Aside from the initial 10 minutes, the Flames put in a complete and dominating performance this evening. For the first time in awhile, Calgary depressed both shots AND quality scoring chances against. The opening period wasn't overly impressive, but a 2 goal, +18 shot margin 2nd period turned the tide for good. In fact, the final 3-1 score flattered St. Louis.
More interesting than the victory itself was the manner in which Keenan managed the bench this evening. In the comments to Matt's pre-game post, I noted (in reference to Phaneuf's struggles) -
I can't understand why Keenan continues to play Eriksson so much - Sure, he hasn't been the horrible F-U machine he was in the first 10 games, but that's a pretty low standard to judge by. Playing him with Phaneuf, who has slid back from his step forward in October (thanks in no small part to playing with Eriksson in front of a .880 save percentage for 30 minutes a game) borders on the ludicrous.
I know, I know...injuries, Hale sucks...but, Jesus, play Dion with Sarich and give Eriksson to Regehr to babysit.
Keenan Apparently heeded my advice (sort of), because he did in fact mix up the pairings and flatten out the ice-time across the 6 players. And it worked like a charm. Phaneuf was paired primarily with Hale (oddly), and played only about 20 minutes, mostly against middling opposition (Stempniak, McClement, Mayers, Salvador, Jackman. He was kept away from Kariya et al). Eriksson only played about 12 minutes, split between Dion and Sarich, while the Aucoin/Regehr duo were matched against the toughest opponents (Kariya, Tkachuk, Boyes).
Which also means another departure from previous Iron Mike orthodoxy: Regehr/Aucoin played behind Iginla's line this evening, whereas it was Iginla/Conroy/Tanguay and Phaneuf+Partner in the power v power strategy previously. With Reghr's improvement, Phaneuf's struggles and tonight's rousing success, expect that trend to continue.
Also, anyone noticed how the bottom six isn't a total waste of time with the insertion of Boyd and Nystrom in the line-up? The former has been particularly effective recently, especially since he manages to create so much with so little (ice-time, teammates) so frequently. He scored the winning goal with a heady bank-shot from behind the goal line this evening, and was denied another goal by a Toivonen glove save later on. I'm not saying he's ready to step up and make big-time, difference-making contributions any time soon, but it's nice to have a guy who can play against scrubs and exploit that match-up every so often. It's going to suck when Primeau gets healthy and Boyd has to be sent back down to the farm...
Anyways, goodgamegoodgamegoodgame. I think Kipper needed a win like this: a low-shot, low scoring affair where he made all the routine saves (and none of his own players scored on him). It's something to build on, at least. If they can cobble a couple more games like this together, it should give him the time and confidence to get back on the horse.
