Well, Im going to tough it out till the bitter end.
I expect the Flames to come out better tonight...just because that's what they did pretty much all year at home. Playfair won't have to work too hard for the required match-ups and the crowd will prod the team just beyond the "blase lethargy" they've displayed the past 2 contests.
It's going to take a whole lot for the Flames to actually win this game, however. The gap between what they've done and where they need to be in order to beat the Wings is a basically a huge, near-bottomless chasm. The difference between Al Strachan and Eric Duhatschek big. Hoping for a respectable effort may be more realistic.
The main obstacle facing Calgary tonight (beyond, you know...themselves) is the lack of Robyn Regehr. Outside of Reggie, I'm not sure we have anyone that can competently match-up against the Zetterberg line. Sure, Nervous Jimmy gets the last line change, but who does he send out? The Yelle trio + Warrener and Stuart (shudder...Warrener)? Phaneuf and Hammer plus the big guns? At this point, it seems like a crap shoot, given how the entire roster has played. Might as well dress McCarty and Goddard and let them have a go. Before the series, I would have been pretty comfortable with a "power on power" strategy, but now...?
Speaking of "dressing", Giordano BETTER be in the line-up tonight. If I see Zyuzin take even one shift I might just start punching random strangers in the throat. I'm resigned to the Flames losing this series, but I reserve the right to get really annoyed at outright stupidity nonetheless.
Anyways, obligatory Go Flames Go! Let's at least try to win ONE of these games...
