Incredible that it took three months for these two teams to meet each other, but... there it is.
It's also incredible that the Flames are subjected to another back-to-back road trip so shortly after the last one. A pox on the schedule makers house.
Minnesota charged hard out of the gate, but have stumbled recently. And it's not too hard to see why, looking at their depth at forward - 'bout as shallow as a summer puddle. They've got Miiko Koivu (who is outstanding) and...yeah, that's about it. The doddering Owen Nolan, Everyman Antti Mienttinen and the increasingly disappointing PM Bouchard. Every one else is a plugger or a rookie.
Except Gaborik, of course - perhaps the most fragile 26 year old in the league. The main man has missed pretty much the entire season to groin problems (I think), but may be making his return to the line-up tonight, or so the rumor goes. When he's healthy and capable, Gaborik is a game-changer...but a healthy Gaborik is about as rare as a politician admitting fault these days.
All that said, The Wild can't ever be taken lightly. The coach and the system ensures a rough night in the neutral zone EVERY night, so whether or not Gaborik is in the line-up or not, I fully expect 60 minutes of playing through mud between the bluelines.
Bad news for Minnesota is: Jarome woke up against the Blues yesterday (and he's usually good against the Wild anyways).
After the puck glanced in off his elbow in St. Louis, he looked much more like the player we've come to expect: confident, assertive and difficult to knock off the puck. While the first goal was fortunate, Iginla probably could have had 6 or more points last night if the people around him hadn't squandered some A+ quality chances (Cammalleri in the first, Bertuzzi in the third).
- No word on the line combos for this evening, although Lombardi inexplicably ended up skating with Jarome after the first period last night. The speedster had one of those "why can't he do that all the time?!" games, so it'll be interesting to see if he can keep it up. Or, indeed, if he remains on the first line at all.
- Boyd getting minimal time from the 4th unit still really annoys me. Kids effort level and performance so far this year deserves better than to plumb the depths with Roy and Nystrom. It's especially galling to see Lundmark leap-frog the kid from the farm team - Jamie's done well in QC, but the future doesn't lie with him. Besides...there's a reason the kid made the big club out of camp and Lundmark didn't.
Oh well. Here's hoping Regehr can shut-down Gabbers tonight.
Predicition - Flames 4, Wild 2. Iginla (2), Giordano and Bertuzzi (!!) for Calgary. Koivu and Shepard for Minny.
Go Flames.
