Hard times and positive affirmations

Friday night's loss represented a new low for this team; getting shutout at home against a team they had beaten only a few weeks back in an absolute snoozer of a game where the lone goal scored by the Predators after a series of defensive blunders decided the Flames' fate. Even more discouraging was the fact that the recent dominance in terms of shots, chances, and possession was nowhere to be seen and a powerplay unit that showed signs of improvement in Wednesday's loss to the Pens faltered once again.

This loss to the Ducks brought us to a whole 'nother level of suck. Goals were scored. Goals were allowed. It wasn't pretty. Down 3-1 after twenty, the Flames took advantage of some sloppy defending by Anaheim and took a 4-3 lead into the final frame. It was all down hill from there, however, as the Ducks would score twice to regain the lead, despite being outshot 19-7. The end result? A 5-4 loss and the Flames' first four-game skid of the season.

This loss is probably the hardest to stomach of the bunch. They had this game under control and let it slip away. The powerplay let them down again and a combination of poorly executed defence and below average goaltending fueled their demise in the third period. The pairing of Sarich and Pardy was a combined -4, and McElhinney, while clutch at times, wasn't able to shut the door when it mattered most.

It appears we will be forced to choose between offence and defence until this team learns how to satisfy the need for both within the confines of Brent Sutter's system and a sixty-minute game. If you're going to score four goals, you have to allow three or less. Sure, scoring requires a certain element of risk-taking, and I'm glad to see that that has been reintroduced into the Flames' game plan, but it all means nothing without defensive responsibility and capable goaltending to back it up.

After a disastrous December, a five game winning streak that extended into the New Year gave us hope. Now, I can't help but wonder if the wheels have come off for good.

These are the hard times, my friends.

What doesn't kill us makes us stronger. Or something like that.

Sharks tomorrow.

Go Flames Go.

Post-game Party: The rocky road to redemption

Well we kicked the skid, although not with as much authority as I would have liked.

The Flames came storming out of the gate against the Kings at the 'Dome tonight, eager to set the tempo for what was a hard-fought, physical contest. Mark Giordano and Aaron Johnson were especially punishing on the blueline, as Giordano drew the ire of the Kings after dealing a series of solid jolts to their captain Dustin Brown, who was held to only one shot on goal and was visibly upset on the Kings bench. Brown attempted retaliation later in the game on a few hits that Gio managed to dodge, including an attempted elbow to the head that surely would have been reviewed by the league had it connected.

After a solid first period in which the Flames managed to kill off two straight Kings powerplays, they registered a powerplay goal of their own when Dion Phaneuf blasted a slapper through traffic with only 0.7 seconds left in the opening frame. The second period was essentially dead even, with each team firing eleven shots at the opposing 'tender. The third period is where things started to go downhill. After Nigel Dawes scored to put the Flames up 2-0 early in the final frame, the Kings took over. At one point, scoring chances were 9-3 in favour of L.A., and things started to get really sloppy at around the five minute mark.

After a couple good shifts in the offensive zone by the Kings during which the Flames failed to exit their zone after multiple opportunities, Robyn Regehr was dinged with an interference penalty. After a successful kill, the Flames iced the puck as Regehr stepped out of the box. A faceoff in the defensive zone led to more pressure from the Kings, and Corey Elkins shoveled home his first NHL tally to cut the Flames' lead in half. Thankfully, the Hockey Gods smiled down upon the Flames just minutes later, and presented them with a gift of a powerplay opportunity after an interference call on Justin Williams in front of the Flames net. Having already met their maximum powerplay goal-per-game quota of one, the Flames failed to generate any shots on the man advantage, and the Kings were back on the attack shortly thereafter.

During a rare shift in the Kings' zone, Williams struck again, this time clipping Public Enemy #1 Mark Giordano with a high stick with just over ninety-seconds remaining in the game. What followed resembled nothing remotely close to a powerplay, as the Kings set up shop once again in the Flames zone. With a minute remaining in the contest, Jay Bouwmeester, who has been average at best in recent games, took an idiotic cross-checking penalty after failing to clear the puck, resulting in one of the most stressful final minutes of a game in recent memory. After winning a faceoff to the right of Kiprusoff with 1.2 seconds left in the game, the Kings directed a final shot netward for a grand total of sixteen in the third period and thirty-five overall before the Flames managed to escape with the much-needed two-points.

This victory offers little comfort to Flames fans, as another incomplete and inconsistent game almost saw them squander a two-goal lead and fourty-five minutes worth of good hockey. Again, if it wasn't for Miikka Kiprusoff's MVP-like performance in goal, this game would likely have ended much differently. The inability of this team to exit and clear the zone cleanly remains a major area of concern and frustration, and to me, separates them from the elite teams in the league.

Watching a team like Pittsburgh, Chicago, or New Jersey play, it is enviable how quickly and smoothly their players exit the defensive zone, aided by crisp passes from defencemen to forwards. There is no getting hemmed in by the opposition, no scrambling around, no failing to get to loose pucks or getting outworked along the boards. These shortcomings have been painfully obvious lately, and what seemed to be one of their strong points in November is now an area in need of much improvement.

Adam Pardy's recovery from a sprained wrist helps to bolster the backend, I thought he had a pretty good game tonight, but the Flames as a group need to recommit to team defence. Allowing over thirty shots on goal every game, regardless of the ability of your goaltender, is irresponsible. If the Flames' team defence improves, the offence will surely follow. Taking a 2-0 lead early in the third might seem like justification to "take your foot of the gas," but not to the extent that you are getting outshot 16-3. Jarome Iginla and Nigel Dawes led the Flames with three shots a piece; the Kings? Doughty and Kopitar both had six while Justin Williams registered seven shots on goal, despite spending four minutes in the penalty box.

This is the second straight game where the effort of this club has fallen flat in the third period, only this time, they were up by two goals instead of tied. It reminds me of the beginning of the season, when the Flames were eking out wins based on the merits of twenty or fourty minute efforts. While the sense of "urgency" and tenacity that has been relatively absent over the duration of their now defunct three-game slide made an appearance tonight, the Flames still need to show a consistent commitment to the style of play that they know makes them successful and a tough team to play against.

In other news...

Thanks to kind-hearted Oilers blogger Jay from Low On Oil who has been spreading the word about my humble little blog, I have received an invitation to join the Bloguin Network as a Flames blogger (duh)! Needless to say I am honoured and extremely excited to join such a diverse and knowledgeable community of sports bloggers. It will likely take a month or more for the new site to be established, and in the meantime I am considering changing the name of this blog to something more Flames-related. So far, Jay has suggested "Fan the Flames," which I modified to "Fanning the Flames." I welcome your suggestions in the comments section, or feel free to send me an email at hazel.mutch@hotmail.com

Up Next: The Flames host the streaking Nashville Predators in a matinee game on Saturday. The Preds have won three straight and are a respectable 9-5-2 on the road; this game will be a tough test for a Flames team that hopes to get back on track before Christmas and has struggled to find consistency at home. By the way, what is the deal with Jamie Lundmark? Does anybody have the vaguest idea as to why the Flames have recalled him when there are no injuries plaguing the forward ranks that I'm aware of? It doesn't even appear on the team's website. He is just lurking about town with no intended purpose. Very odd indeed.

Homeward Bound

The Flames closed out their six-game road trip with a 2-1 loss to the Kings in L.A. last night on the heels of a valiant effort in San Jose on Saturday. The Flames struggled to find the back of the net for the third straight game after a five-goal outburst in Nashville, scoring only four times in those three games. More concerning for the boys in red is their ineffective powerplay--which essentially cost them the game last night--and the ability of the opposition to shut down the top line of Iginla, Jokinen, and whoever else happens to be playing alongside them.

When the Flames were down by a goal in the second and third periods, I found that they tried to do too much offensively (i.e. Phaneuf's no-look backhand pass in the Kings' zone that promptly found its way onto the stick of an L.A. player), and as a result gave up some good quality scoring chances despite limiting the Kings to sixteen shots on goal. The speedy Kings forwards got around the Flames' defence on several occasions--particularly Adam Pardy, who did not have a good game--and exposed the hole left on the blueline with the absence of Regehr. Clearly Sutter lied through his teeth when he said that Regehr would be "fine," as he obviously wasn't "fine" enough to play last night.

I know that the Flames are going to run into hot goalies every so often (and it seems to be very often lately), but they still have to find a way to score goals, on the powerplay and at even strength. Removing Bourque from the top line probably doesn't help, and as Kent points out at M&G, it makes perfect sense that the team's best left winger should skate on the first line, especially since the line of Dawes-Langkow-Moss was operating so smoothly in his absence. Langkow and Bourque clearly have chemistry, so I'm not going to object to him playing on the second line too much, but this first-line-winger business is getting a little ridiculous.

I noticed on a few powerplay opportunities that all five Flames players were concentrated down low, around the net or between the faceoff circles, with little to no coverage on the points or on the boards, especially when they were really pressing for the tying goal. This made it easy for the Kings' penalty killers to intercept passes and clear the zone. While I don't advocate simply blasting the puck from the point and not moving it around, a good powerplay employs a little of both strategies, and the Flames seem to opt for either or. I feel like the faceoff debate is somewhat of a moot point now, but it was painfully evident how the Flames' failure to win draws effected their momentum last night, particularly on special teams and in the dying minutes of the third period.

I don't want to take too much away from what was a very good effort and a successful road trip overall. I thought that Giordano had an excellent game; he was a force at both ends of the ice--especially on a play where he held the puck in just inside the blueline after almost losing it two or three times. He also drew a penalty and was +1 in just over twenty-one minutes of ice time. The third line of Glencross-Conroy-Nystrom was also very good, they were skating and forechecking well and created what seemed like the majority of the Flames' scoring chances before Conroy was injured in an open-ice collision with a Kings player. I'm not sure why people seem to think it's a leg injury, he had an ice pack on his wrist on the bench. Sutter says he's "fine," which likely means he won't be playing tomorrow against the Thrashers.

Finally, some congratulations are in order:

- To Jay Bouwmeester, who played his 500th career game last night, playing over thirty minutes in the process and finishing the evening +1.

- And to Curtis Glencross, who recently got engaged (!). Happy times.

Atlanta tomorrow.

The Thrashers (15-9-3) have never won in Calgary since their inception in the 1999-2000 season, which seems to be a recipe for disaster in the Flames' first game home after a long road trip. Kovalchuk+Afinogenov+Antropov+Some Wonderkid Thrashers Goalie-Regehr=Shit.

If the Leafs can beat Atlanta, I should hope that the Flames are equally capable.

Go Flames Go.

Swine flu: the NHL's answer to biological warfare

It was confirmed yesterday that Oilers defenceman Ladislav Smid had the H1N1 virus after over half of the Oilers roster experienced varying degrees of the flu. The sports world is not immune to the H1N1 pandemic--in fact the conditions in most dressing rooms and arenas present an optimal breeding ground for the Swine Flu--and so far two other NHL players are currently sitting out with the virus and others claim to have had it as well.

The most worrying part of this news is that Smid did not miss a game while infected, which means he could have easily spread the Swine to other members of his team and (gasp) the opposition. Here's where my conspiracy theory kicks in--the Oilers played their last three games against Northwest division opponents, including the Flames, Canucks, and Avalanche, where Smid wasn't the only player with flu-like symptoms in the Oilers lineup. Could Swine Flu be the NHL's answer to biological warfare?

In all seriousness, this virus kills. The NHL should take it more seriously and encourage players to get vaccinated and stay away from practice/games and off-ice activities with their teammates if they are feeling under the weather. The league is taking the right steps in ensuring that players don't share water bottles or towels and having team trainers properly sanitize dressing rooms and equipment, but the players are also responsible for their own well being and, to a lesser extent, that of their teammates and other players around the league.

Flames forward Dustin Boyd missed practice Monday morning with the flu and has since been held out of further practices and will not be playing tonight as a precaution. I know that realistically, the Oilers could not have told half their roster to stay home and consume copious amounts of chicken noodle soup, but all players experiencing flu-like symptoms should be tested for the H1N1 virus and held out of the lineup until the results are confirmed; the organization should have handled the situation more carefully. Being a slightly obsessive-compulsive hypochondriac myself, I received the H1N1 vaccine today and am not experiencing any adverse effects apart from a sore arm; I encourage everyone else, especially athletes, to do the same.

In other news...

Roberto Luongo is injured and out indefinitely with...(drumroll please)...a hairline fracture in his rib. He is expected to miss about a week. Anticlimactic, isn't it? Whatever makes you feel better about allowing five goals in front of Stevie Y and Team Canada management, Bobby Lu.

I don't have Centre Ice or the NHL Network, so the games I get to choose from tonight (aside from the Flames/Avs game, which I ordered on PPV. It's my first PPV experience and I'm curious as to what all the fuss is about. Will report findings later) are Leafs vs. Stars and Sens vs. Panthers. You spoil me, TSN. Why the hell would I want to watch sub-par, Ontario-based teams play mediocre, Southern-U.S. based teams? You do know there are NHL franchises located outside of Ontario, right? The Coyotes haven't been relocated quite yet.

Adam Pardy draws back into the lineup tonight for the Flames in place of Aaron Johnson. What took so long?

IF the Flames get bodies to the net, shoot the puck, and play with disciplined physicality, they could edge Anderson and the Avs. If they don't, well, I just wasted fourteen dollars of my parent's money and this could be a very long night. We all saw how the Avs created offence off of turnovers and clogged up the neutral zone worse than fat clogs up Kyle Wellwood's arteries last night against the Oilers; Sutter and Co. undoubtably took note of that. The Flames will have to make sure they protect the puck well and not focus on gaining entry into the offensive zone solely by carrying it in; sometimes a good dump-in followed by a solid forecheck works wonders. There's probably a joke there but I can't be bothered to think about it.

May the best team win, but preferably the Flames.

PS: GET VACCINATED. THE GOVERNMENT IS NOT SPYING ON YOU BY IMPLANTING TRACEABLE MICROCHIPS INTO YOUR ARM FAT.

Post-game party: Nystrom spoils Cammy's return to the 'Dome, Flames make another weird trade

The Calgary Flames are 3-0 and tops in the Western Conference. Normally I would be delirious with joy, especially when you throw the fact that the Canucks are 0-3 into the mix. However, each Flames victory thus far has left something to be desired, whether it be less shots against, better defensive play, or a better performance from the first line.

The Flames trotted out onto the ice in their retro unis to face the Montreal Canadiens for the 100th time, and got off to a great start; they put a lot of pressure on the Canadiens, and took a 1-0 lead on a goal by Eric Nystrom just after the mid-way mark. The Flames were outshooting Montreal and playing a solid defensive game, until they scored the go-ahead goal.

After that, they got too wrapped up in trying to defend the lead and the mistakes started to pile up, resulting in Montreal's first goal with just over a minute left when the duo of Jarome Iginla and Olli Jokinen failed to clear the puck past former teammate Mike Cammalleri. Just thirty-seconds later, the Habs were again pouring on the pressure, and took the lead when Guillaume Latendresse swatted the puck into a yawning cage past Miikka Kiprusoff.

The Flames came out flying again in the second period and managed to maintain the pressure for most of the middle frame, outshooting Montreal 16-6 and taking a 3-2 lead on a goal by Iginla on the lone powerplay of the game after Nystrom squared the affair earlier in the period. The lead would not last, however, as Thomas Plekanec would tie it up with just ten-seconds remaining in the period after Robyn Regehr failed to stay with his man behind the net and allowed Plekanec to walk out in front of the net untouched, firing a backhand shot top-shelf on Kiprusoff. Three Montreal goals in the last minute of play in each of the first two periods does not instill much confidence in this team's ability to hold a lead.

Brent Sutter must have been furious during intermission, because the Flames came out firing on all cylinders again to start the third and were rewarded with a quick goal on a screened slap-shot that was originally thought to belong to Eric Nystrom, giving the winger his first career hat trick. The goal was later awarded to Staffan Kronwall for his first career NHL tally. It was all Montreal after that goal, however, as the Flames reverted back to dump-and-chase hockey, desperately clinging onto a one-goal lead. As a result, the Canadiens dominated, outshooting the Flames 15-5, but the home team retained the lead and held on for the 4-3 win thanks to some timely saves from Kiprusoff.

The thing that I do not understand is how this team can dominate the opposition for extended periods of time, but when they have the lead, they unravel and completely abandon the "system" that enabled them to get to that position--speed, strong forecheck, sustained pressure, getting pucks to the net, simple outlet passes, and keeping the opposition to the outside. I feel like I am beating this point to death but it is a recurring pattern that just drives me up the wall. The most worrying aspect seems to be that they are unable to clear the zone under pressure, which almost always leads to a goal or at the very least a crucial faceoff in the defensive zone--which, by the way, was an atrocious stat for the Flames in last night's game.

Turnovers in the defensive and neutral zones continue to be a problem and have led to a number of quality scoring chances against. Thankfully, the Flames have also been very good at forcing turnovers and creating scoring chances of their own. When picking out the positives in last night's game I found a few areas that I really liked--the Flames accumulated 28 shots on goal--the most so far, and allowed 30 against--the least so far, which is somewhat encouraging, they were very good at getting traffic to the net which was critical on all four goals, and they were very disciplined. The Flames didn't take a single minor penalty the entire game and scored on the lone powerplay they received--a hooking call on Max Pacioretty.

The play of the first line is still a contentious issue, as Iginla scored his first of the season on a good-looking backhand on the powerplay, showing his poise and patience with the puck. Moss was practically invisible after scoring two against the Oilers on Saturday, and Jokinen collected an assist but has yet to score. All three were -1, hovering around sixteen minutes of ice time. They probably would have got more if the Flames had had more powerplays, but Sutter continues to exercise his philosophy of no forward playing more than twenty-two minutes a game.

Can we all just appreciate the awesomeness of these vintage unis for a moment? I hope they make this their official third/alternate jersey, but I don't want it to be over-used like the Oilers' retro jersey.

The second line led all forwards in ice time at around twenty-minutes each, but had nothing to show for it in terms of points. They were very strong on the forecheck and in creating turnovers, especially Bourque, who was one of the best players on the ice for the Flames last night. I think I love him almost as much as Milan Lucic. The third line of Glencross-Conroy-Boyd also created a number of good scoring chances and Conroy was flying against his former team, but all three were snakebitten, especially Boyd, who had a series of excellent opportunities in the second.

The Nystrom-Sjostrom-Prust line, affectionately dubbed the "Prustrom" line, is golden and continues to generate whispers about the best fourth line trio in the league. Nystrom had an almost hat trick, Sjostrom an assist, and Prust, well he did this:

All three were plus players, the only forwards to finish on the positive side of things.

On defence, Adam Pardy was excellent, collecting two assists on the game-tying and game-winning goals, a +3 rating, and a highlight-reel worthy hit on Max Pacioretty. Staffan Kronwall, subbing in for Cory Sarich who is still day-to-day with a foot injury, was also surprisingly good, as he scored the game-winning goal, assisted on another, and finished a +2. Bouwmeester and Giordano were also very good, finishing even and +1 respectively. JBo led the team in ice time again, but at only 24:22, about five minutes less that he has been playing thus far.

The pairing of Regehr and Phaneuf continues to struggle, as both were -3. I thought that Phaneuf was slightly better and his rating was not necessarily indicative of his play, but Regehr seems to be on a different planet altogether. It is almost as if he is trying too hard to get involved in the play, advice which I'm sure he hasn't been getting from Brent Sutter, and doesn't seem to be able to keep track of his man in the defensive zone. He is losing puck battles and rather than punishing the opposing team's forwards, he seems to be getting pushed around.

Which brings me to my next point--injury. Bear with me here, but it is possible that either Regehr or Phaneuf or both are not entirely healthy or Sarich will be out for longer than anticipated, which might explain the move the Flames made today, sending Quad City's leading scorer last season Kyle Greentree to Chicago in exchange for defenceman Aaron Johnson. What other reason could Darryl Sutter possibly have for acquiring another defenceman, except perhaps to make up for the loss of Anton Stralman?

Kronwall has exceeded expectations as the sixth defenceman with Sarich out, but if one of the Flames' top blueliners wasn't 100%, Sutter could have easily called up someone like Seabrook, Pelech, or Negrin from Abbotsford to fill the void. This deal baffles me, as a few of Sutter's deals have recently. He is either putting one Hell of a package together for a top-six forward or is trying to assemble an entire team of defencemen. Whatever it is, he is taking the term defensive depth to the extreme, perhaps as a result of last season's parade to the sick bay down the stretch.

All in all, this was an entertaining game. The Flames showed that they are capable of sustaining pressure and playing within a defensive system for extended periods of time, just not a full sixty-minutes, they're not quite there yet. They showed some resilience in coming back from behind and didn't give up when Montreal came back to tie it, but still have a lot to improve upon from a consistency standpoint.

Up Next: The Flames travel to Edmonton again for Round 2 of the BOA tomorrow night (7:30 PM MT). Someone try to remind Khabibulin what team he plays for before puck drop.

Images courtesy of the Flames Insider

Flames veterans deliver with 5-2 victory over Panthers

It took a few games, but the Flames finally seem to have found a winning formula. After a shaky start, the Flames veterans picked up right where they left off in their last outing against the Islanders, and it was evident that chemistry was beginning to develop. Here's the scoop:

First Period

Miikka Kiprusoff did not get off to the solid start he was hoping for, as the Panthers would score on their first shot of the game just five minutes into the first period. The Flames were unable to establish any real momentum for the remainder of the frame, as undisciplined play led to three consecutive trips to the penalty box. Luckily the penalty killers came up big for the home team, and they would head to the dressing room down 1-0 with a slight 10-7 edge in the shot column.

Second Period

Cue the comeback. The Flames would finally end up on the receiving end of a powerplay early in the middle frame and they would capitalize, with Glencross taking credit for the tying tally. Just over three minutes later, Iginla scored his first goal of the pre-season to give the Flames their first lead of the game. With five minutes remaining in the period, Daymond Langkow scored on a two-on-one with Theoren Fleury to put the Flames up by two.

Third Period

Leeland Irving saw his first action of the pre-season tonight, replacing Kiprusoff to start the third. The Panthers would take advantage of the goalie swap, scoring just 0:48 seconds in on a tip-in by Stephen Weiss. That was as close as the game would get, however, as Jokinen would restore the two-goal cushion with a powerplay goal at 7:28 and Fleury would score his first of the pre-season just 25 seconds later off a Panthers turnover.

The Flames sat back a little after taking a comfortable three-goal lead and the Panthers spent a great deal of time in the Flames' zone, firing fourteen shots at Calgary's keeper. Irving, however, would shut the door and preserve the 5-2 victory for the home side.

The Flames showed a lot more consistency in what was by far their best performance of the pre-season tonight. The penalty killing unit was probably the most improved, although against a dismal Florida powerplay, killing off all five man-advantage opportunities. The Flames' penalty killers did a much better job of blocking shots and breaking up plays with their sticks.

Another aspect of Calgary's game that appeared to be very strong was their transition game. Defencemen Jay Bouwmeester, Mark Giordano, and Anton Stralman all demonstrated their capabilities as "puck-moving defencemen" with smooth skating and smart, quick passes out of their own zone. On a few occasions, the Panthers were still able to use their speed to take advantage of poor defensive positioning and create quality scoring chances, but overall the Flames' performance from the blue-line in was much improved.

Things I loved:

- Jay Bouwmeester: Far better performance in his second game as a Flame. Active in all areas of the ice, collecting an assist, firing five shots on goal, and clearing the zone on multiple occasions. Great on the powerplay and led the team in ice time.

- Mark Giordano: Led the team in hits in a significantly less-physical matchup. Blocked shots and used his stick very effectively

- Anton Stralman: +2 in almost eighteen minutes of ice time. Very, very solid outing for the Swede

- Daymond Langkow: In case you haven't realized by now, I LOVE Daymond Langkow. He is one of the most underrated players on this team, he is so smart with and without the puck and can still turn on the jets at age 32. Collected a goal and an assist tonight along with a +2.

- Curtis Glencross: The game's first star collected a goal and three assists, also very effective on the penalty kill. +2

- Olli Jokinen: Another display of dominance from the former Panther who finished the evening with a goal and two assists. Slowly beginning to convert even the most skeptical fans (me)

Things I liked a lot:

- Jarome Iginla: Much more consistent 60 minutes from the Captain. Contributed a goal and an assist, beginning to develop some serious chemistry with Jokinen

- Carsen Germyn: Very speedy, part of a very impressive fourth line alongside Jaffray and Cunning

- Jason Jaffray: Voted the game's "Hardest Working Flame," forced a few turnovers and created multiple scoring opportunities with his speed

- Adam Pardy: Much better showing for the sophomore blueliner, +2 on the evening. Led the charge to the penalty box with two minors, however

- Dion Phaneuf: Very consistent game, didn't commit any obvious errors or make any trips to the sin bin. Fired four shots on goal, very good on the powerplay. Second in ice-time with 21:21 TOI

- Theo Fleury: Very consistent game, showed a lot of improvement in his speed and skating and contributed at key times with an aesthetically pleasing goal and an assist.

Things I am still on the fence about:

- Mikael Backlund: I just can't decide on this kid. He has played well, but doesn't command my attention. I suppose it just isn't his style. Play improved after being moved onto the first line with Iginla and Jokinen. Noticeably better without the puck

- Miikka Kiprusoff: It looked as if it was going to be another long night for Kipper after he allowed a goal on the Panthers' first shot of the game. However, he seemed to regain his confidence as the game went on and stopped all eleven of the shots he faced. Made some key stops on the penalty kill to keep his team in the game

Up Next: The Flames travel to GM Place to take on the undefeated Canucks for their third game in as many nights. Expect to see Coach Sutter dress a veteran lineup once again, as Vancouver will no doubt do the same.