knows when it comes to the Flames. Keenan has been fiddling with a couple of different configurations on the PP, specifically playing Phaneuf down low and having Tanguay on the point. Personally, I dont see much long-term utility in playing Phaneuf as a forward (although, he did assist on a rare PP goal from behind the net). If I had to guess, I'd say this is a Keenan tactic, designed to prod guys like Huselius to awaken them from their lethargy. As for Tanguay, well...that's partially due to the dearth of capable point-getting defencemen on the team and partially a strategy to get all the best producers on the ice at the same time. It hasn't done much good so far, but the theory is sound.
The Flames return to Detroit this evening and I can't honestly remember the last time they won a game there. It's been rapin' after rapin' down at the ol' Joe. Luckily, Hasek is pulling his batshit crazy routine and the Wings are on a bit of a slide. If this apparent turn-around is for real, tonight represents maybe their best opportunity to upend this pride-swallowing, soul-crushing S&M relationship they have with Wings in Detroit.
Prediction - I've been told I pick the 4-1 score too often. So let's go all the way with this one:
10-0 Flames. Jarome with the exceedingly rare double hat-trick. Alex Tanguay assists on 8 of Calgary's 10 goals and is dubbed the next "Adam Oates". Phaneuf checks Datsyuk into the 3rd row and then beats Aaron Downey into a mass of quivering flesh with his visor and purposeful stare. Anders Eriksson gets 2 points for the first time in his professional career while Craig Conroy still manages to be a minus on the night, despite Kipper pitching a shut-out. Spontaneous riots and orgies erupt in Calgary and small pockets of Toronto as delirious Flames fans celebrate the victory with wild, hedonistic abandon. The enraptured crowds roll and swell into a Boschian wave of pleasured sweat and flesh. Trumpets blare. Virgins weep. Cenubites peer at the deepening Sodom with gimlet eyes. The heavens rain whiskey and candy drops. The great celebration rises into a deafening cacophony before the earth itself opens up and swallows the whole sticky mess, submerging the revelers in a burning lake of liquid hot magma.
Go Flames.
