Wild Streak Snapper

Well, it's been a long time in-between posts for me. Blame the holidays and all the various requisite antics that go along with them...

However Im back to comment on the Flames come from behind victory over the Wild last night. However, before we get to that, let's catch-up a tad:

- Flames defeat Vancouver 6-5 in a shoot-out. Probably one of the most exciting hockey games this year. Not exactly a gem in terms of defensive performace, but a great one to win nonetheless. Should (but wont) quiet the constant accusations that Calgary is a "boring" team.

- Flames defeat Vancouver 2-1. Not quite as good as the pre-Christmas Day shoot-out. Huselius proves his worth with 2 points and the Flames win thanks to Vancouver constantly hitting posts.

- Flames fall to Nashville 4-3. Like so many other losses this year, the Flames went up 2-0 early and then sucked the-big-one for the rest of the game. Also...One of Iginla's worst games this year.

I think that about does it.

Last night's game was half a snore-fest and half a remarkable turn-around for several slump-mired Flames. Most notably, Donovan managed to break-out of his 30-something game scoring slump when he knotted the score at 2 near the end of the second. In addition, the much maligned Jason Wiemer finally did something useful and scored an insurance goal later in the 3rd. The Cherry-on-top was Richie Regehr going +2 and getting an assist in his first NHL appearance. Kudos!

The first half of last night's contest was nearly unwatchable. Calgary looked lathargic and the Wild were the Wild. The Flames seemed to come alive after falling behind 2-1 late in the second. Shean Donovan was the main spark behind the Flame's awakening; not only did he score the tying goal, he fired 5 shots on net, assisted on Wiemer's goal and was voted first star on the evening. Finally! Dono's starting to look something like the player that scored 18 goals (8 game-winners) last season.

On other hand we have Jarome Iginla. While watching his impassioned performance during the 6-5 win over Vancity, I was hopeful that he had snapped out of his December doldrums. How wrong I was. Iginla has been all but invisible since. He played a mere 17 minutes against the Predators and was a complete non-factor in Calgary's 4-3 loss on Wed. night. He played a similar game last night against the Wild - shots misfired or shot into the goalies chest. Clumsy play along the perimeter with an inability to significantly penetrate the offensive zone. A tendency to turn the puck over. 0 points...

Positives:

- Calgary wins and reclaims (for now) 1st place in the NW Division.

- Donovan sets the tone with this work ethic and speed. Breaks out of his slump with an impressive performance.

- Reinprecht with another 2 points, including the game winner. Starting to come alive.

- Wiemer plays one his best games of the year and finally scores.

- Amonte ends his own mini-slump of 5 games with a PP goal.

- 2nd half of the game. Calgary comes alive to salt away the victory.

Negatives:

- First half of the game. Ugly and boring.

- Iginla. Mediocre play, at best. Completely ineffectual right now.

- Phaneuf. Great play to set-up the PP goal, but was on for both Wild goals and at least 2 other Wild break-aways (and was the culprit behind Rolston's penalty-shot). Minnesota's penchant for the stretch-pass and sneaking players behind the Flames d-men exploited Phaneuf's inexperience.


The Flames next meet Edmonton on New Years Eve. The two teams are battling for 1st in the division (and the season series is notted at 2 wins apeice), setting the stage for an all-out war. Will this be the catalyst for Iginla's awakening? And how many times am I going to have ask that question?

On a More Personal Note...

...I recently became a contributing writer to www.fantasyhockey.com. It looks like I'll be writing one or two articles per month for the site. My first piece will be published sometime this coming Sunday. It's just a basic overview of the state of hockey since the end of the lock-out. In the future, I plan to write more "fantasy" focused articles, but the first piece I just mentioned is on more of a "general" hockey note. I titled the article "Hockey as Heathy as Ever" (though Im unaware if the editor has altered it)...so check it out if you have the chance (or are incredibly bored).

Tale of Two...Struggling Teams

Struggling may be a bit of an exaggeration considering that the Flames and Canucks have only lost 2 in a row and 3 in a row, respectively. However, the Flames losses were both uncharacteristic defeats; both games they had the lead and both games they gave up 5 goals. That type of behavior hasn't happened since late October (Flames wise) I do believe. On the other hand, the Canuckleheads have dropped 3 straight home games after being one of the best teams at home earlier in the season. Vancouver's most recent loss was a surreal 80's style shoot-out that resulted in a 7-6 decision for Edmonton. There is some budding anxiety in Vancity (thanks to their recent string of defensive futulity) that Auld may not be capable of carrying the load of a #1 goalie just yet. Should the Canucks lose either of the next two games against Calgary, expect the trade rumors to heat up furiously in January. Of course, since Colorado and Edmonton are also on the look-out for #1 tenders, the search may be a long and pricey one for our rivals to the West.

So, anyone want to hazard a prediction for the game tonight? I can't say that Im brave enough to try. With both teams playing so poorly recently, it figures to be a toss up. I earnestly HOPE Calgary can pull out a victory, but...

Bah! Bah I say!

I had the misfortune of attending the Flames 5-2 loss last night. It was, from start to finish, a rather listless affair. The second period in particular was snooze-worthy. Not to mention, of course, the Flames monumental collapse that resulted in the King's 5 unanswered goals (4 in the third). Last night's debacle followed a script similar to the loss to the 'Hawks that halted the Flames 8 game winning streak in mid-November - score some goals early thanks to multiple powerplays and then disappear for the remainder of the contest. Also: Poor decision making in the defensive zone (Ference and Warrener again). Oh! And: a very ordinary Miikka Kiprusoff.

Whatever happened to Calgary over their 1 week lay-off has to be rectified soon. Prior to the break, the Flames were a "3rd period", tight-checking group that ground the opposition down and pulled out ties and victories. In fact, prior to the last 2 losses, Calgary was 12-0-1 when leading going into the 3rd. After their week away from competition, Calgary seem to have inverted their winning formula into: score some goals early and fade over the stretch. The Flames won their first game back against Boston with this dubious new strategem, but largely thanks to the efforts of Kipper. In the recent losses to Edmonton and LA, Calgary's defense has grown more lackluster and Kipper has been very ordinary. Last night, for instance, LA had 5 goals on 18 shots (1 into an empty-net). In the 3rd, Calgary scored 0 goals on 11 shots, and LA scored 4 on 6. Ouch. While this sounds bad, consider that one goal was a deflection off of a Calgary player, one was a flat-out break-away, another was an LA deflection and the last an empty-netter. In fact, scoring chances were rather even over the course of the game - LA's chances were simply opportunisitcally buried (and very ill-timed). Perhaps 2 of the Kings goals were truly stoppable - their 1st, a shot from the high slot, and their 3rd, a long range deflection that beat Kipper because he over-comitted to the original shot. That said, the Flames didn't play a very inspired hockey game overall. The fact that the second period was such a bore is an indictment of their effort - mainly since the Flames should have used it to bury a reeling Kings squad. Instead, Calgary squandered 4 PP opportunities, mustered all of 7 shots, and allowed their opponents back in the game. In the third, the wheels fell off completely. 2 goals 30 seconds apart and the Flames were out of it. In fact, truth be told, they seemed pretty much out of it at the conclusion of the first period...

Blast it all! The last 2 losses have been galling more thanks to their character than to their existence. Both were wins to be had and both were lost due to the failure of the Flames supposed strengths (goaltending, defense). One can only hope that we straighten up and fly right before the upcoming games against the Canucks...

Positives:

- Dion Phanuef. Great plays to set-up both Calgary goals.

- Err...McCarty had a nice hit in the first period.

- Iginla pots a PP goal.

Negatives:

- Relinquish 2 goal lead to lose 5-2.

- Give up 5 unanswered goals.

- The second period. The Flames looked like they were simply going through the motions. Couldn't execute even the most elementary plays. no real puck pursuit, passion or finish.

- Fall into 3rd place in the NW division.

- Kipper. Not terribly sharp when the game was on the line.

- Ference and Warrener. Hmmm, where to start? Were -3 and -2 respectively, for a combined -9 over the last 2 games. The Kings scored the game tying PP goal on a Warrener penalty as well. Also, Demitra's break-away occured thanks to a Warrener/Ference gaffe. Simply horrid.

- Iginla. Was pretty much invisble after scoing his PP goal. Ended up a -3 on the night.

- Wiemer. Just useless.

- Simon. Didn't really do much besides get a bone-headed "unsportsmanlike" penalty.

That's all I can think of right now. There's probably more.

Oh, and here's a parting question - how much do the Flames miss Stephane Yelle?

Canada's Olympic Roster

As reported by TSN...here.

And yes, as expected, Jovo made it. Thumbs down.

And yes, the controversial Todd Bertuzzi made it. More thumbs down.

I hope they can change my mind during the torunament.

I don't have much of an issue with any of the other picks besides, perhaps, Draper. While he's proven to be a decent checker and PK specialist during his career, he is having a rather poor season so far. One of the alternates (Spezza, Staal) or even one of his own teammates (Shanahan) would have been a better choice in my humble opinion. Oh well...

Aside from that...GO GET 'EM BOYS.

This 'n That

Nothing too major to cover today. In fact, I'm posting mainly to comment on the fact that Jason Spezza managed to embarass the Canadiens again last night (remember his hilight reel goal earlier in the season?). In fact, he managed to embarass the same Canadiens defender - Sheldon Souray. Unlike the earlier goal, which was simply slick stickhandling brilliance, last night's tally was more of the sneaky, duplicitous type. If you watch a replay, Souray's skating with the puck towards the corner behind his own net. Suddenly, and seemingly inexplicably, Souray drops the puck behind his back to a waiting Spezza, who walks out (almost casually) to deposit the puck behind a startled Garon. Of course, anyone who's played hockey knows that players talk to each other on the ice...meaning Souray probably heard a quick "back!" or "reverse!" from Spezza (posing as a teammate). Usually it's rookies who fall for those kind of ploys, but last night it was poor, poor Souray. Again.

Other issues of note:

- I should probably mention that Montreal ended up getting the last laugh last night, coming from 3 goals behind to defeat Ottawa in a SO, 4-3.

- Curtis Joesph got hammered by the Blues (of all teams) last night to the tune of 5 goals on 13 shots. Ouch. Even without Tkachuk, the Blues managed to go 3for4 on the PP, while Phoenix was a lousy 2for10. Not only did the 'Yotes lose to the lowly Blues, despite enjoying 6 more PP opportunities, but they lost to the lowly Blues backed by a 3rd string goalie, Jason Bacashihua. Double ouch.

- Eric Staal lead the Hurricanes past the Lightning last night with his league leading 24th goal. It's almost a crime if this guy doesn't make the Canadian Olympic team roster.

- Yup, today's the day they name Team Canada. And I just know Jovo's gonna be on there. And I just can't fathom why that is. Don't agree? Take a look at his stats compared to his teammates...here. He's a team worst -6, despite his 22 points (Salo has the same number of points, but is +10). Canada isn't going to need extra scoring punch from the blueline...they're going to need rock solid defense. If we're choosing d-men based on point production, Bryan McCabe is more deserving of a roster spot than Jovo, anyways. But, it looks like his presence at prior international tournaments is going to get Jovo into this one too...boooo is all I have to say. Boo.

- The New Jersey Devils, in a state of flux since the resignation of head coach Larry Robinson and the sudden retirement of Malakhov, have recently signed 40 year old d-man Tommy Albelin! I know...I didn't see that one coming either. And, despite all this drama, they still managed to beat the Rangers last night 3-1!

- That's about it for now aside from my semi-habitual game-day threat to the Flames, which is: WIN FLAMES...OR I WILL SICK FERNANDO PISANI ON YOU.

Edit -

Below I claimed the Flames blew two 2 goals leads during last nights contest, which isn't true. They blew two 1 goal leads and one 2 goal lead.

So...Im an idiot. Please rain the insults down upon me.

Heartbreaker

Last night's loss to the Oilers sure was a stomach-turner. I can't remember the last time this Sutter-coached version of the Flames relinquished two 2 goal leads in a game...especially with Kipper in net. Of course, it would have to be on the day I post an entry commending Miikka on his outstanding play that he turns in a decidedly ordinary performance. Conversely, Iggy did the same, thereby making my last post look at least half right...

Kudos and plentiful congratulations should be heaped upon the Oil stains for their gritty, never quit performance last night. Jeers and contempt-filled boos should be heaped upon the Flames for the lax defensive zone game - filled with much standing still and puck watching. I believe the last contest the Flames did their best "stunned observers" impression was the loss against Chicago. In similar fashion to last night's set-back, Calgary staked out an early lead and then spent the rest of the contest sleep-walking around their own zone. Im hoping, like the Chicago game, Calgary can get it back on track again right away...

Positives:

- Scored 4 goals. Rare... so even in a loss, it's a notable achievement.

- Huselius with another 2 points, including his first goal as a Flame.

- Lombardi. Looked confident and dangerous in the offensive zone. The Amonte-Lombardi-Kobasew line seemed to be the only combination that could do anything of note in the 3rd period.

Negatives:

- Lose to the Oilers. Even though we had multiple 2 goal leads in the game. Now tied for 2nd in the NW division with Edmonton and fall 2 back of Vancouver.

- Defensive play - team. The Flames look baffled and lost in their own end last night. They backed into their goalie too quickly and they lost their defensive assignments too easily. I was heard yelling "STOP STANDING AROUND!" at least a dozen times last night.

- Defensive play - Ference/Warrener. Ference has had a strong few weeks of play, so I've been kind to him. But, let's be candid, he was brutal last night. As was his partner, the usually dependable Rhett Warrener. The tandem was on the ice for 3 of the Oilers 5 goals, including the game winner. I was distraught to see them out there with the game tied and a minute left...and it turns out I was right to be.

- Kiprusoff. Wasn't bad, but certainly wasn't good by his standards. Probably 2 of the Oilers goal were pretty stoppable pucks. Igor Ulanov had his first 2 goal game of his career...that about says it all I'd say.

- Jarome Iginla. Got a nice assist on the Langkow goal, but was invisible when the game was on the line in the third. Was caught puck-watching on the game winning goal. Still not a dominating force.

Let me end there by saying: I hope this is the last time Calgary chases a starting goalie from the opposition's net and LOSES. Next up - Conroy's return!

Of Kipper and Jarome

Thanks to the lack of television coverage (not including some kinda elusive satellite package), I was relegated to fuzzy online hilights and next-day-paper-coverage for my Flames/Bruins game info. All I really know, therefore, is that Calgary scored 3 goals almost immediately and then spent the rest of the game fending off the Boston counter-attack. That's what it sounds like, at least. And by "Calgary fending off" I mean "Kipper fending off". Which brings me to the most significant accomplishment of the evening; Miikka's league-leading 5th shut-out. Keep in mind that Hasek is the only other tender to have more than 2. With the win Saturday night, Kiprusoff is now tied for 3rd overall in term of victories, and is second in the league with a 2.06 GAA (Hasek's first at 1.99). If the Flames had actually shown up for the season-opening road-trip, Kipper would no doubt be the league-leader in most, if not all, of the significant goaltender statisitcal categories. Should his outstanding play continue for the remainder of the year, I would expect some Vezina and Hart nominations for the Kipper come season's end.

On another, more critical note, Calgary's EXPECTED hart candidate, Jarome Iginla, has a total of 3 points in the last 8 games...all of which came in the New Jersey/Calgary contest. Creatures named Huselius and Langkow have more points than Iggy over that span. Hell, a creature named Stoll on the Oilers has more points on the season than the Flames $7 million dollar man. Despite all of his leadership and toughness and grit and work, I submit that this is unexceptable. Iginla is a two-time Rocket Richard winner and, at 28, is entering the prime of his career. The erasure of the red-line and increased crack-down on obstruction has emancipated players like Jagr, Forsberg and Alfredsson, but seems to have had little effect on Jarome. Iginla's been the deciding factor in a few victories this year (3-2 over Minny and 4-1 over Jersey come to mind), but he's been conspicuously absent from the scoresheet far more frequently. Is it fair to critisize Iginla when he's leading a team that's 10 games above .500 in points? Maybe not. However, consider that he is currently 57th in the league in terms of overall scoring and around 40th in terms of goal production. Petr Prucha and Nathan Horton have more goals than Iggy. Have you been wondering why the Flames are the second worst goal scoring team in the NHL? Look no further. Being one of the top 5 paid athletes in the league, Jarome's performance so far this season has been, overall, subpar. Of course, the first person to admit this would be Iginla himself, no doubt...

The good news for Flames fans is: the team is winning anyways. The other (potential) good news is Jarome's penchant for 2nd half scoring. Which begs the question how good would (will?) Calgary be if Jarome was scoring? Perhaps we'll find out...

Goalies-A-Goings-On

The NHL is currently rife with goaltender-based intrigue. Recently, the Vancouver Canucks learned that their #1 puck-stopper, Dan Cloutier, will be shelved due to a torn MCL for the rest of the regular season. In addition, the falling star of Patrick Lalime contiuned to tumble when the much maligned St. Louis Blues put him on waivers and assigned him to their farm club. Atlanta continues to struggle thanks to multiple goalie injuries, and the Oilers seem to have a crease crowded by pad and masks now that Conklin has returned. Colorado has also suffered through goalie-based misery this season. The Avs had to turn to third-stringer Vitaly Kolesnik recently in the face of inconsistent play by both Aebischer and Budaj. Even the Red Wings are having issues without the services of Manny Legace (see last nights 7-6 loss to Atlanta for proof). Not to mention the recent demotion of Thibault in Pittsburgh. Oh...and is Nashville in trouble without Vokoun and Mason (the latter of which was injured during warm-ups last night)? You bet. Lost 7-3 against Florida!

What does this all mean? Probably a sellers-market when it comes to goalie-flesh...consider that the following teams are most likely "buyers":

- Colorado
- Vancouver
- Atlanta
- Edmonton
- Pittsburgh

sellers?...

- Buffalo...um...
- Minnesota...maybe...
- Florida (Keenan factor)

That's about all I can think of. There's also some free radicals to add to the mix:

- Lalime
- Thibault

Both are ex-number one 'tender's that are high-risk/high reward type gambles if a team is willing ( or desperate enough) to take the plunge. Neither one was excpetional (or even good) for the teams they started the year with. The question is, therefore, are they washed up? Or victim's of circumstance? Considering the lax defense in both St. Louis and Pittsburgh, it's hard to say for certain.

What does this all mean? Chaos in the crease, basically. How it all plays out over the next few months should be very interesting...

(PS- On a purely selfish note, it fills me with a tad bit of glee to see 3 of Calgary's NW Division adversaries in the above "buyers" list...)

Welcome to the NW Division

I have to admit I was pretty stunned when Langkow potted the winner in overtime against the Senators on Saturday night. I was pretty satisfied that the Flames were able to hold the Senators to such a low scoring game into the third period...the tie and then the win were definately "cherry on top" kind of additions. More impressively than simply winning the game, Calgary also established some "firsts":

- First loss for back-up goalie Ray Emery.

- First back-to-back losses for the Senators this season.

- Lowest shot total by Ottawa this season (21).

The Flames probably took advantage of a tired Senators squad, a consequence of their SO loss against the Canucks the night before. It is significant, however, that Calgary was able to TAKE ADVANTAGE. In addition, both teams were missing some key bodies from the line-up: Redden and Havlat for Ottawa and Hamrlik and Lombardi for Calgary. Top defensmen and 2nd liners for both teams (granted, Havlat would be a first liner on most other teams).

I have to say that Marchment was surprisingly good in his role as 6th d-man last Saturday. He was steady and dependable. In fact, considering their thin blueline, Im rather surprised that Toronto let "Mush" go at the start of the season. Oh well. Our gain and all that.

Anyways, the P&N lists:

Positives:

- Defeat the mighty Ottawa Senators. See above for other notables regarding this feat.

- Decent PK. High powered senators manage only 1 PP goal on 8 attempts.

- Shean Donovan. That's right, he's in the "positives" section. Incredible pass to set-up the tying goal. Probably his best game of the year.

- Damond Langkow. The hottest flame right now. Only 5 points behind Jarome Iginla for team lead. Scored his 4th GWG.

- Bryan Marchment. Stepped into the line-up without missing a beat.

- Tony Amonte. Scores 400th career goal to tie the game.

- Outshoot the Senators 11-2 in the 3rd period.

Negatives:

- 8 Penalties taken. Continue to take too many penalties on a nightly basis.

- Lacklustre 2nd period. Couldn't get much of anything going in the 2nd frame. Had me thinking we were out of it.

- PP fails again. 0-5.

That's about it, I think. I recorded the game and am going to watch it again tonight. On saturday I watched the contest at a downtown pub with some friends...my enjoyment of the game was therefore sullied by drunken and obnoxious pub denizens and endless juke-box tunes. Not to mention uncomfortable and inconvenient seating. Oh well. It was almost worth sharing the game winning cheer with the gathered crowd when Langkow scored in overtime. Almost.

Next up...a much needed week off and then a date with the Bruins.

Go Flames Go!!!!

Courtesy of the CalgarySun.com


Now this is fan support!

I've been curiously lacking in motivation to post anything the last few days. However, I will add a quick something about the Flames victory over the Devils on Wednesday night...

It was a rather odd game. Reminded me of so many Turek-backed Flames losses from a few years ago, except it was the Devils suffering at the hands of bad bounces and questionable goaltending. Besides winning and claiming 7 of a possible 10 points from the roadtrip, the primary source of good news from the NJ win was, of course, Jarome finding the scoresheet again. His inability to finish over the 9 game drought was starting to worry. Granted, his second goal was a lucky bounce and his first hardly a thing of beauty - but if that's what it takes to get Iggy back on track...then so be it. The primary source of bad news from last game was, of course, the injury sustained by Roman Hamrlik. Some reports out of www.tsn.ca today suggest that he has a sprained MCL and will be out of action for a couple fo weeks. Luckily, the Flames will enjoy a week of rest after their weekend match against the Senators, meaning Hamrlik won't miss that many games. As for the Senators game, Lombardi is a possible line-up insertion, as well as Marchment who will be added to fill Roman's roster spot...and now a little o' the P&N...

Positives:

- 4 goals for in one game!

- 3 PP goals, including Phaneuf's game winner. Yay!

- Great PK again, allowing only 1 goal on 10 opportunities.

- Jarome Iginla with a 3 point night. Hopefully this jars him back into form.

- Damond Langkow with another 2 point night. Now sits 2nd on the team in scoring and has amassed 6 points in the last 4 games.

- Andrew Ference steps up and plays top minutes after Hamrlik gets injured. Starting to play like I thought he could.

- Philipe Sauve. Looked very comfortable stopping 31 shots. Calgary seems to have a decent 1-2 punch in goal.

Negatives:

- Jason Wiemer. Took 4 penalties all by himself. Will not be in the line-up against Ottawa on Saturday. Or perhaps ever again.

- Another 10 penalties against. Way, way too many.

- Chris Simon. Fell down a lot and took a really stupid penalty early in the game. Bah.

- Roman Hamrlik injured. Calgary loses one of it's top 3 d-men for a few weeks.

- Reinprecht seemed incredibly ineffective on this night.

- Jordan Leopold. Doesn't seem to know his role on the team anymore. Looks rather uncomfortable.

- Shean Donovan doesn't score. Again.

That's about it. Next up is the much anticipated game against the Senators!

Another game...another round of "make the opposing goalie look like a star."

It's almost become a foregone conclusion that the Flames will lose to a team that is lacking their top players due to injury. Every pre-game where it's mentioned that a Calgary opponent has lost a top forward, defensman or goalie (in the case of last night, all three), the Flames fail to take advantage. No Federov or Getzlaff vs. the Ducks? Loss. No Pronger or #1 (0r #2) goalie against Edmonton? Loss. No Gaborik or Koivu against the Wild? Loss. Sharks lacking Nabokov? Loss. And now add Philly without Forsberg, Esche, Primeau and Pitkanen. Perhaps the most damning aspect of last night's loss was the fact that Calgary was out-played by a debilitated squad to the tune of being outshot 37-28. Not to mention the fact that the Flames failed to score a single goal for the second time on this road trip. AArrghhh...

Positives:

- Kiprusoff.

- Kiprusoff.

- Kiprusoff.

- Some good physical play from Hamrlik and Phaneuf.

Negatives:

- Another game, another bunch of missed opportunities. 0-6 on the PP (vs. worst PK in the league) and 0 goals for on 28 shots.

- Calgary's inability to win puck battles and forecheck effectiviely (especially on the PP) last night was glaring and attrocious.

- Jarome Iginla. 9 games, 3 assists. Squandered another break-away in the dying minutes last night. Also, fanned on a glorious scoring chance in overtime. His was the lamest shot for the Flames during the shot-out as well. Has gone from struggling to downright snake-bitten.

- The Flames lose to a Flyers squad almost cut in half. One can only imagine what the outcome might have been given the presence of Forsberg, Pitkanen, Primeau and Esche.

Tonight is the conclusion of the roadtrip as Calgary heads into New Jersey. The Devils are sporting a newly re-juvenated offense and, of course, Martin Brodeur. They recently embarrassed Tampa Bay 8-2. The Flames will be playing Sauve after Kipper's exhaustive performance last night, and will be looking to score some goals at least - if not win the game.

Canadian Olympic Team Predictions

Everyone is eagerly awaiting the Canadian Olympic roster that will be announced on the 21st. So, it would make sense for some people to predict who will be on the team. Here are my choices:

Goaltenders:
Martin Brodeur (NJD)
Roberto Luongo (FLA)
Curtis Joseph (PHO)

Defencemen:
Chris Pronger (EDM)
Rob Blake (COL)
Scott Niedermayer (ANA)
Adam Foote (CLS)
Ed Jovanovski (VAN)
Wade Redden (OTT)
Robyn Regehr (CGY)

Forwards:
Jason Spezza (OTT)
Dany Heatley (OTT)
Joe Thornton (SJS)
Simon Gagne (PHI)
Joe Sakic (COL)
Jarome Iginla (CGY)
Vincent Lecavalier (TBL)
Sidney Crosby (PIT)
Mario Lemieux (PIT)
Brad Richards (TBL)
Shane Doan (PHO)
Ryan Smyth (EDM)
Eric Staal (CAR)

Wow, that took some serious thinking. It's true when they say we can probably put out two competitive teams. We are that stacked!

Penn. State Update

Watched the Flames narrowly defeat the Penguins on Saturday night. Was the Nilson goal actually a goal? Not sure. Did the Penguins almost tie it up at the end of regulation? You bet. Should the game have been even close by that time?...NO WAY. Let's pretend the Nilson goal wasn't a goal and the game ended up 2-2 (plus overtime/shootout, etc.). In this scenario, every single Calgary fan would no doubt be looking back with remorse and sadness at the half dozen high quality scoring chances wasted by the Flames over the course of contest. Let's make a list:

- Due to an agressive forecheck, Calgary ends up with a 2on0 deep in the Penguins zone. The puck is fed in front to Simon who promptly shoots it into MAF's pads.

- Newcomer and saviour on the night Huselius feeds Iginla in the deep slot for a glorious opportunity. Again, the puck is directed harmlessly into the Penguins goalie.

- Iginla emerges from the penalty box to find the puck, Shean Donovan and open ice between him and the Penguins zone. They break in, and Jarome decides to pass to Donovan, who has all of one goal this year. The puck is awkwardly bashed wide of the net.

- Iginla breaks in on a partial break-away, but his back-hand is turned aside.

- Kobasew uses his speed to create a partial break-away. His backhand goes off the toe of MAF's skate and wide.

- Iginla breaks in on a completely open break-away, dekes MAF outright...and then shoots the puck wide of the open net.

- Iginla is the beneficiary of a brutal Lemieux giveaway in the Penguins zone. He blasts the puck at the net. It finds its way through MAF, but bounces harmlessly around in the crease before being cleared away.

Yup, that's right. Calgary had no less than 1 open breakaway, 2 partial break-aways and two 2on0's. And scored on exactly NONE of them...

So, I ask you...is this a good thing or a bad thing? Should I be happy that the Flames were able to generate so many scoring opportunities? Or worried that they couldn't finish them? Is it good that they won despite lack of finish, or just fortunate? I guess we'll see...

Positives and Negatives time...

Positives:

- Great first contest for Huselius. 3 Assists and seemed to generate some chemistry with Langkow. Speaking of which...

- Langkow with 2 goals, including the game winner. Now has 4 points in 2 games and is second on the team in points with 19.

- Robyn Regehr. 2 assists and hard-nosed defensive-play set the tone.

- Jarome Iginla. Both a positive and a negative. Created more chances to score in this game than he had in the previous five combined.

- Penalty Killing. Managed to hold the Penguins PP to 1-10.

Negatives:

- Lack of finish. See above. The game should have been a romp in favor of Calgary but ended up being a nail-biter.

- Jarome Iginla. Can't score on 3 break-aways and 2 other glorious opportunities. Should have had a 4 goal night (at least). Stuck in neutral with 3 points in 8 games.

- Jordan Leopold continues to struggle offense-wise. Huselius and Leopold have the same offensive stats with the Flames - 3 assists. Difference is, the former has only played one game for Calgary.

- Chris Simon muffs a 2on0. Only 6 points all year.

- Shean Donovan. Can't put the puck in the ocean right now.

- Powerplay. Still relatively toothless. 1-7 against the Penguins, the 28th ranked PK in the league.

The Flames meet the Flyers tonight in Philadelphia. This will NOT be the high powered Philadelphia team that has generated 101 goals in 25 games so far. Tonight, the Flames meet a Flyers team lacking their top center (Forsberg), top defenseman (Pitkanen) and number one goalie (Esche). While this all sounds like good news, keep in mind this year's Flames team has been unable to take advantage of opposition teams lacking their best players. See earlier losses to Minnesota, Anaheim and San Jose for proof. That said, perhaps tonight will be the night that the Flames reverse this lamentable tendency and take advantage of a debilitated Flyers club to come away with a victory.

Calgary Huselius

The Flames apparently pulled off a somewhat surprising trade today sending Montador (and prospect) to Florida for Kristian Huselius.

story---->here.

Im hoping Sutter can motivate the talented (but defensively-challenged) Swede to play up to his potential. If not, we may just end up with another underachieving, snake-bitten forward.

This recent acquisition sure does confuse the line combinations. Especially with the imminent return of Lombardi. We now have Iginla, Kobasew, Reinprecht, Langkow, Amonte, Lombardi and Huselius as pontential 1st/2nd liners (not to mention Simon and McCarty, who have both drawn some top-2-line-time this season). In addition, Calgary has Donovan, Yelle, Nilson, Ritchie, Macdonald, Simon, McCarty and Wiemer to fill out the final 2 lines. That's 15 forwards for 12 positions (14 until Lombo retruns). I guess there'll be 3 scratches every night. Until we can fool someone into taking Wiemer off our hands, that is.

As for the top 2 lines, does anyone want to hazard a guess as to what they'll be? Sutter mixes and matches so much each game, Im not even certain what they are right now, frankly...

Other NHL news:

- Of course, the Boston and San Jose trade. The early result is an unlikely 3-0 Boston victory over the Sens last night, with Sturm acquiring 2 points (goal and assist). Don't think anyone predicted that Heatley would have his point streak snapped by Boston.

- How's this for appropriate? The Blues scorers in their win over the BJ's last night included: Weight, Wideman and Tkachuck!

- Iginla's not the only big name player not scoring...apparently Lemieux is mired in the worst slump of his career with no goals in 7 games. Mario might just be getting too old for this game...Corsby's been held pointless over the last 3 games as well. Hopefully the Flames can help extend all of these streaks (besides Iginla's) with a win over the flightless birds on Saturday night.

Comeback Win and More

Calgary decided to replay their last win over Detroit last night by falling behind early and then dominating the rest of the game. the Flames finally got some bounces around the net, enabling them to score 3(!) whole goals over the course of the evening. Of course, if Shean Donovan didn't have a Buick sized monkey on his back, his late third period penalty-shot could have made it 4-2. Oh well. A win is a win. Some other interesting news is afoot, so let's get to the Positives and Negatives:

Positives:

- 2 points for Kobasew and a first star selection. Sounded like he lead the team last night.

- 2 point game for Langkow. I know, I can't believe it either.

- Tony Amonte with game-clinching break-away goal. Clutch.

- Come from behind victory against one of the best teams in the league. Always good news.

- Dominating 2nd period to the tune of outshooting Detroit 18-5. Shots were 36- 21 overall.

- Ference has 2nd good performance in a row. +2 and 3 shots on net. Weird.

- Calgary actual beats a 3rd string goaltender. Yay!

Negatives:

- 2 PP goals against in the first period. Calgary sure loves to give the Red Wings the early advantage.

- Jarome Iginla. Stretched scoring slump to seven games with a 1 shot performance. Not terribly impressive.

- Jordan Leopold. Not sure if he was hurt or just benched. Played all of 11 minutes in the game total. Still only 3 points on the season.

- Shean Donovan. About as offensively effective as Peca. Couldn't score on his own net right now.

- Chris Simon. Can't seem to get anything going.


Next up - Pittsburgh!

Big Joe Thornton a Shark!

Wow.

http://tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=145158&hubname=nhl

The biggest trade of the season sees Joe Thornton (age 26) going to the Sharks for Marco Sturm (27), Brad Stuart (26) and Wayne Primeau (29).

Not too shocking that these two clubs would be dealing since they had terrible records over the course of the month. But what was surprising was Boston trading away their franchise player. They do get a lot of depth with a decent scorer in Sturm, a top 4 (perhaps top 2) d-man in Stuart, and a bottom six grinder in Primeau. The question is, will this get them out of their current doldrums?

Better yet, will Joe Thornton turn the Sharks around? Will Scott change his last name? Only time will tell. It will be weird seeing Big Joe wearing a teal uniform. It will also be weird seeing him more often out here in the Wild Wild West.

0fer31

Im not terribly happy about the Flames making me look like a prophet with their recent string of offensive futility. With the shut-out loss to the Predators last night the Flames have only scored 1 goal in the last two games. And, despite having a very healthy 10-2-1 record over the month of November, Calgary only managed to score 3+ goals 3 times this month (and this season) in wins over Vancouver (4-3), Phoenix (4-3) and Colorado (5-3). As it stands currently, the Flames are 28th in the league in goals for, ahead of only Columbus and Florida. Their current goal total, 62, extrapolated over the course of an entire season equates to 195 goals overall. Keep in mind that the league leading Ottawa Senators have already scored 105 goals in 22 games so far this year. They are currently on track for a 380 goal total. And while it's technically true that "it doesn't matter how much you win by" and "the East and West conferences play a different game", it's going to be increasingly difficult to be successful if we remain near the bottom of the league in terms of scoring. The 2 most recent losses are an eloquent example of this fact. The games against both Edmonton and Nashville were very winnable contests...for any team that can score more than 2.38 goals/game (on average).

I've already posted something bemoaning the lack of production from both primary and secondary sources on the Flames, so I should probably temper this rant with some cautious optimism. Which is - I dont think this will go on all season long. The Flames, while not especially blessed with offensive talent, have a decent enough group of players to combat this apparent impotence. There's little chance that Jarome Iginla will remain as relatively ineffectual as he's been (offensive stats wise) thus far for the season's entirety. Lombardi will return, Kobasew will score, Leopold will get some powerplay goals and Langkow will actually start to hit the net. I think. Which is the operative phrase here. There is always the "acquire a skilled center" option, but I imagine that will be an early March, trade deadline kind of deal - mainly due to budget/cap restraints. So the hope for some sort of offensive supplement being injected into the lineup before then is probably misplaced. I guess we can only hope for the Flames combined talent to get it together and start burying their chances more regularly. This habit of making opposing goalies look like superstars is starting to wear thin...

On a seperate topic, I should probably afford the much maligned Andrew Ference some kudos for his performance last night. He lead the team in hits with 5 and had 3 shots on goal. As long as Andrew continues to have those kinds of nights, without multiple (-) signs nestled beside his name, I'll be happy.

I bet it's not Snowing in Nashville

The one benefit to this roadtrip for the Flames is escaping the cascading white stuff here in Calgary. I always dread having to break my car's window scraper out if it's summer hybernation (I had to do that recently), which is something that will be mercifully delayed for the Flames players now that they are down in sunny NASCAR country.

Of course, that may be the only positive Calgary reaps from this roadtrip. Travelling across nearly the entire United States and facing some of NHL's best teams over the next week or so will no doubt prove a difficult task. Nashville. Detroit. Philadelphia and New Jersey and Pittsburgh. And then return to the cold embrace of Southern Alberta only to be met with the current league Juggernaut Ottawa Senators. Shudder.

But...on to the task at hand. "One game at a time" and all that.

Tonight the Flames face the Predators. 2nd in the Central Division behind Detroit, Nashville has as many points as Calgary (31), but has played 4 fewer games. The streaky Predators began the season 8 and 0, only to drop their next five. Like Detroit, some of their success can be attriubted to their weak divisional rivals - having 3 of the NHL's worst in your division can only serve to boost your point totals.

Not to say that this is a bad team Calgary will be facing. Backed by the skillful and Iginla-hating Vokoun, Nashville has a decent defense corps headed by Timonen and Zidlicky as well as fast, agile forwards lead by Paul Kariya and Steve Sullivan. After 21 games, Nashville's leaders include Sullivan (9 goals), Timonen/Kariya (12 assists) and Scott Hartnell (+6). Like Calgary, Nashville doesn't have a lot of players challenging the leagues scoring leaderboards (only Kariya has 20+ points). Also similar to the Flames, the Predators have 2 defensemen in their top five point-getters (Timonen - 16 points, Zidlicky - 14 points). What is perhaps disconcerting for the Predators is Kariya's shoddy plus/minus rating (-8), which indicates a penchant for lax defensive-zone coverage (and/or high risk plays). Conversely, the Flames top point-getter, Jarome Iginla, has a +8 rating as well as his 24 points. Only Marcus Nilson is better with a +10.

Both teams are coming off of weekend defeats. Calgary fell to Edmonton 2-1 in a shoot-out decision, while Nashville was defeated by the Stars 3-1 on Saturday night. The Flames will want to avoid losing 2 in a row for the first time in a month, while Nashville will want to continue to pursue Detroit for the Central Division lead. Of interest to Flames fans will be the play of Andrew Ference (if he's in the line-up at all). Over the course of the season Ference has shown a definate lack of decision making skills, which, as I've mentioned previously, is reflected by his -3 rating. Also, Jarome Iginla hasn't scored a goal in five games and is more than due.

The game tonight gives the Flames a chance to start this challenging roadtrip off on the right foot. A good effort against Nashville could bolster their confidence en route to some difficult games against some top notch teams in the days to come. Let's hope the 3 days rest has done them some good...

oh, and...WIN FLAMES - OR I WILL PUSH THIS LINESMAN AROUND.

The End is Nigh

It is entirely appropriate that the Flames lost a defensive-minded battle against the Oilers the same day I posted an entry decrying Calgary's lack of offense (resulting in an unimpressive goal differential stat so far this season). Thank you, Flames, for making me look like I know what Im talking about. The game on Friday was a decent one, albeit a disappointing 1 goal effort by the Flames. Disappointing not because the Oil played poorly - they were clearly the better team on this night - but because the Flames were playing an Edmonton team backed by a third string goaltender and lacking a certain 30 minute/night workhorse named "Pronger". Which means, from a Calgary fan's perspective, that your favortite team could only muster 1 measely goal against an adversary with an ECHL goalie playing behind defensmen named Igor Ulanov and Cory Cross. Ouch. The plus side is, I suppose, garnering a single point despite the shoot-out loss. The other, other negative would be, of course, the shoot-out loss. 4 Calgary shooters, 0 goals. In fact, only Kobasew (the 4th shooter) managed to get the puck on net at all. The first three (Iginla, Amonte, Phaneuf), hit the post or missed the goal entirely. Oh, and the winning shooter for Edmonton? Fernando Pisani! WHO? Exactly. That's a salt-in-the-wound kinda fact right there.

Enough of the foreplay. Positives and Negatives Time.

Positives:

- The play of Kiprusoff. He's the primary reason Calgary got a point out of this game.

- Marcus Nilson. Was moved to play with Iginla for the latter half of the night due to his excellent play. Scored the game tying goal when it seemed the Flames were dead in the water (if water means Oilers zone).

- Dion Phaneuf. Seemed to be the only Flame capable of carrying the puck over Edmonton's blueline.

Negatives:

- Flames lose to a team lacking it's best player. Seems to be a theme to this year's Calgary Flames (see games against Wild, Ducks, Sharks as well).

- Powerplay and Offense. No real scoring chances to speak of all night, aside from overtime period. The puck seemed to change into a tennis ball on Flames players sticks as soon as they entered Edmonton's end of the rink.

- Damond Langkow. Just loves to shoot the puck over the net. All the time.

- Jarome Iginla. While he was a force all night, he couldn't seem to convert any of his chances, particularly the one in overtime. I think he has all of 2 assists in the last 4 or 5 games as well.

- Andrew Ference. Of course. Another bonehead Ference give-away, another opposition goal. Not sure how many times Im gonna have to say something like this. Is a team (defensemen) worst -3.

- Shoot-out performance. Calgary's 3 top shooters can't even get the puck on net, let alone in it.

With all that said, Calgary is still looking at a very successful 10-1-1 November. However, the (homestand) party is over. The Flames start a brutal roadtrip tomorrow night against the Predators. After Nashville, Calgary has to contend with Detroit, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, New Jersey and then come home again to face Ottawa. In that order. That means 2 of the top teams in the West + two of the top teams in the East + the offensive abilties of Crosby and company + Martin Broduer. Awww crap...

This next series of games will certainly test Calgary's defense, character and goaltending. It may also fully expose the short-comings of the Flames pop-gun offense. The Flames won't be able to eek-out 1 goal ties against Philly or 3-2 come-from-behind-in-the-third-period victories over Ottawa. Calgary will need to have all cylinders firing akin to their recent wins over Phoenix and Vancouver in order to have any sort of success in the first half of December.

Some Pre-Game Thoughts

Both Alberta teams are playing so well this November it's a fools errand to try to predict an outcome to tonight's match. Flames have a more dependable blueline and goalie, but the Oil seem to score more goals. Calgary has lost only once in November, but Edmonton's lost only 4 times (I believe) despite having a brutal road schedule. So far, of course, the Flames have beaten the Oilers 3-0 and 3-1...which means either the Flames have the Oilers number and will probably win again, or the Oilers are due for a victory. This game just seems to defy confident predictions...

And now some Flames only stuff -

Even though Calgary is the hottest team in the NHL, winning 10 of their last 11, they still have a GF/GA differential of exactly 0. The Flames have allowed only 62 goals against in 24 games (average of 2.58 per game), but have also only scored 62 goals for (same average). In comparison, Ottawa scores about 4.63 goals per game (1st in the league), Vancouver scores 3.30 GPG (10th) and the Panthers score 2.18 GPG (29th). The Flame's 2.58 GPG put them about 26th in the league. Only struggling clubs like Anaheim, San Jose, Columbus and the aforemention Floridians are below us. Hell...even the BLUES score more often, on average, than Calgary. That's just bad, especially considering their main offensive weapon has either been too fat or too injured to play most of the year.

So, why is it Calgary can't score? Personally, I think it's mainly due to a lack of secondary scoring - consider that after Iginla's 23 points, the next best forward is Amonte at 16. And after Kobasew with 12 points, the 3rd and 4th liners have been conspicously absent from the score sheet. Consider:

- Yelle hasn't scored in over 20 games. Ditto for Donovan.
- Simon has 2 goals in 18 games so far this year. Both of them came in a single contest against LA.
- Jason Wiemer and Byron Ritchie have played 34 games combined and have all of 2 points between them.
- Darren McCarty has played 20 games and has 2 goals.
- Marcus Nilson has the most points out of all the "3rd/4th" line types with 8!
- In fact, the 8 players that make up the "grind" and "energy" lines for the Flames have as many goals as Jarome Iginla (11)! Combined! And Iginla isn't exactly tearing up the league goal wise right now...

Beyond secondary scoring, Calgary's primary scoring is hardly anything to fear. Only Iginla has more than 10 goals and 20 points on the team. Even with those totals, Iginla is well outside of the leagues top scorers right now. Also, Both Langkow and Reinprecht have only 4 goals apiece (in 24 games played). Jordan Leopold, much valued for his offensive potential, has all of 3 assists. I'd say the only skaters delivering on their offensive promise so far are Roman Hamrlik (4 goals, 14 points) and Dion Phaneuf (5 goals, 14 points). Kobasew perhaps warrants a mention here with his 9 goals, although he only has 3 assists to accompany them.

I know, I know...why complain during the good times?? Can't argue with 10 wins in 11 games, right? Well, frankly, Part of it is the worry-wort in me that thinks the Flames will have to ramp up their offense in order to be consistently succesful all season long. And part of it is the fan in me who likes to see Flames players showing up on the scoresheets and leaderboards where I think they belong. Whatever the truth of it is, my conclusion remains this: the Flames will have to discover more primary AND secondary scoring eventually if they want to be one of the top teams in the league. Darryl Sutter thinks that Goal Differential is a crucial stat in evaluating a team's success and abilities...and I agree with him.

San Jose Sucks

The Sucks lost their 7th in a row last night, mainly thanks to a Nabokov gaffe that granted Calgary their second goal of the night. Beyond that, and the fact that the Flames won their 10th game of the month, I can't speak too intelligently about the game (having been unable to watch it). So I'll simply stick to a: job well done! Followed closely by a: trample Edmonton tomorrow!

Other stuff:

- The Panthers lost their 12th in a row last night to New Jersey. I can't imagine this going on too much longer without there being some sort of shake-up. I personally expect a trade that sends Luongo out west somewhere within the month. While much speculation has surrounded a Luongo for Cloutier/Jovo trade, I'm more inclined to expect a Colorado/Florida swap. Colorado has more to offer (Hejduk, Tanguay or Blake + Aebischer) than Vancouver does, as far as Im concerned. I'd personally take Blake (or Hejduk or Tanguay)over Jovo and Aiebesher over Clouts. Of course, we're talking about Keenan here (who is both weird and a coveter of Jovo for some reason)...so anything is possible. Either way, an addition of Luongo to the North Western Division would spell harder times for the Flames...

- How stupid do the Blues look for giving up Demitra and keeping Tkachuk? I'll answer for you - Real, real stupid. Course, given Conroy's season so far, the Flames look kinda stupid themselves right now.

- It's nice to be tied for the division lead, but I fully expect the Cancuks to eat the Sharks for breakfast tonight (irony alert).

- Kovalchuk has been absolutely scary in the few games I've seen him play this year. Expect him to be near the top of the league in goals come season's end.

- Detroit snapped out of their losing funk and hammered Colorado last night. I don't think the Avs can be too happy about their goaltender situation OR the play of their top line (which should technically be near the top of the league). More fuel to the Florida/Colorado trade rumor fire.

- Does Belfour think he's a defensemen? If so, I'd say he's about as good as Belak. Which is terrible.

Flames Pay Per View

Well this past Monday I got to enjoy the first Flames Pay Per View broadcast and let me tell you it was worth every cent. At $10.95 per game via Shaw Digital Cable/Bell/Star Choice it might seem a little steep but what you get in return is well worth it, and its all in the comfort of your own home!

First of all there are no commercials. That's right, you don't have to watch that same Molson's commercial every 2 minutes or that stupid Coors one with the bouncing truck. You don't have to miss faceoffs or crucial plays because the network decided to try and cram a commercial in when the ref blows the whistle.

Secondly you get to hear pro-Flames commentary from Roger Millions and Jim Peplinski. You don't have to put up with the annoying Greg Millen who seems to talk down the Flames every chance he gets, or deal with the increasingly senile Harry Neale and his useless ramblings as the games go on. Instead you hear little anecdotes and musings from Jim about his days as a member of the Flames. Now if you are tech savvy you can get online and login into www.calgaryflames.com during a Flames pay per view broadcast and participate in two ways. The first way is to participate in polls that are posed by the show to see what viewer opinions lay. By doing so you automatically enter yourself for a prize drawing later in on the show! The second way is to email Jim your questions about the Flames of present and past or anything hockey related. And if he deems it worthy he'll read them on-air and answer them to the best of his abilities.

Lastly you get everything Flames related. Intermissions are filled with Flames related topics. For this first broadcast we were able to step into the Flames training room and see how players prepare for the game with strength training and also see how the goalies train mentally and physically for a game.

Overall it was a great experience and I will definitely support it for as long as it runs. I loved being able to enjoy something so exclusive to Flames fans in the comfort of my own home and all for the measly price of $10.95! That's like 2 meals at McDonald's, or 1 general ticket to a movie. But this $10.95 can be enjoyed by the whole family or a group of friends! I like to see anyone stretch $10.95 on any other group activity.

Count me in for the next Flames pay per view!

Here's info on Flames pay per view Flames Pay Per View

9 out of 10 Ain't Bad

I was unable to take in the Flames game last night, being too cheap to order the Flames PPV match vs. the Avalanche. I was therefore reliant upon radio snippets and TV hilights for my game information. Naturally, as a result, my analysis of the match is based largely upon the boxscore and 2nd hand anecdotes. I should probably keep this brief...

- Shean Donovan was scratched last night, due mainly in part to his 20 game pointless drought. That is a pretty glaring stat, even for a 3rd line PK type like Donovan. Many people (myself included) thought that Dono would benefit from the crackdown on obstruction, thanks to his speed. Unfortunately, that hasn't come about. I hope the scratching will help to wake him up a bit.

- According to the NHL.com's "super stats", Byron Ritchie played a little bit more than Chuck Kobasew last night...leading me to wonder if Darryl shuffled up the lines a little last night. In fact, after Iginla, Marcus Nilson had the most ice time of any Flame forward at just over 20 minutes...(?)

- Congratualtions to Sauve for beating his former team. Extra kudos for stopping 9(!) Sakic shots during the game (and 1 in the shoot-out). Looks like Calgary might have a legitimate back-up on their hands.

- I postulated that Ference would be scratched from the line-up thanks to his defensive blunders over the last 2 games. However, looks like Sutter decided to go with both Ference and Marchment and dress 7 d-men...which may have been done in order to limit Ference's ice time or as some sort of warning tactic. Whichever it was, it seemed to work. Ference ended the night with an even rating (relatively good for him).

- Speaking of +/-, Langkow was a team worst -2 last night. Booooo.

- I can't believe we won a shoot-out against a team who's 3 shooters included Sakic, Hejduk and Tanguay.

- Finally Leopold starts getting pucks to the net with authority! I hope this propels him to many more multiple point games in the near future.

- Talk about secondary scoring...goals from Macdonald and Ritchie. Now if we could get primary and secondary scoring in the same game, I'd be positively glowing.

Other Stuff -

- Damn Oilers beat the Sharks in what was a horribly painful game to watch. It's the first I've seen of San Jose all year and I must say they look BAD. Not sure what the issue is down there, but this Shark team is a shadow of the 03/04 version (so far).

- The Jiri Fischer situation last night sure was scary. Reports today are that he's doing fine, which is good. I wonder if he'll ever play hockey (competitively) again?

- Who would've thought the Red Wings would go through Alberta without a win and the Blackhawks would go through without a loss? Of course, Detroit also promptly went home and lost to the Blues after their disasterous Western swing. It should be interesting to see if the 'Hawks can keep it going tonight against the Canucks, as well.

- Looks like Burke is ready to make the Ducks over in his own image. After dumping Federov and picking up Marchant, Burke banished promising rookies Getzlaf and Perry to the minors. Word is he's also shopping the underachieving Sykora around the league... Expect more moves as Burke tries to shake things up in Duck Town.

- Is anyone televising the Penguins vs. Capitals game tonight? It would be interesting to see the Crosby/Ovechkin match-up.

Nice Day to Start Again...

Any Calgary fan worth his (or her) salt knows the streak was arrested Friday by 5-2 Flames loss to the Blackhawks. Not that that's going to stop me from complaining about it...

Yeah we won 8 in a row. And yeah that was great. Yeah it was bound to end sometime - grand fathers say "you can't win them all" for a reason. But it still sucks. The manner of the loss is perhaps the most grating aspect of the game...the Flames were granted 9 powerplays to the Blackhawks 1 (8 in the first period!) and were still outscored by 3 goals. And while their play was lacklustre overall, the Calgary defensemen in particular seemed out-of-sync and a step behind. Robyn Regehr has definately seen better nights in a Calgary uniform. Jordan Leopold appears hesistant and unsure of himself in the offensive zone - his demotion to 2nd PP unit and reduction in PP ice- time behind Phanuef may be shaking his confidence somewhat. Of course, one can't talk about poor defensive play without mentioning Andrew Ference. His was simply an abysmal performance last Friday evening. He was the primary cause of no less than two of Chicago's five tallies. Both of his gaffes were of the un-focused, brain-cramp variety. Let's not forget that Ference was also the culprit behind the Lang goal in the Detroit contest. That's 3 out of 6 goals that should/could have been avoided in 2 games. Combined with his dreadful performance at the start of the season, Ference has been easily one of the weakest links on the Calgary back-end so far. Frankly...I'm starting to automatically cringe whenever he gets the puck. I personally like Ference - he has an honest, hard-working way about him and a decent skill set - but his decision making is often comparable to that of a botched Lobotomy victim's. I'd actually be surprised if he's in the line-up against Colorado tonight...

And now some Positives and Negatives:

Positives:

- Chuck Kobasew strikes again. Was one of the best Flames.

- Dion Phaneuf. On a night where half the defense corps looked hung-over, Phaneuf was relatively solid defensively and a spark-plug in the offensive zone.

- Roman Hamrlik scores his first PP goal of the year. The more I see of him, the better I like him.

Negatives:

- 5 goals against after limiting the Detroit Red Wings to just 1. BOOOO.

- A general, team-wide inability to skate fast or work hard. Lost most puck-battles over the course of the game. Seemed either fatigued or umotivated or both.

- Calgary missed the opportunity to bury the Blackhawks early thanks to 8 PP chances in the first period. Despite the Chicago penalty parade, the score was only 2-1 Flames after the first.

- Jarome Iginla. Largely a non-factor most of the night.

- Kiprusoff. While left out on his own by his teammates, was hardly stellar in net. Kipper was pulled in favor of Sauve for the 3rd period.

- Andrew Ference. See above.

- Penalty Killing. Chicago got 1 PP all night and they scored on it. Keep in mind, the Blackhawks are hardly an offensive dynamo.

- No offense from the likes of Donovan, Nilson, Weimer, Yelle or Simon. Calgary's secondary/teritiary scoring has been nominal at best so far.

- Jordan Leopold's offensive struggles continue. Phaneuf had double Leo's ice-time on the PP during this game. I truly hope he gets it going soon.

The Flames are in Denver to take on Colorado tonight. Hopefully the team can re-group and get back to the high-tempo forecheck that was making them so succesful thus far in November...

and - WIN FLAMES. OR I WILL FLUSH YOUR QURAN DOWN THE TOILET!

...I will do it. I can do it 9 Times.

The Flames go for an unprecedented 9 in a row against the visiting Blackhawks tonight. Aiding Calgary in their search for victory will be Chicago's lack of scoring punch which has been exacerbated by their continuing injury woes. Perenially ill forward Eric Daze is, of course, out of the line-up indefinately. Ditto Tuomo Ruutu, the Blackhawk's brightest young forward. No one seems to know when either of these stars will be back on the ice (I personally don't know why Daze even bothers. He should definately hang up his skates. I can't currently recall a more injury prone athlete). Also, I heard Mark Bell, who scored 2 goals against the Oilers recently, has been having some minor injury issues, but will probably play against the Flames tonight.

The Flames, on the other hand, are chugging along nicely. Only Matthew Lomardi and Bryan Marchment remain felled by the injury bug. The rest of the team is playing and skating at peak effeciency. One of the only concerns may be the fact that Kipper leads the league in minutes played and may be getting run down. Of course, he does benefit from the fact that Calgary tends to limit their opponents shots on goal and scoring chances. Im guessing the 1000+ minutes played by Luongo so far have been far more stressful and work-filled than Kiprusoff's, for instance. That being said, it's highly possible that Sauve will get the start tonight against what can be considered a "weaker" foe.

How Deep Does the Rabbit Hole go?

- I was unable to watch the game last night, having a free ticket to Henry Rollins "spoken-word" show (which I recommend you check out if you have a chance). So I don't have any first-hand knowledge of the victory - yet. I did, of course, record the game and intend to watch it immediately after work tonight. All I can say is Im stunned, happy, amazed, etc. that Calgary was able to stretch the streak to 8 in a row against the the Red Wings. I honestly figured this was where the Flames bubble was going to burst. However, from what I've heard at least, Calgary turned in another impressive, hard-edged performance. The next test will be to fight complacency and come out the same way against Chicago on Friday. While the Hawks hardly have an intimidating record, they have won 3 of their last 4 games and Khabibulin seems to be turning his game around. The challenge for the Flames will be to overcome any sort of "overconfidence" issues which may come from winning 8 straight, and concentrate on playing "their game" for a full 60 minutes Friday night.

...Positives and Negatives to come after I watch the game.

Other things of note:

- Philly lost again, this time to Pittsburgh in overtime. Apparently Sid the Kid scored the winner. I think that's two in a row for the Flyers now who haven't gotten a lot of goal scoring from Gagne during the losses. I don't expect that to last very long, however.

- St. Louis finally ended their losing streak, albeit against the lowly Blue Jackets. Although Federov was in the line-up, the BJ's couldn't muster even a single goal against the Blues. I guess the one positive note for Columbus was that Federov WAS chosen as one of the three stars of the game. Hey, you gotta find a silver-lining somewhere.

- What is with the Thrashers this year? 9-0 wins and then 7-3 losses. I guess their unending string of goalie mishaps might have something to do with it. I swear...their 'tenders have the same durability as a Spinal Tap drummer.

- Two of Calgary's main divisional rivals (Colorado and Vancouver) also won last night...BOOOOO. The Northwest is certainly shaping up to be the dogfight everyone expected.

- And finally, I think it would do Sean Avery a lot of good if he had his jaw broken and wired shut...

Anyways, more later...after observance of the Flame victory!

Federov to Columbus and other NHL oddities

- I dont think anyone saw the Federov salary-dump coming. It does make sense, in this newly "capped" league, that the Ducks sought to rid themselves of Federov's onerus $4 million+ salary. It also makes sense that the drowning Columbus Blue Jackets would seek an offensive boost.

To add further spice to this story, TSN is reporting this morning that the Blue Jackets have placed Todd Marchant and his inflated $2 million+ contract on waivers. It will be interesting to see if anyone will take a chance and pick up Marchant, who is still a fleet-footed and servicable 3rd line center. His high price-tag is probably the reason Columbus couldn't trade him for anything...but with a quarter of the season gone (and therefore, a quarter of his salary), he might be worth a gamble to some teams who are looking for defensive specialists and veteran leadership (helloooooooo Washington).

As far as the Ducks are concerned, I wouldn't be surprised if Burke uses some of the freed-up cap space to broker a deal with the Devils in the near future. Patrik Elias is close to returning, meaning the Devils will have to shed some salary in order to get under the cap. Possible candidates include Langenbrunner, Gomez, Brylin and Mogilny (who was healthy scratch once this season).

- Some hot teams have been shut-down recently. Philly lost to Tampa Bay Monday night and Ottawa was beaten by Carolina last night. With the Kings also falling to defeat recently to the Predators, it looks like the Flames are the hottest team in the NHL right now. Of course, that can all come to a crashing halt tonight against the Red Wings. While it is impressive that Detroit is currently #1 in the league with 31 points, it should be mentioned that most of their points have been garnered from beating the worst teams in the NHL (over and over again). Thanks to the new, unbalanced schedule, Detroit benefits from residing within the weak Central division, which includes: themselves, Columbus, St. Louis, Chicago and Nashville. The middle three clubs, the BJ's, the Blues and the Blackhawks, are currently three of the worst teams in the league. The Blues, for instance, have lost 11 in a row and have only 7 points in 17 games. the Blue Jackets have collected all of 5 wins so far this year have been without their primary offensive weapon, Rick Nash, for all but 2 games. While Chicago has won 3 of their last 4 games, they still sit outside of the playoff picture with 7 wins and 14 points. As a result of sitting atop a division that's chocked full of "weak sisters" Detroit has a somewhat inflated point total. While Im not claiming that Detroit is a bad team, it should be considered that the Red Wings few losses have come against the likes of Vancouver and Edmonton, which are both teams Calgary has shown they can beat.

- Speaking of standings, take a look (link above) at Montreal's point totals AND their divisional competiton. Now that's impressive.

- Also impressive - the Hurricanes coming off of an embarassing 9-0 loss to the Thrashers, beat Ottawa last night (link above). It's kind of comforting to see that the Senators are human after all. Oh yeah, and Mike Commodore was the unlikely hero, scoring the game winner.

- Would you like some repitition with your repitition?...Take a look at two of TSN's headlines this morning--> click. Notice that McCabe and Ovechkin can both "do it all"?? How contemptible is it that a supposedly reputable outfit like TSN uses a bland cliche not once but twice! And one right after the other! For Shame....

Sergei the BJ

Late breaking news on this Tueday evening. According to Sportsnet, the Columbus Blue Jackets have acquired Sergei Federov from the Anaheim Mighty Ducks for a bag of pucks...well not really pucks. But Close - Tyler Wright, Francois Beauchemin and a 5th round pick! Talk about your out-of-the-blue salary dumps! I wonder if this will help right the ship in Columbus? I also wonder how poor, poor Sergei feels about this??

Story here...

Edit - Apparently the Ducks are the ones giving up the 5th round pick! Geez, how'd the BJ's pull this one off?

Warm, Cold, Hot

Flames continued the streak last night in a rather puzzling and nervewracking fashion, defeating the struggling Minnesota Wild 3-2. The contest was a match of stupefying blase nothingness for the first two periods, which were dominated by a listless Flames crew being frustrated by the passive-aggressive, trap-style antics of their opponents. The final frame, however, featured a total inversion in terms of style and excitement, with the host Flames firing 25 shots and scoring 3 goals against a besieged Dwayne Roloson. A veritable explosion of offense in Calgary Flames terms, especially considering that the 25 shots tied a team record for shots on goal in a single period (also consider that the Wild accrued 24 shots over the course of the entire game).

Of course, anyone watching the game last night knows that the ultimate difference maker was Calgary captain, Jarome Iginla. He had a hand in all three Flames goals. He made a Forsberg worthy pass to Langkow for the tying marker and snapped home the game-winner shortly thereafter. Delete the absurd (not-a-penalty) call by the referee in the dying moments of the game, and Iginla probably would have gotten an empty-netter too - he was simply unstoppable...

While the weak play of the team over the course of the first 2 periods was a little discouraging, the end result proved satisfying nontheless - finding a way to win despite playing less than spectacular is often a facet of good teams. Calgary needs to win these types of game, particularly against divisional opponents; not to mention divisional opponents lacking several of their top forwards...

and now, Positives and Negatives:

Positives:

- Jarome Iginla. Simply dominating. 10 points in the last 3 games I think?

- Chuck Kobasew. Held pointless, but was skating and shooting well again. Hilight reel move in the third nearly lead to a goal. Fired a team high 7 shots.

- Damond Langkow. Finally got back on the scoresheet with the tying goal.

- Dion Phaneuf. Another timely 3rd period goal by the rookie.

- 25 shot third period by the team. More shots than the Wild had through the whole game.

- Penalty Killing. Wild only scored once in 9 opportunities. Also managed to hold the lead despite Minnesota's 6on3 advantage late in the 3rd.

- With the win, Kiprusoff has 10 on the season and is behind only Manny Legace (12 wins). His GAA is currently 2.37.

- Oh yeah...7 WINS IN A ROW.

Negatives:

- First and second period. Yikes. Stifled by the Wild, Calgary seemed lethargic and befuddled.

- Chris Simon. Created some opportunities thanks to his presence in front of the opposition's net...but is a liability in his own end. For proof, see hilights of the first Wild goal (why is he standing THERE?). A team worst -3.

- 9 Penalties, including a series of infractions late in the 2nd and 3rd periods. The phantom "high-sticking" call on Iginla was bogus, but all others were (sort of) legitimate calls in the "new" NHL. Also...the Flames seem determined to get at least one 4 minute high sticking penalty per game. ARGH!

- Steve Reinprecht was rather "absent" most of the night and wasn't played much in the 3rd period. I hope the Rhino-Iginla-Kobasew line is back together for the Detroit game, however (although Iginla's playing so well right now you could probably put Rocky Thompson on his line and it wouldn't matter).

Anyways, a big huzah! goes to the Flames for pulling out another win and extending the streak...next up is the real test - enter The Detroit Red Wings!

The Streak Lives On

Well, wasn't that exciting last night. I certainly wasn't expecting the comeback... OF ALL TIME!!! But it happened. Are these guys for real... Is it possible that the Flames could run the table for the rest of the season. Yes! Will it happen? I predict... NO. But it is certainly nice to have our favourite team winning again. Anyways, I just wanted to add that I think the Flames WILL make it and 8 game winning streak against the "WINGS WEDNESDAY." Because, we beat them before, and we beat them again. Final score 4-2 Flames.

Update for tonight

I've heard recently that the Wild are also without top rearguard Andrei Zyuzin as well...

Does this give Calgary an even bigger advantage? Yes. Does it mean Calgary will take advantage of it? Stay tuned...

Pinch Me

Lots to catch up on here. Since last I wrote, the Flames have added two more wins to the ledger, defeating the Coyotes down in Phoenix and surprising the Avalanche here in Calgary...so, without further foreplay:

- The Flames turned in their most dominating performance of the year against Phoenix last week. Lead by Iginla's 3 points, Calgary generated over 40 shots and dozens of scoring chances en route to the 4-3 win. For anyone who was unable to watch the game, I'd like to note that the score is not at all indicative of the actual game - it could have easily been closer to 8-1. The first and third Coyotes goals were caused by fortuitous bounces - Hamrlik tipped in a Phoenix pass for the first while a strange hop off the glass provided an emtpy net for Nagy for the third. In addition, Curtis Joseph was incredibly good for the 'Yotes: despite giving up 4 goals and losing, he was still one of the Molson Cup 3 stars. The major positives from this game? the emergence of a new #1 line including Rhino, Kobasew and Iginla. The newly formed trio commbined for 18(!) shots and 6 points on the night. Also - Calgary finally beats the Coyotes (and Joseph).

- On Saturday night, Calgary stunned everyone by scoring 4 unanswered goals in the first period against Colorado. This is surprising largely because Calgary has been pretty much anemic all year in the opening frame. Plus, this is a team that, until recently, struggled to get 3 goals in an entire game. Although, one of those goals was a headhunting slapshot from center - but they can't all be fancy can they? (unless you happen to play in Ottawa) Of course, not everything was roses and romance on Saturday...Colorado came back in the second with 3 goals of their own to make it interesting. Luckily the Flames were able to batten down the hatches for the remainder and pull out the win. The positives? Another 6 points from the new #1 line. Amonte finally scores another goal...AND...LEOPOLD GETS AN ASSIST! RING THE BELLS! I sure hope he can score one soon.

Negatives from this game? The play of Robyn Regehr. He was directly responsible for 2 of Colorado's 3 goals. However, I expect him to bounce back as quickly as next game. Also, Simon was rather average and Calgary took a lot of stupid penalties...but, we did win...so no major complaints.

On a more general note, I'd like to mention that the Flames are currently looking a lot like the team everyone EXPECTED to see going into the season; hard working, hard hitting and with enough talent to be opportunistic in the offensive zone. This recent winning streak has seen the revival of the Flames torrid forecheck - one of their most valuable assests during their playoff run last season. Naturally, everything will look good during a 6 game winning streak...but, in particular, the Flames have been playing the tough, high-tempo game they need to play in order to succeed. I am a little perturbed that Calgary has allowed 3 goals in 3 straight games now...however, I take solace in the fact that 2 of the games were against offensively powerful teams (Vancouver, Colorado), and the game against the 'Yotes featured 2 fluke goals against.

- Hopefully Kipper and the rest of defense can reduce those goals against tonight vs. the visiting Minnesota Wild. On paper, tonight's is a very winnable contest - the Wild are without 3 of their top forwards in Gaborik, White and Chouinard. Plus, the Wild have been struggling to score goals lately. Plus...well...Calgary's won 6 in a row. Which means Im personally worried about complacency or overconfidence on the Flames part due to these various factors. If Calgary doesn't take the Wild seriously they could be in for a rude awakening. Minnesota still has great goaltending and great coach. You can never really count them out (just ask Vancouver).

Anyways, thats it for now. I'll close by saying - FLAMES...MAKE IT 7 IN A ROW OR I'LL BUY THIS BRITNEY SPEAKS ALBUM (*Shudder*).

Whowouldathunkit?

Take a look at this list and tell me if you ever would have guessed it could look like this (hint - look at those at the very bottom)...

Comeback Night

I was able to catch both the Philly vs. Boston and the Edmonton vs. Nashville games Tuesday night and was twice treated to last second comeback victories. If you missed them, the Flyers rallied from a 3-1 deficit to win 4-3, while Nashville was able to upend Edmonton 3-2. The Flyers win was particularly impressive given that they were down 3-1 with approximately 5 minutes left in the game. In fact, when Thornton scored the to make it a 2 goal difference later in the third period, I figured the game was done. So too, did the Bruins apparently. Too bad you just can't take a lead for granted, especially against a team like th Flyers. What was even more poetic and impressive was that the eventual hero for Philly - Jani Pitkanen - scored both the game tying and game winning goals mere minutes after basically causing the Thornton tally thanks to a turn-over. Now that's redemption.

The Edmonton/Nashville game was even stranger in a way. Edmonton lead 1-0 until Erat tied it up early in the third. It was, quite frankly, a rather listless affair until the final two minutes which showcased a sudden almost nonsensical outburst: Nashville scores, Edmonton scores, Nashville scores...a 1-1 game becomes a 3-2 game in less than 120 seconds. The outcome seemed decided when Nashville scored with 1:55 remaining, given that the two teams had hardly mustered any sort of significant offense until that point. It must have been quite the emotional rollercoaster for any unfortunate Oilers fan who happened to watch the game - ...Ho Hum Ho Hum...Yay!...Ho Hum...Boo!...Ho Hum...BOO!YAY!BOO!...

On a selfish-gloating-type-note, the last second collapse by the Oilers means Calgary is still a point ahead of them in the standings...woohoo!

Other issues of note:

- New Jersey lost again last night, this time to the Islanders. I heard that Mogilny was a healthy scratch for the struggling Devils. Ouch. In addition, it's rumoured that Brodeur may be out for another few weeks with that knee injury. Double ouch. The only good news for NJ right now is that Elias may be able to return soon.

- McCabe with another 3 points in Toronto's 6-4 win over Washington last night. He now leads all defensemen with 20 points total. I still wouldn't want him on my team.

- Phoenix won again Tuesday against the Wild. The Coyotes are hot right now and are riding the play of Joseph and Lerclerc (of all people). Of note is that fact that CuJo was the #1 star last night despite his mis-cue that resulted in the Wild's second goal(a clearing shot from other end of the ice). This is not good news for the Flames, who have had a hard time with the 'Yotes so far this year, and have almost ALWAYS fallen to Joseph, whatever team he's played for. Here's hoping that all stops tomorrow...

4 goals?? THE END IS NIGH

Okay, so maybe Calgary getting 4 goals in a game isn't a harbinger of the apocalypse. But winning their 4th straight against a strong Canucks team with a PP goal in the 3rd seems pretty darn rare and special, I'd say. Oh, and they scored more than 3 in a game. Finally.

Lots of positives for both teams to take out of this game, I'd say. While Calgary is starting to look like the competitive team everyone expected this season, the Canucks can take solace in the loss by celebrating the return of the Bertuzzi and Naslund duo. While 1 game is hardly proof positive of a return to form, the big line for the Canuckles had been rather dormant thus far - Bertuzzi in particluar had been decidedly ordinary, scoring only twice before last night. However, by generating all of Vancouver's offense (3 goals, 2 on PP), the "West Coast Express" looked more like the dominating offensive force it was several seasons ago.

On the flip side, Calgary had some very noteworthy performances from the likes of Chuck Kobasew, Roman Hamrlik and, of course, Dion Phaneuf. On a whole, the Flames again looked like the forcefull bunch of yesteryear (that being last season). This is a trend I hope continues beyond the emotional Canucks rivalry.

Positives:

- Calgary scores 4 goals in a game. That's right, Im mentioning it AGAIN.

- 4 Straight wins for a perfect home stand.

- Chuck Kobasew finally gets rewarded for his great play with a goal. Looking great.

- Calgary goes 2-8 on the PP, including the game winning marker on a 5on3. YAY to capitalizing on chances!

- Roman Hamrlik comes out of nowhere to blast home the game-tying goal. Fantastic play.

- Reinprecht with 3 assists. Kudos.

- Dion Phaneuf. Auld couldn't even see his game-winning blast. 3 points. Wow.

- Back in front of the Greasers in the standings...

Negatives:

- #1 PK at home gives up 2 PP goals on 6 opportunities.

- Amonte still struggling to bury his chances.

- Jordan Leopold held pointless. 17 games and counting.

- Langkow still busy muffing passes and shooting it wide. 2 shots and -1 with 20 minutes of ice last night. Needs to step-up his game all around.

- With Kobasew's miss, the Flames are 0-3 on penalty shots this year.

- Still waiting for an "Iginla-like" goal from Jarome. His last 4 goals have been, in order: deflection, deflection, empty-net, own-goal-by-Baumgartner. In addition, I believe he was on the ice for both of Naslund's PP goals.

- Strangly inconsistent reffing. Here's hoping the refs can figure this "new NHL" out soon.

Next up...Coyotes on the 10th.

Oh...I almost forgot...

...WIN FLAMES. OR I WILL...UMM...WOO YOUR DAUGHTERS.

That's more like it...

Finally! Watching Saturday night's game between the Flames and Canucks was like witnessing a revolution of sorts - this season's closest itteration of the '04 playoff Flames appeared on HNIC Saturday night; hungry, surly and ready to win their third straight game at home. It was almost shocking to see the relentless high pressure forecheck and bruising play that has been nearly absent from the Calgary repetoire thus far this season. In the middle of the game I was heard to exclaim "Where has THIS team been all year?" (probably like thousands of other Flames faithful that night).

I can't lie and say I was overly confident about Calgary's chances going into the game. The Canucks are a strong team and capable of posting blow-out victories. Given the way the Flames have played in general so far (and especially in light of that dogs breakfast of a win over the Blue Jackets), I knew there was a definate possibility of another 7-3 debacle. Instead I was treated with the most entertaining Flames game so far this season - end to end chances, fights, huge hits, great goaltending. The final 1-0 score did not do justice to the scale of the struggle nor the number of scoring chances.

On the bitter-sweet end of things, Calgary did seem to generate more legitimate scoring opportunities and threats for a change. Conversly and unfortunately they still did not manage to finish on many of them. However, this is the first time in a long while where I've felt Calgary played an NHL caliber game in the opposition's end of the rink...previously it felt like the Flames were unable to even enter the zone with confidence, let alone penetrate the defense and create chances. Im hoping the Canucks game is another shuddering step towards the offensive potential that the Flames show on paper...perhaps we'll see tonight...

The PandN Lists:

Positives:

- Calgary wins they're 3rd straight.

- Top-Notch defense and goaltending. Vancouver ended the night 0-7 on the PP, which included a full 2 minute 5on3 in the 3rd period. Kipper has allowed only 1 goal in the last 3 games.

- Marcus Nilson scores his 2nd game winning goal...this time in a more legitimate fashion.

- Iginla and company actually looked dangerous most of the game for a change.

- Chuck Kobasew. Absolutely flying out there. He'll be rewarded eventually.

- Rhett Warrener. What more can be said about his hit on Bertuzzi? Well...this. Wicked.

Negatives:

- Less than 3 goals for. 16 games and counting.

- Jordan Leopold. His play shows that his drought is starting to weigh on him. Made some hesistant and questionable plays early on in the neutral and offensive zones. Needs to get the monkey off his back...0 points. 16 games and counting.

- Even though they generated chances, the primary scorers failed to make the scoresheet for the 2nd straight game.

- 0-4 on the PP. No PP goals in 2 games now.

- That punk Jarko Ruutu. Someone's gonna bash his head in one day. And I will laugh.

Anyways, the re-match is tonight. Here's hoping that:

1.) It's as entertaining
2.) Calgary scores some damn goals, and
3.) The Jumbotron falls on Ruutu during the pre-skate.

Here's hopin'...I'll be wearing my lucky rabbits head as I watch tonight...

Gah!

Flames managed to win their second in a row last night, dumping the Blue Jackets 2-1. Unfortunately, it was hardly in an inspired or convincing fashion. Talk about a bad contest for Sportsnet to broadcast - this was one of the ugliest wins I've seen in awhile. It was red-headed-step-child ugly. It was I-coulda-played-on-the-first-line-in-the-second-period ugly. How ugly is that? Mick Jagger ugly, at least.

Despite the victory, the contest vs. Columbus showcased a lot of Calgary's current short-comings - primarily to do with offense. The Flames squandered 7 PP opportunities, 5 in the first period. The two goals Calgary did manage to muster (both in the 3rd) were garbage goals; the first a rebound, the second a rebound-triple-deflection-lucky-bounce.

Clearly, the Flames still suffer from a complete lack of polish and finish in the offensive zone. Opportunities to score are frequently wasted by fanning and/or shots fired wide. Or, as was the case twice last night, hitting the post. Actually, nothing symbolizes Calgary's offensive struggles more appropriatly than Jarome Iginla missing a wide-open cage during the powerplay by backhanding the puck wide of the net. WIDE. FROM THE SLOT. ON THE POWERPLAY. AT AN EMPTY NET.

Last night's struggles were all the more accentuated if you had managed to catch any of the recent Ottawa games; the contrast between Heatley effortlessly scoring 4 times in a game to Langkow shooting it over the net on a 2 on 1 are rather depressing for a Flames fan right now. As even the announcers noted during the game last night, the Flames seem to be fighting the puck in the neutral and offensive zones. Passes are hardly ever crisp or on the tape. Players frequently throw the puck away or panic when the biscuit comes to them. The forecheck is typically ineffectual. The powerplay seems stagnant and lacks creativity. I counted about 5 or 6 instances last night where a Flames player was left unsupported and alone while breaking into the offensive zone. The result was usually a pass to no one in the slot or a dump in. These were not instances in which the line was changing. AARGGH!

But, at least Calgary won. Of course, against anyone besides the Blue Jackets it would have been a drastically different story. So whether it's due to the systems in place, the players confidence level, or the ever elusive "chemistry", the Flames need to find their offensive game soon. Throwing away powerplays and missing open nets against teams like Vancouver, Detroit or Colorado will undoubtedly translate into a loss. And probably a big one.

Anyways, here's the positives and negatives -

Positives:

- 2 wins a row for the first time.

- Nilson finally gets a couple of points, including the game-winning goal.

- Flames keep the Jackets to 17 shots and 1 goal. Penalty killing is perfect, blanking all 4 Columbus chances.

- Reinprecht scores with a nifty skate-to-stick goal off of a rebound.

- Kobasew shows more flashes of speed and grit.

- Regehr returns and looks comfortable immediately. Was robbed of a goal by the post.

Negatives:

- Less than 3 goals for in a game again. 15 games and counting.

- Calgary again plays poorly at the start of the game. Five wasted powerplays in the first followed by one of the slowest, sloppiest, most uninspired second periods I've seen since the Flames lost to the Wild in the season opener.

- Primary scoring absent:
- Jarome Iginla's 7 game point streak is halted. After missing several good chances in the first period, Iginla was largely ineffectual for the rest of the game.
- Langkow and Amonte again fail to score. Amonte hit the post and Langkow was typically unnoticable...unless he was shooting the puck wide.

- Jordan Leopold still pointless. 15 games and counting.

- Edmonton somehow beat Detroit. Double BOOOOO.

Up next - the Canucks!