Yay! We won! Falmes all teh the way!!!!1!1!!
Im happy that we've made it into a series and recaptured some pride. And it's great that the general fanship has been enlivened 'round these parts by the last 2 victories.
But, to be honest, I haven't seen enough recently to assuage my doubts about this team or to convince me we're actually going to win this baby in the end.
Source(s) of Pessimism:
- The Flames have been outscored at 5on5 the whole series. They've won the special teams battle thus far, largely on the back of some really stellar goaltending, a couple of bounces and a some nice 5on3 opportunities. That's not a formula for success. Even at home, assuming Playfair was getting the match-ups he preferred, the big guns were pretty much silenced at ES.
- Detroit could have won either game at the Dome. The Flames didn't have a chance in any of the games in JLA this entire year. As such, the next 3 contests - two of which occur in Detroit - seem rather winnable for the Red Wings. Not so much for the Flames.
- Jarome Iginla still isn't the guy I expected to see in the play-offs. While Miikka Kiprusoff has elevated his play to new, astounding heights, Jarome continues to look "just alright" to me. His GWG in the 3rd contest was notable and his pass to set-up Langkow's break-away last night was great. Aside from that - meh. If Iggy was playing like the unstoppable force he was in 03/04 or, even, November and December of this year, I'd have more reason to believe the Flames might just pull-off an upset...
till that happens (or if), I remain extremely skeptical of this team's chances to advance.
- Jim Playfair. He still does little to incite any confidence in me. his penchant for preferring the experienced (veterans: Zyuzin, Warrener, Amonte) to the exuberant (kids: Giordano, Lombardi, Moss) despite performance and results drives me nuts (although I'm not doubt exaggerating this failing more than a tad). He still hasn't found a way to get Iggy away from Lidstrom and I don't like the fact that Conroy remains on the top line.
Oh well. The next 3 games will prove if my criticisms of Nervous Jimmy are unfounded or not.
- Rhett Warrner. Has been equal parts bad and bad+. I postulated earlier in the season that anyone who plays with Warrener suddenly looks inept themselves. Anyone watching last night's contest can vouch for the fact that the Stuart/Warrener pairing frequently looked like the worst one on the ice for the Flames. They were on for both Red Wing's goals against, not to mention the fact that Rhett got ANOTHER penalty at a critical juncture of the game. Yeah, yeah, Warrener has been standing in for Regehr on the top pairing - but there's no question he's struggled while doing so.
Even if Reggie comes back, I assume Warrener will plop back down into the 6th position and usurp Giordano's roster spot. All things being equal, I quite honestly prefer the latter to the former at this point. Warrener isn't that effective in any area on the ice these days. At least Gio can add to the attack now and then.
So there's your dose of dour, Flames blogger cynicism folks. I accept and welcome all the inevitable "stick in the mud" comments.
