Post-game party: Suck it, bitches

Us Flames fans haven't had much of an opportunity to gloat thus far this season. Despite the 7-2-1 record, last night's Battle of Alberta was the most dominant effort we have witnessed ten games in. The good guys amassed a total of 38 shots on goal and outscored the Oilers 5-2, proving that they are indeed capable of a) outshooting a team and b) allowing less than three goals. So without further ado, I abandon my usual modest and cautious tendencies to celebrate this weekend's triumph in the Battle of Alberta, CFL and NHL editions, and say SUCK IT, BITCHES. The Stampeders beat the Eskimos handily Friday evening, clinching a playoff birth and winning the season series 3-1, and the Flames now hold a 3-0 advantage in this season's edition of the Battle. Throw the Hitmen in there and you've got a trifecta of Southern Alberta dominance.

Now, back to business.

The Flames appeared to be feeling the effects of their light schedule early on in the game, as the PK was caught snoozing on an early Oilers powerplay resulting from a marginal goaltender interference call on Iginla. Edmonton took the 1-0 lead just two and a half minutes in. After a spirited tilt between McGrattan and MacIntyre, the Flames found themselves down a man again after Aaron Johnson was sent off for boarding.

You begin to get the feeling that it's going to be one of those games up until Bourque and Langkow amaze you with a display of shorthanded brilliance. Bourque levels Denis Grebeshkov at the Flames' blueline, making the Oilers' d-man look rather foolish, steals the puck, and skates like there's no tomorrow to the Oilers' net on a two-on-one with Daymond Langkow. Langkow passes the puck back to Bourque who tips it past Khabibulin with ease for his fifth of the season. Bourque was everywhere in this game--killing penalties, scoring, assisting, hitting--someone get this guy a new contract already.

The period ended with a weird play in front of the benches; Zac Stortini caught Iginla, who was not in possession of the puck, with a big hit in the chest as he was about to go off for a change. Interference, right? Wrong. Iginla retaliated by wrestling the Oilers agitator into a headlock while several other Flames jumped to their Captain's defence. At the end of the scrum, Iginla ended up with the only penalty--a roughing minor. Pat Quinn slips David Banfield $100.

The Flames started the second period shorthanded, but the PK unit was on top of it this time, and Iggy escaped from the sin bin with his team unscathed. The home side took control after that, as Dawes capped off a great forechecking shift by the second line with his third goal of the season, firing a rebound off a shot by Bourque past Khabibulin. The Oilers will be seeing the Flames' second line in their nightmares.

Just thirty-six seconds later, Dustin Boyd forced a turnover deep in the Oilers' zone and managed to slide the puck over to a net-bound Eric Nystrom, who potted the loose disc to give the Flames a 3-1 lead, a goal that would later prove to be the game winner. Boyder also had five hits in this game and spent some time playing with Iginla; looks like he's finally beginning to find his niche. Back from an assortment of injuries, Moss wrestled his way to the front of the net on a powerplay midway through the period, in perfect position to tip home a slapper by Phaneuf that had 'goal' written all over it. Edmonton seems to have no answer for David Moss, who has scored all three of his goals this season against the Oil. Dustin Penner would add a powerplay goal late with Olli Jokinen in the box to pull the visitors within two. This guy thinks he's fucking Mario or something. Pissing me off.

The Oilers would enjoy a brief two-man advantage when Cory Sarich was sent to the box for a high-sticking double minor to close out the period and the hosts began the third with the odious task of killing off a four-minute Oilers powerplay. After allowing two powerplay goals in the game, the Flames PK would have none of it. They were in shooting lanes and clearing pucks like nobody's business and Kiprusoff dashed the hopes and dreams of Oilers fans with a magnificent save on Patrick O'Sullivan. Nigel Dawes potted his second of the night on a Flames powerplay midway through the period that stopped all hopes for an Oilers comeback dead in their tracks.

After a few shaky minutes to start the game, the Flames quickly shook off the rust and regained their magic touch against their provincial rivals. They took the lead and kept their collective foot on the gas, leaving the Oilers in the dust. Special teams were much improved after an abysmal performance against the Blue Jackets, and were a big part of the Flames' victory. That being said, they still need to focus on playing smart, disciplined hockey because the more chances they give the opposition on the powerplay, the worse their penalty kill is going to look. Again I was very impressed with their ability to get traffic to the net and I was ecstatic to see them fire 38 shots on goal while only allowing twenty-five. Hopefully this is a sign of Brent Sutter's system in action.

The Flames seemed to maintain fairly good defensive positioning throughout the game, but had trouble clearing the puck on occasion, which is still an area of concern for me. Thank god for Jay Bouwmeester. Despite outshooting the Oilers in the third, the Flames seemed to be fighting the puck, especially the first line, and couldn't get anything going until Dawes' goal. They turned over the puck in the neutral zone and seemed to give up too easily on plays. Iginla had an assist and fired three shots on goal, but was nowhere near as effective as he was last Tuesday despite his increased ice time in comparison to his linemates.

Speaking of points and effectiveness, here's an interesting stat line for you:

Cammalleri: Four points and a hat-trick, including the game winner in OT against the Rangers last night

Jokinen: 0G, 0A, 0P, 2PIM

We passed on Cammy for this bum?

Olli Jokinen, the Finnish Flash...in the pan.

I'm here all week, folks.

Up Next: The Colorado Avalanche are winning games like it's going out of style, and frankly, it's beginning to irritate me. The Flames will look to put a stop the resurgent young Avs' streak Wednesday at the 'Dome (7:30 MT) and improve upon their unbeaten record against Northwest division foes in the first of six meetings between the two.

BOA Round 3 preview/assortment of miscellaneous thoughts

The Flames continue their five-game homestand tomorrow night in the third installment of this season's Battle of Alberta and the first on home ice. The Flames are tied for second in the Northwest with their provincial rivals at 6-2-1, and it goes without saying that this is a big game. We all hope to see a follow-up of the resilient effort we witnessed Tuesday against Columbus, and I envision this game going one of two ways:

1) The Oilers come out flying, full of energy fueled by their comeback win against the very same Blue Jackets last night and filled with a thirst for Jarome Iginla's blood. The Flames, who haven't played since Tuesday, look unprepared and lethargic, surrender two quick goals to Edmonton and are forced to play catch-up.

2) The young Oilers get carried away with their bloodlust and succumb to undisciplined play. Stortini and MacIntyre goon it up and the Flames capitalize.

The Oil are clearly still ticked about the "cheap" play that resulted in Sheldon Souray sustaining a concussion, and expressed their feelings in a segment on Sportsnet news where Pat Quinn attempted to clear his name from his media mud-slinging of Iginla a few weeks back. It's understandable, a head injury is serious business--just ask Darcy Tucker--but Iginla has made it clear that he had no intent to injure Souray, and the play was simply an unfortunate result of the fast-paced nature of the game. Whatever the Oilers need to get motivated for the game, I suppose.

Players to watch out for: Dustin Penner--no, you're not hallucinating. Penner collected five points Thursday against the Blue Jackets; Pat Quinn must have promised him a box of Krispy Kremes after the game. Penner has seven goals and seven assists for a total of fourteen points this season, and has been compared to a "young Todd Bertuzzi." Watch your necks, boys, he might snap at any moment.

Edmonton will no doubt ice an enforcer or two in tomorrow's game, so watch for McGrattan and/or Prust to go up against the likes of Stortini and MacIntyre. Jarome Iginla will no doubt have to defend himself against the Oilers' fists of fury--which we all know he's capable of, but would undoubtably rather see the captain pick up where he left off Tuesday, with three points and a +3 rating against the Blue Jackets. The Flames will have to make sure they match the Oilers' intensity to start the game, and Iginla has to be a big part of that.

Elsewhere in the league...

Sergei Gonchar is expected to be out for at least a month with a broken wrist. That's two Russian defencemen down; it appears Operation Take-Out-Potential-Russian-Olympians is nicely underway. Time to start going after the big guns--start hacking away at Ovechkin's ankles Bobby Clarke style, pay off Todd Bertuzzi to take out Pavel Datsyuk during practice and make it look like an accident...the possibilities are endless.

Speaking of Ovechkin, he was fined $1,000 today for his slew-foot on Atlanta's Rich Peverley a day after Evgeni Artyukhin was suspended for three games following a similar play. We all know that a double-standard exists in the NHL regarding punishment of star players and that repeat offenders will be punished more severely than first-timers, but this isn't the first time Ovechkin has disregarded the NHL rulebook. Remember his knee-on-knee hit on Sergei Gonchar in the playoffs? Ovechkin didn't receive so much as a slap on the wrist from the league on the play which tore the Pens blueliner's MCL, and is now being treated as if this is his first offence. I'm all for playing with an edge, but as a player you have to know where to draw the line.

Most people were of the opinion that the Minnesota Wild would struggle to implement new head coach Todd Richards' up-tempo, offence-first system, but not to this degree. Not only can the formerly stingy Wild not find the back of the net, they can't seem to keep the puck out of theirs. With Havlat injured, I wonder if Minny would be willing to take Olli Jokinen off our hands? Half-price...?

Lastly, the Phoenix Coyotes beat the Wings in overtime last night with goals from Matthew Lombardi and Adrian Aucoin. I'll let you mull that one over.

A shit-kicking from the Oilers always stings

Whether it occurs during the pre-season, regular season, or playoffs, it just plain sucks.

As you all know by now, the Flames prospect squad got their asses handed to them in their first pre-season test against a more experienced and better prepared Oilers team. I was unable to watch/listen to the game as I was partaking in a lovely dinner date/catch-up sesh with my girlfriends and fellow bloggers Sanja and Brittany, so I don't have first-hand knowledge of what went down last night, but I did my best to stay updated via Twitter. I was perusing Matchsticks and Gasoline, Calgary Puck, and the Flames game blog on the team website for post-game reports and here are my findings:

- Boyd looked good, as per usual in pre-season play. Moss was above average, Dawes was completely invisible. Overall disappointing outing for three players hoping to crack the top-six

- PP was terrible (surprised?) and went 1-8 on the night. According to Sutter Jr., they haven't really practiced the powerplay yet. Good.

- Stralman was solid and impressed viewers with his smooth-skating, until an errant pass led to an empty net goal and sealed the victory for the Oil. Played big minutes with fellow Swede Kronwall

- Colin Stuart is fast, but not much else

- Matt Keetley will likely be an AHLer for life

- Differing perspectives on Chucko, Greentree, and Lundmark, who set up the Flames' only goal

- Jason Jaffray scored the Flames' only goal

- As predicted, there were two fights in this game, one involving Prust and Stortini hoping to impress with a display of goonery

- The Flames took bad penalties at inopportune times and couldn't capitalize on their chances

- Adam Pardy didn't handle the pressure of being one of the lone "veterans" in the lineup all that well, and ended the game a -2. Pelech was also -2

- Negrin and Palin weren't especially noticeable on defence

- Eric Nystrom is all talk and no action

Yes, it is pre-season. Yes, it was good to get a feel for what these prospects are capable of at the NHL level. Yes, the result was to be expected. I just hate losing to Edmonton under any circumstances.

Up Next: John Tavares and the Islanders hit the 'Dome tomorrow night for their second game in as many days. I think it's safe to say we'll see a few more regulars sprinkled into the lineup on Thursday; expect Theo Fleury to draw big crowds as he tries to earn a job with the team that drafted him twenty-two years ago.

Pre-season preview: Battle of Alberta

"Hey, it's the biggest game of the season--absolutely," Eric Nystrom told the Calgary Herald about tonight's pre-season tilt against the rival Oilers. That may be a bit of a stretch, but for Nystrom, one of the few "veterans" skating in tonight's lineup, it's an opportunity to show the new bench boss what he's made of. The Flames will be icing a prospect-laden lineup when the puck drops in about an hour's time at the 'Dome, while the Oilers will dress a number of regulars in the first official Battle of Alberta of the new season. Here are the rosters and tentative line combinations for each team:

Oilers:

Jacques - Horcoff - Schremp

O'Sullivan - Comrie - Stone

Moreau - Potulny - Minard

Brennan - Paukovich - Stortini

Gilbert - Chorney

Plante - Strudwick

Staios - Arsene

Dubnyk/Delsauriers

Flames:

Dawes- Boyd -Moss

Nystrom- Murray -Prust

Greentree- Lundmark- Chucko

Stuart- Jaffray -Cunning

Pelech- Pardy

Palin- Negrin

Stralman- Kronwall

Keetley/Irving

The Flames' roster for tonight's game is interesting because it sets up the battles we'll likely be seeing throughout the pre-season for the bottom-six forward positions, seventh defenceman, and the one or two spots open in the top-six forward group. Out of the six defencemen in the lineup tonight, Pardy is the only one who has locked up a spot with the big club, while the most likely competitors for the opening at seventh defenceman are Kronwall and Stralman.

Dawes, Boyd, and Moss will all be competing for a chance to play on the top two lines, and players like Prust, Greentree, Jaffray, Lundmark, and even Nystrom will be vying for a spot on the third and fourth lines.

Given that the two goaltending jobs are already taken, the play of Keetley and Irving somewhat loses its significance, but a good showing with the Flames could earn one of them the starting job in Abbotsford. Competition in the Abbotsford crease heated up recently (pardon the pun) with the addition of David Shantz, whom the Flames signed to a minor-league contract.

Notable absences from tonight's game include: top prospect Mikael Backlund, comeback kid Theo Fleury, and summer acquisition Keith Seabrook. All will likely see some playing time, as the Flames still have six pre-season games on the schedule after tonight.

The game will be streaming live at http://flames.nhl.com/

I know it's only pre-season, but what kind of BOA would this be without a little bloodshed? Expect a brawl or two between the likes of Zac Stortini, Brandon Prust, Eric Nystrom, and Oilers prospect Kip Brennan as they look to make impressions on their respective clubs.

Good Luck, boys!