A come from behind victory on the road? Surely this is an 06/07 first. Especially considering it was a 2 goal deficit...
last night's effort was an even closer approximation to the "Home Flames" than Saturday's victory over the Oil. Despite being down 2-0 after 1, I thought Calgary was very obviously the superior team on the ice. Fortunately, unlike previous performances, the Flames actually continued to be the better team for a majority of the game (thus the win). By the middle of the second period, Calgary had outshot the Blues 18-8 and had outchanced them 8-4, but were losing 2-0. At that point, I was buoyed by their de facto dominance of the game. However, with the preponderance of missed break-aways, great Sanford saves and improbable goalposts, I'd begun to worry that the lack of scoring success would lead to frustration.
Thankfully, the big boys actually got better as the game wore on. By the third, one could almost sense Jarome Iginla willing the team to victory. I mean - how many Blues players did he beat to get Conroy the puck on Calgary's 4th goal?
Matt's post on Alex Tanguay from yesterday couldn't be more apropos in light of last night's events. Tangs broke the seal with a slick PP marker at the end of the second and set the stage for the Flames comeback. His was the feed that set-up Conroy's game tying goal as well. Speaking of Conroy, I was privately starting to wonder if he was perhaps "unfit" to play on the first line thanks to his recent string of futility (0 goals in 7 games). Good to see him have a solid outing on the scoresheet.
What will be overlooked in the wake of the victory is the fact that Langkow, Huselius and Moss dominated the Blues in the first period. The trio generated several glorious scoring chances and often spent entire shifts making the St. Louis defenders look silly in their own end. No points for the 2nd line last night, but I don't mind as much when they so clearly beat up on the opposition like that.
Matthew Lombardi with an ugly outing, although he wasn't given much of a chance to redeem himself during the contest. He lost his check on the first Blues goal and then took a penalty shortly thereafter. As a result, he sat nearly the rest of the game and played the least amount at ES of any Flames forward (3:14). His total icetime came to a McCarty-like 5:58. On a semi-related note, Rhett Warrener was a minus player in another 4-2 victory. Despite being a 3rd pairing, 12 minute defenseman against a less than fearful foe. I know Lombardi doesn't have the tenure than Warrener does, but the vast difference in which these 2 players in particular are handled on the Flames kind of annoys me. Warrener can bugger play after play and yet there he is, back on the ice, shift after shift, game after game. Nevermind that the Flames now have 2 capable replacements for the (probably?) injured warrior. And nevermind that if either of them (or Zyuzin for that matter) caused the problems that Warrener all too frequently creates they would get benched and sat in an instant.
Could it be a gap in ability versus effort that Playfair sees here? I suppose sitting Warrener isn't likely to teach him anything and I'm guessing, despite evidence to the contrary, that he's actually giving it his all when he's on the ice. We all know Lombo can be a significant contributor when he's focused and skating well, but largely invisible when the opposite is true. It's possible this benching business is a motivating tactic, one which would be wasted on Warrener since he needs no motivation (I guess). Still, theories aside, I would prefer to see the likes of Giordano and or/Hale against Nashville on Thursday. With his skills starting to wane ever faster, I think Rhett will get eaten alive by the swift and shifty Predator forwards, no matter how motivated, how wily, how experienced he is. Gio may not be a master at reading the play just yet, but at least he can physically keep up with it.
Course, knowing the way coaches work, I wouldn't bet on any substitutions against the Preds. The rule of thumb is: "stick with what won you the last game". As such, you can expect to see Martin Erat and Paul Kariya effortlessly beating Warrener to the outside Thursday night and another negative digit beside his name Friday morning.
How good are Primeau and Stuart starting to look in Flames colors? Primeau was a fluke bounce away from his second 2 goal performance for Calgary. And, while he didn't get much icetime (8+ minutes), he did manage to score the gamewinner. Short-handed no less. For his part, Stuart is starting to look pretty comfortable out there with Reggie. He laid down the biggest hit of the evening and was a plus player for the 6th straight game. In fact, since coming to the Flames, Stuart has whittled his previous-team worst -22 down to a -13. Good news.
I was reluctant to get excited about Calgary's road victory over Edmonton. The Flames won, but didn't dominate. The win over St. Louis, however, seems to signal a truer shift in their fortunes and collective mindset. It was encouraging to see the road Flames resolutely claw their way to victory rather than find a way to lose, which, up until now, had been the norm. The upcoming game in Nashville will be the litmus test of "the new" road Flames, however. All the groundwork being laid in the last 5 contests could be destroyed in a night should Calgary get beat up by the Preds again. A win is not absolutely necessary - though it would be nice - but at least a chance to win is.
