On Brent Sutter's coaching career & potential for success

In his post-game reaction after last night's kick-in-the-groin last-minute loss to the Red Wings, The Battle of Alberta's Matt Fenwick had this to say:

"As far as I can tell, Brent is Craig Hartsburg, though with the good fortune of having more talented pro teams. Every fan of just about every team gets frustrated with the "hang back and get railed when you have a lead" strategy (it's not rare), but the Flames' Prevent D this season is the worst and most flaccid I can remember seeing. Brent's strength is supposed to be Team D, and yet..."

Which, naturally, got me wondering. Is Brent Sutter really the new Craig Hartsburg? Unable to translate coaching success at the junior level to the big leagues? Hartsburg's successes in junior were limited, until this season, when he joined the Everett Silvertips of the WHL and coached them to a 97-point season and second place in their division, his NHL teams never advanced past the second round of the playoffs and he was relieved of his coaching duties twice, with the Ducks and Senators. Like Brent Sutter, he coached the Canadian National Junior Team to two straight championships before taking a job in the NHL.

Brent had great success with the Red Deer Rebels, missing the playoffs only once during his tenure and winning a Memorial Cup in 2001. In two seasons with New Jersey he coached the team to 90+ point seasons and a playoff birth, but the Devils were upset in the first round each time. As Matt noted, Brent had the luxury of taking over a winning team with a history of consistency, regardless of personnel changes. Even when Martin Brodeur was injured for over half the season, the Devils were never really in danger of missing the playoffs.

When Brent left the Devils, the organization and the players had nothing but good things to say about him, but about mid-way through the season, rumours of Jarome Iginla accusing his coach of relying too heavily on "junior tactics" surfaced, and others began to wonder if his coaching style only works in junior.

An analysis of Brent's coaching style done by In Lou We Trust at M&G in the summer sounds shockingly accurate in retrospect. While the consensus seems to be that the Devils struggled under Sutter's system in his first year with the team, specifically on special teams, they became more aggressive both offensively and defensively, driving possession, increasing scoring, and winning puck battles, in his second and final season with New Jersey. I for one would like to see a continuation of this trend, because it's sure as hell not happening consistently this season.

One of the most notable observations in this analysis struck me as particularly relevant to the Flames' defensive play this season:

"Incidentally it's when they bunkered or switched to ultra-defensive tactics did they look really shaky."

Despite the Flames' improved defensive numbers (3rd in goals against, 7th in team +/-), it's troubling to know that this is a continuing trend. This "prevent defence" or "defensive shell" occurs when the Flames have a lead or are tied, and almost always results in them panicking and allowing a goal or taking an unnecessary penalty. Other areas of their game have suffered; offence, powerplay, faceoff percentage--but it remains to be seen if it is at the expense of defence. I talked about how he achieved a balance between offence and defence with the Devils in the off season and how it would be a challenge to reproduce that with the Flames, which appears to be what we're seeing now.

Another interesting part of this analysis was the observation that Sutter juggled his lines a lot during his first season with the team because the forwards were having trouble adhering to his system, resulting in a general lack of chemistry.

"When Sutter first started in NJ in 07-08, he started off having the Devils try and play a puck-possession game, where dumping the puck would be the first move into the zone and the Devils forwards would fight down low, win the puck back, protect it, and proceed as necessary (e.g. cycling down low, moving the puck back to the point) until space is made for a shot. The Devils initially struggled with this tactic and Sutter constantly mixed up the lines to find a spark. All that did was guarantee that no chemistry was developed and so the offense was really just dumping and chasing more than anything else. Line matching was also something Sutter leaned on in that season.

In 2008-09, the Devils were more confident in playing that style - with all four lines being able to do this and do it consistently. As a result, Sutter kept the lines as they were which developed chemistry among linemates, they found more holes going forward so they didn't always dump it, the defenders were able to pinch in more, and while they didn't throw a ton of hits, they pounded opposition defenses over and over all game long instead of fading in the third period like they did in 07-08. I guess you can say their "fighting spirit" lasted all 60 minutes for the most part. Overall their goal totals flourished while still maintaining a solid defense. Even the power play improved. So for the most part, Sutter's coaching was very beneficial after a rough first year."

Sutter has been guilty of switching up his line combinations a lot this season, perhaps not to the degree of the infamous Mike Keenan Line Blender, but pretty close. While he has kept together lines that click, he has also insisted on breaking up lines that show potential and keeping together line combinations that are frustratingly ineffective. I think he is starting to learn that line-matching, especially power-vs-power, doesn't always work as desired, hence the deployment of Langkow et al against top quality opposition rather than the Iginla unit, giving the latter more favourable circumstances, in theory.

The commentary on Brent's playoff failures with the Devils is clearly the most worrying of all:

"In 2008, the Devils were floating/seemed tentative for 4 out of 5 games against the Rangers - guess the results of those 4 games. The Rangers are Our Hated Rival, and Sutter can't even get these guys to play with a little fire? In 2009, Sutter bizarrely went from doing what worked in the regular season in Game 1 to strict line-matching by Game 7. I almost want to say that in 2010, Sutter may get the playoffs right, but his ability to make appropriate adjustments in the postseason, in retrospect, is quite suspect."

The Flames might not have to worry about the possibility of Sutter's coaching mishaps contributing to an early exit from the playoffs this season, but it's certainly a concern going forward, as these instances have already occurred in the regular season. I can think of numerous occasions where the Flames have looked uninspired playing against a divisional rival or in an important game, most recently last night against the Red Wings. I'm not saying that the onus is all on him, but as I mentioned in my previous post, the coaching staff plays a big part in motivating their team and making sure they're all on the same page. It seems that when Sutter is finally able to light a fire under his players, it's too late. There's a balance between not being involved enough and letting the players run the show and being over-involved, and maybe Sutter has yet to find that balance in the NHL.

If Sutter's second year with New Jersey is any indication, he definitely has the potential for success. A coach's success almost always depends partially on unknown variables--the right players, the right circumstances--which is why it is such a tough business. I'm not ready to write Brent of just yet, let alone declare his hiring a mistake. I think that Flames fans have reason to be optimistic where the coaching staff is concerned, as Dave Lowry is another coach making the jump from junior to the big leagues, and could be next in line for the job should Sutter receive his walking papers, which I think is extremely unlikely; I can think of another Sutter brother who could be shown the door before Brent, and perhaps deservedly so.

Game day--No time to grieve

The Flames were embarrassed by the Canucks in the first period last night and found themselves down 3-0 after being outshot 20-6. Not the first time that's happened this season, but hopefully it'll be the last. They came into the game knowing that it was another important two points that could vault them back into a playoff spot, and vastly underperformed in the first twenty minutes, allowing the first Vancouver goal just a minute and a half in and making multiple trips to the penalty box as a result of trying to slow the Canucks' attack.

Toskala was sent out to face the second wave of Vancouver's vicious siege on the Flames goal after Kiprusoff had already seen almost a whole game's worth of action in the first period, and the following fourty minutes would have likely been a perfect road game, if the visitors weren't already down by three goals. The Flames rattled of twenty-seven shots on goal in the final two periods and allowed only eight, including zero in the final frame, but could only solve Luongo once, on a screened point shot by Robyn Regehr, his second goal of the season. His only other tally came in the 9-1 loss to the Sharks a few months ago. Make of that what you will.

There is no time to grieve, as the boys will be back at it tonight at home against the Wings in another crucial battle for eighth place. One crappy period of hockey derailed what was an awfully fine-looking four game winning streak, and it's up to the team to get back on track.

Brent Sutter bemoaned his team's lack of preparation after last night's loss, and as much as it is the players' responsibility to make sure they are ready to play, it's also partially the coaching staff's responsibility. I'm not saying they need a reminder of just how important each and every remaining game is, but a little pep talk to ensure everyone is on the same page surely wouldn't hurt, especially for some of the younger players who may have never been in this situation before.

This loss is definitely a setback, but I saw too many good things in the final fourty minutes to declare it a total disaster. The Flames forechecked tenaciously, went hard to the net, blocked shots, killed penalties aggressively, and Toskala made some big saves when called upon--specifically a breakaway stop on Mason Raymond (aka The Guy With Two First Names.) If they can do all those things from the 20:00 mark of the fist period onwards, they could very well escape with two points. If not, well, I'd prefer not think about that at the moment.

Such is the wild unpredictability that is the Calgary Flames.

This just in: Chris Higgins will sit this one out with an apparent lower body injury and Nigel Dawes will likely draw into the lineup as his replacement, as per Pat Steinberg's twitter. That's a real shame. He's played consistently well since being acquired by the Flames and has been rewarded with two goals in his past three games and some quality scoring chances. Dawes has been scratched for a while, so maybe he has something to prove. We'll see tonight.

Game time is 7:30 on TSN.

Go Flames Go.

Because it's a slow news day...

As promised, here are some of the pictures I took at Thursday night's game against the Senators. Enjoy!

Harvey celebrates the win

Flames celebrate and congratulate Kipper

Public Enemy #1 Jarkko Ruutu en route to the penalty box

Ian White takes down a Sens player in front of the Flames net

Gio in the box

Kipper

Glennie and Kipper having a moment

Senators goal under review

TV time-out

Iggy

It's somewhat of a slow news day in the blogosphere today. The boys were back on the ice this morning after a recovery day yesterday and took an early afternoon flight to Vancouver, where they will play the Canucks tomorrow evening (8PM, Sportsnet). The assistant coaching staff ran an hour-long practice while Brent Sutter attended to a personal matter, presumably relating to the status of his son Brandon who suffered a "lower-body injury" in a game against the Penguins on Thursday.

Go Flames Go.

An epic clusterfuck

A nine to one loss to the San Jose Sharks. A five-game losing streak. What now?

The motherfucking Blackhawks, that's what.

I don't know how to respond to this; really, it's surreal to me that a team, only four points out of first place in its division, could play so poorly against a team that they are supposed to be competing with for one of the top spots in the Western conference. How a team, mere pennies away from the cap ceiling and stacked to the gills with supposed top-tier talent, can concede nine goals in a game, allowing fourty-six shots on goal, while answering with only one? How any group of NHL-calibre players can finish a single game with a combined rating of -18?

After losing a close one last night in Anaheim, not one single player on this team showed up focused and ready to play. It showed, as the Sharks exploited the Flames' barely-there defence and went all Harlem Globetrotters on their asses within minutes of the opening faceoff. This seems to be an ongoing problem with this team, no matter the coach, no matter the assortment of players. I'm not going to make accusations of character flaws, complacency, lack of commitment to winning, or off-ice distractions. All of those things are certainly possible, but petty nonetheless.

Brent Sutter offered up the same old diatribe as he does after each and every unflattering loss; they're embarrassed, he's speechless, there are "issues" that need to be resolved. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that if these "issues" haven't been resolved by the 50-game mark, they're not damn well getting resolved. And that's not Brent's fault; regardless of the "systems" he is preaching, these players know what they have to do, how they have to play, not only to be successful, but to win on a consistent basis. These guys are NHL players. They know what it takes to win, at any level. The problem is, they're not willing to do it nearly often enough.

The Flames have been "embarrassed" far too often for a team contending for a division title and a playoff spot, in my opinion. They blew a five to nothing lead to Blackhawks in October. Lost seven to one on home ice to the very same team in November. Turned in a listless effort at home in a five to one loss to the Canucks just last month. Hell, I found getting shutout one to nothing at home against the Predators embarrassing. This is beyond embarrassment; this is an epic clusterfuck.

How many "wake-up calls" does this team need? At this point, it appears they've OD'd on sleeping pills and the front desk at the hotel is closed. It's up to the players, the leaders, and management to see if they can be revived or not.

It's frustrating because Brent Sutter is not a bad coach, Darryl Sutter is not a bad general manager, and these are not bad players. So how do you explain this team's nosedive into mediocrity, unless they were simply overachieving until now?

I commend Darryl Sutter and Flames management for their ongoing commitment to building the best team possible. He's done almost everything in his power to build a winning franchise, and hasn't gotten the desired results. It must be discouraging to watch the team you thought could compete with the league's best flounder. Cap management issues and failure to address the team's scoring needs aside, he has dragged this organization back to respectability, and it appears that he's done all he can do. I think it might be time for him to move on.

Is a trade really going to fix things, or just act as a band-aid solution? A hasty deal can't be done in order to appease impatient fans. If a trade is going to be made, it has to make sense for the team going forward, beyond the end of this season, and will likely occur at the deadline or the draft. Do we trust the management team's judgement after the way the Jokinen deal turned out? If this losing streak has taught us anything, it's that this team's problems aren't going to fix themselves, that the bounces maybe aren't going to even out over time like people were saying mere days ago, and that even consistent good play can't be counted on to produce results.

We are in a world of hurt here and don't have a glorified history to fall back on. In a small, Canadian market with a hockey-crazed fan base that wants a winning team, what is there to lose? The Flames built on the momentum of one successful season and dragged it on for as long as humanly possible. Clearly, that is no way to build a team that is going to be consistently competitive in the future.

Am I suggesting that the Flames hire a new general manager, scrap everything, and rebuild? No, there are some very good players on this team and others that they could probably do without, but when you're not getting results, changes have to be made, and not just to the coaching staff. Maybe tanking the remainder of the season in hopes for a shot at Taylor Hall or Tyler Seguin isn't such a bad idea after all. Then again, the Flames would probably use their pick to draft some unheard-of centreman with hands of stone because of his "size."

I am envious of Oilers, Senators, and Leafs fans. You know what you're getting, straight up: a shitty team that probably isn't going to make the playoffs. What do we get? A team that parades around like a big tease, looking all shiny and promising and talented, only to prove year after year that it's nothing but a facade. False advertising. And every year we fall for it, buy into the hype, ignore the warning signs, only to have our hearts broken yet again. The Flames are the man-eaters of the NHL.

You'd think we'd know better by now, but alas, our vision is clouded by unconditional love for a franchise with little indication of long-term improvement and/or gratification. Such is the plight of a sports fan, I suppose.

I don't know what the solution to the Flames' problems are. I don't really know anything apart from the fact that, for some reason unbeknownst to me, I love this team and want them to do well. Any decision that somehow facilitates that is alright with me.

Somehow, this post has transitioned from unadulterated anger to quiet acceptance. Funny how that happens.

Chicago on Thursday.

Cheer when they're up, cheer harder when they're down. And boy, are they ever down.

Go Flames Go.

Post-game Party: This one feels good

One of the main reasons I'm a self-professed pessimist is so that when my favourite hockey team turns in an effort like the one they did the other night in Vancouver, I am even more ecstatic than normal.

Given my workplace's preference for all things NFL, I missed the first two periods of Saturday's game, and was relieved to see the score tied at two after I had anticipated a blowout. I was even more pleased to see that the Flames were outshooting their divisional rivals 37-16 in the final frame.

Despite many prime opportunities to run away with the contest and regulation and some dim-witted Canucklehead's attempts to blind Miikka Kiprusoff, the game went into overtime and would eventually go to a shootout, where the Flames scored on all three shots, including the winner by resident Mr. Clutch, Jamie Lundmark, who also scored in regulation to tie things up at two after Vancouver had taken the lead. The Canucks scored on two shots and hit the post on another, preserving the two points for the good guys; and boy did they ever need it.

I wasn't aware of exactly how dominant the Flames' effort was before reading numerous game summaries and looking at stats that I have limited understanding of; Jarome Iginla, reunited in a futile first line pairing with Olli Jokinen, had arguably his best game of the season against top-quality opposition, and fired six of the team's fourty shots in Lunongo's direction. David Moss led the offensive charge with eight shots on goal. Not only did the boys in red outchance their rivals offensively, but they also punished them physically, outhitting the Canucks 39-22 and engaging in two lengthy scraps, both involving Brandon Prust and Rick Rypien. For some reason, Canucks fans are upset about this hit, accusing Rene Bourque of hitting Tanner Glass from behind, when Glass, clearly uninjured, exacted his revenge against Nigel Dawes with a similar hit later in the game, and got two minutes for his troubles.

Needless to say, this one feels good after two lacklustre efforts against lacklustre teams.

While an effort and a victory of this magnitude against a team that seemed unbeatable is encouraging, tough times lie ahead, starting with this evening's contest against the Avalanche (8PM, Sportsnet). The Avs own a 3-0 edge in the season series against their rocky mountain rivals, and the Flames would surely love nothing more than to wipe those smug little smirks off their baby faces. Easier said than done. The last time the Northwest division lead was on the line, the Flames churned out a less-than impressive performance that had Brent Sutter fuming, yet again. This is the last chance that the Flames have to make up ground in the six-game series at the 'Dome, as the next two contests will be played in Denver.

Former Flames' prospects Craig Anderson and Ryan Wilson always put on a show against their former team and, if you follow me on Twitter, you already know how I feel about Wojtek Wolski.

With the Canucks hosting the Predators tonight, this game becomes all the more important in the division standings; the Flames could very well find themselves in third place in the Northwest when this evening's events wrap up.

On the other hand, they could also find themselves in first.

Expect lots of locker-room-argument related jokes via Twitter from Adrian Dater; apparently they never get old.

Go Flames Go.

3/6 Canadian coaches and John Tortorella are really f--ing pissed

Brent Sutter joined Pat Quinn and Ron Wilson in a trifecta of angry bench bosses North of the border in his post-game tirade after the Flames' 3-2 loss to the cellar-dwelling Blue Jackets. It wasn't quite on par with a John Tortorella-esque profanity-laced meltdown, but it ranked pretty high on the Brent Sutter Surliness Meter. Watch the video, since I can't be bothered to type it out verbatim:

Everyone wants a consistent, predictable hockey team. We want to know that they are going to come out and play a specific style of game every night, and when they don't, they'll do it the next night. Coming from New Jersey, one of the most consistent franchises of all time, this situation is obviously new to Sutter. Sure, there was an adjustment period when he took over coaching duties and the team learnt his "systems," but they still earned a 46-29-7 record, good for ninety-nine points, in 2007-08. The season after that? Even better; the Devils went 51-27-4 with 106 points in a year where Martin Brodeur missed a good chunk of the season due to injury.

The New Jersey franchise has long been the picture of success and consistency. The players within the organization know what is expected of them night in and night out: to be responsible defensively and still score enough goals to beat the opposition. This is not an uncommon philosophy, and one that the Sutter brothers clearly share. Players that have been in Calgary long enough--Iginla, Conroy, Langkow, Regehr--know that this is what is expected of them. What else can a coach or a general manager do or say to reinforce this? The onus really is on the players.

The fact of the matter is, this team simply isn't talented enough to live up to the lofty expectations placed upon it. They are not built to excel in the regular season, nevermind the playoffs. From the crease to the blueline, sure, but even then I have my doubts, namely about Robyn Regehr's health and Dion Phaneuf's career potential. Up front is where the real problems begin. Anything more than the production we are currently seeing from the forwards is simply overachievement, as we learnt at the beginning of the season. Sure, the defence could chip in a little more, but that's not what they're there for. Your top-six guys are supposed to carry the team, and the bottom six guys are meant to provide supplementary scoring when the big guns can't get it done. As of now, not a single forward on this team is fulfilling their role. The fact that the Flames don't really have much of a distinction between top-six and bottom-six on their roster outside of three, maybe four forwards is where the situation gets even more convoluted.

I am well aware that the Flames aren't the only team in the league with this problem. If they had a real first line that didn't rely on offensive production from AHL call-ups, they might be able to mask the problem a little better. While a trade for a top-six forward still seems like the most viable solution to this team's problems, there is still the matter of said forward finding chemistry with teammates and fitting into the lineup at his desired position. Sometimes, that doesn't happen (ie: Tanguay, Jokinen). The Flames seem to have bad luck in trading for the aforementioned coveted first-liner, and Cammalleri was really the only one that had success in that position, but Darryl screwed that one up royally when he acquired Jokinen at last year's trade deadline.

I don't want to perpetuate any rumours circulating out there on the web, but if there is any truth to the claims that scouts from several teams have been in attendance at some of the Flames' recent games, a deal could be more imminent than anyone in the organization is willing to let on. The Flames' well documented surplus in defencemen fuels speculation that a blueliner could be on the move, in return for some scoring help. Then again, Hockey Buzz has Olli Jokinen on the move to Nashville, which I would truly love to believe.

As for tonight's game, the Flames had some bad puck luck and the stats weren't all that bad (I think), but their effort wasn't near good enough in all zones. Too many turnovers, odd-man rushes, lax defensive coverage, not enough shots on goal, and bad decisions with the puck all added up to a Flames loss; their second in a row and second to a non-playoff team. These are invaluable points, up for grabs against a team that shouldn't be beating the Flames at all, never mind in their own building.

If this was all they could muster against the Blue Jackets, I hate to imagine what the end result of tomorrow's game in Vancouver (8PM, CBC) will be. Playing a rested Canucks team that has gone 11-1-2 in their past fourteen games, boasting the league's hottest line, on the second night of back-to-backs on the road undoubtably equals one massive failure. I'm considering taking bets on the over/under for how many goals the Sedin-Sedin-Burrows line will score in the first period alone. I'm past the point where I hope for miracles against good teams, or hope to be pleasantly surprised by this team's performance. I usually know when to expect a win, and when to expect a loss. The Flames' upcoming schedule will not be kind to them in terms of results, and as hard as I'm trying to accept that, I know I'll still be disappointed when they lose; and that's the worst part of it all.

Being a fan is not an easy job. Trying to put it into words is even harder.

Go Flames Go.

Losing's a bitch

I've been somewhat of a bad fan again lately.

I didn't order the Flames vs. Blues game on Flames PPV tonight because I didn't want to waste my (well, my parents') money on another losing effort, and I just couldn't shake that sinking feeling that the Flames would come away empty-handed on Brett Hull night in the Show Me State. Well, it turned out I was right. Brent Sutter didn't seem to give off the same level of poorly-disguised rage tonight as he did after the loss to Colorado on Sunday, but he can't be happy with another incomplete effort from his club in a game they could have won.

I watched the debacle against Minnesota unfold in its entirety and expected a better effort against the Avs; I was disappointed and frustrated when that didn't materialize and anticipated a stronger showing in St. Louis. After this game, I simply have no explantation for the funk the Flames find themselves in. Chalk it up to an inability to play a full sixty? Not sticking to your game plan? Lack of confidence? Maybe, but after such a successful month in which it appeared Brent Sutter had finally got this team playing the way he envisioned when he took the job in the offseason, the fact that this team has gotten away from that style of play for so long is disconcerting. The fact that they don't seem to be in any hurry to get back to it is even more so.

Clearly this team is aware of what they're doing wrong--allowing too many shots, not getting enough, undisciplined play--and they know what they have to do in order to win and be successful. Going into the third period of a tied game in which you still have a very good chance to win, being held to only four shots on goal and getting outplayed the way the Flames did tonight against St. Louis is unacceptable. Forcing your backup goaltender to make thirty saves while offering little defensive support is negligible. Every team goes through tough stretches, they say it builds character, but three games worth of consistently bad hockey does little to enforce that saying. This losing streak is not the result of bad luck, but the inability to compete at the same level as the opposition, to rise to the challenge, to maintain consistent levels of effort, emotion, and involvement, and that is what is so endlessly frustrating about it. Is this all just "coach speak?" Very possibly, but I can't think of any other way to describe what I'm currently witnessing.

It goes without saying that the leaders on this team need to step it up in this situation--Jarome Iginla hasn't scored in seven games, Jokinen in three, Robyn Regehr was a -2 tonight, and Jay Bouwmeester is a combined -4 in his past three outings. Perhaps it is unfair to call Bouwmeester a leader in his first season with the Flames, but on such a young defence he arguably gains the title automatically. While the Flames have been getting contributions from the likes of Bourque (1G, 1A), Giordano (+2, 1A), Boyd, and Langkow, this team has proved that they are at their best when everyone is doing their part, and, needless to say, that hasn't been happening lately. Sean O'Donnell of the L.A. Kings said it best tonight after he scored the game winner against the Oilers; he explained that the Kings have been successful because even when they don't play their best hockey, they still find a way to win. The Flames seemed to have that aspect of their game down pat early in the season and in November, and they need to get back to it.

The Western Conference is shaping up to be even tighter than I anticipated, and every point only increases in significance as the season wears on. The Flames have fallen from second to sixth while going 2-4-1 in their past seven, meanwhile the Coyotes and the injury-riddled Wings have crept up to within two and three points respectively and Edmonton, Vancouver, and Minnesota are all inching ever closer to the Flames' second-place division perch. The Predators are tied with the Blackhawks. Are you sweating yet? You should be. Welcome aboard the Stress Train, folks, next stop: Pengrowth Saddledome. Enjoy the ride.

A date with the best-in-the-west Kings does not seem like the best remedy for the Flames' ills; sometimes good teams bring out the best in them, others, the worst. I honestly don't know what to expect from this team on Thursday. The Flames have the advantage of a rested Kiprusoff and a powerplay unit that appears to be on the up-swing, and after three straight road losses, they may be looking forward to a return to home ice, despite their most recent showing at the 'Dome.

L.A. on Thursday. Let's show this punk-ass losing streak who's boss.

Go Flames Go.

Sutter hints at character deficiencies in another loss to the Avs

If there was a shouting match after the game the last time the Flames played the Avs, the walls of the visitor's dressing room at the Pepsi Centre must have been shaking violently following this one. At least Adrian Dater thinks it's funny.

Another half-hearted effort by most involved (with the exception of #34 and #17) culminated in another frustrating loss to a division opponent tonight, when the Flames had yet another opportunity to take over sole possession of first place in the Northwest.

I turned the game off after the first period when I realized that it was likely going to be an exact replica of their 2-1 overtime loss to the Wild on Friday night, so there's not much I can say about it. After two games at home against the Avs in which the Flames probably deserved better fates, they got exactly what they deserved tonight in Denver. Once again, defensive breakdowns and offensive ineptitude sunk this team. On the last two Colorado goals, Stewart and Tucker were allowed to stand uncontested at the side of the Flames net, getting two or three clear chances before scoring.

The Flames defenders seem to think that it's illegal to tie up an opposing forward in front of the net, block a shot, or do anything that might possibly help out their poor goaltender, who is only playing the best hockey of his career and allowed more than two goals in a game for the first time in nearly a month. Jay Bouwmeester was -2 and all other d-men except Regehr (-1) were even, which essentially speaks to how bad the defensive situation was.

This game actually started off well, and the Flames had a few good scoring chances on which they failed to capitalize before the parade to the penalty box began. Undisciplined play resulted in five straight trips to the sin bin, including a double minor awarded to Curtis Glencross for high-sticking, and managed to kill off all but one two-man advantage, on which Wojtek Wolski scored. The penalty killing, now second in the league on the road, remains a high point for the Flames, but it hasn't exactly been successful in limiting its opponents shots on goal lately, as the Flames surrendered twenty to the Avalanche in the first period alone, most of which they spent short-handed.

After the first period, the Flames and Avs registered an even fifteen shots a piece, but Colorado made the most of their opportunities. Mark Giordano scored on a powerplay (!) with six minutes left to make the score 3-2, and the Flames were left to scramble for the tying goal. In the dying seconds of the game, Jarome Iginla, who is once again feeling the heat after a six-game scoring drought, broke his stick in an attempt to fire home what appeared to be a perfect pass from Bouwmeester.

Bad luck? Perhaps, but this game was over long before the final five minutes of the third period, and the Flames now find themselves in an 0-3 hole against a team they are competing with for the division lead. This team has to make their own luck by playing their style of game, which seems to have run off the rails recently. They started to get back to it in the third, but as we all know, twenty minutes of hockey just doesn't cut it most nights.

After the game, Sutter said he felt that the Flames' play from their last game against Minnesota carried over into tonight's contest; when asked why he thought that was, he replied "I don't want to get into it." Sutter seemed to be at somewhat of a loss for words during the post-game media scrum, clearly disappointed in the effort level of his club in what he believed was a very important game. Cryptic character critiques from the Bench Boss are nothing new; we heard it after the last loss to Colorado, and after that blowout loss to the Hawks on home ice. It remains to be seen if this one will have the desired effect.

The Flames stumble into St. Louis for Brett Hull Night on Tuesday sporting a less than impressive 2-3-1 record in the month of December. The Blues have lost four straight games at home, so naturally something's gotta give. The good news is that the Flames still have three games in hand on the Avs and sit only two points behind them in the standings; let's hope they make the most of it.

Post-game Party: Flames 3, Thrashers 1 (plus a lengthy unrelated rant; proceed at your own risk)

First order of business: Doesn't Nigel Dawes sort of look like he could be Iggy's kid brother? So cute.

Now, onto the important stuff. Last night's affair yielded predictable if not expected results in a game that saw the return of Robyn Regehr after a one-game hiatus and the Flames' much anticipated homecoming. The Flames were a little sluggish to start the first period and found themselves on the wrong side of early 7-1 and 10-3 shot counts, but found their stride late in the period and carried that momentum into the middle frame. In the second, they outshot the visiting Thrashers 14-6 and outscored them 2-0 on goals from Dawes and Jokinen, while enjoying three straight opportunities with the man advantage. Colby Armstrong made things interesting when a shot deflected in off of his skate while he was battling with Aaron Johnson in front of the Flames net to make the score 2-1 and set up a nail-biting finish, but I think we can all agree that this was the highlight of the night:

Curtis Glencross is one badass motherf--er.

The Flames went on to win 3-1 courtesy of an empty-netter from Bourque, who stripped Kovalchuk of the puck at the Flames blueline and potted his ninth of the season into an empty cage after Kiprusoff made several key saves on Max Afinogenov from close range with the Thrashers pressing for the equalizer. While the Flames managed to translate their road successes into a home victory with the help of some spotless penalty-killing and contributions from the first line, the ineffectual powerplay, operating at a 7/74 clip over their past twenty games, is still a glaring blemish on what is otherwise a relatively well-rounded team.

The powerplay generated little offence on five opportunities, with the most dangerous chance being a glorious open net gimme on which Rene Bourque shot the puck high and wide. Give the Thrashers credit, their PK unit is ranked #1 in the league on the road, but as I've said before, the Flames have to find a way to score goals and not allow teams to get back into games that should have been well out of reach. This year's team is beginning to remind me of the 05-06 squad, one that possessed unmatched defensive prowess but lacked offensive firepower, and that worries me a little bit.

Now onto my rant of the day; stop me if you think this is unjustified:

I rarely take issue with the good folks over at Puck Daddy, but this post dissecting the intended messages of a CTV feature documenting the respective careers of Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin irked me.

As a communications major, I'm all for interpreting media messages and the notion that social reality is constructed through language, but this is pushing it. In the article, Greg Wyshynski writes that the aforementioned CTV feature is a "glorious piece of Canadian hockey propaganda" and that CTV has shaped two distinct images for Crosby and Ovechkin. Crosby is the well-behaved, quiet leader; the game is his life, and anything that goes on outside of it is none of our business. Ovechkin is the flashy, loud-mouthed foreigner with disregard for the rules; his life outside of hockey is well documented and ever expanding. I won't argue against the fact that these images have been established, but media-constructed personas projected onto athletes, more specifically hockey players, are hardly a new phenomena.

Weren't the same characteristics used to describe Crosby attributed to Grezky as a player? What about Lemieux? Yzerman? Russian players have often been portrayed as soft-spoken individuals who quietly go about their business and avoid any extra attention; Ovechkin doesn't fit that stereotype, but that's not to say he should be vilified for it. His individuality is and should be recognized and celebrated by hockey fans and media worldwide.

This is the first issue I have with this piece; CTV is not alone in shaping these images, they are simply perpetuating pre-existing personas for these two players that have been constructed by various media outlets in Canada and the United States. While Wyshynski wonders whether or not CTV producers are aware of the images they are portraying, it seems obvious that the sole purpose of the feature is a blatant attempt to generate hype for the Olympics and reignite the long-standing hockey rivalry between Canada and Russia (not that it needs it), and not to detract from the accomplishments of Alexander Ovechkin while glorifying those of Sidney Crosby. Propaganda? Perhaps, but what's wrong with drumming up a little nationalist fervor in anticipation of the Olympics, especially with the games on home soil? At the very least, I would expect an American to understand that.

Wyshynski claims that CTV portrays Ovechkin as "being the star of the Russian team" at the Olympic camp, while Crosby was simply "trying out for the team." Not to discount the talent of Russian players, but Ovechkin is clearly the most explosive, talented, and marketable of the bunch. He scored fifty-six goals and one-hundred and ten points last season, second only to Evgeni Malkin, with Datsyuk and Kovalchuk brining up the not-so-distant rear; of course he's the star.

Crosby led all Canadians in scoring with one-hundred and three points, but again, players like Ryan Getlzaf, Jarome Iginla, and Marc Savard weren't too far behind. Jeff Carter and Mike Cammalleri had breakout seasons with fourty-six and thirty-nine goals respectively, while Rick Nash also hit the fourty-goal mark in 2008-09. While Crosby may be amongst the elite of Canadian NHLers, he doesn't necessarily possess the same individual "star power" that makes him stand out amongst other skilled Canadian players as Ovechkin does.

The bottom line is that CTV is catering to an audience of Canadian hockey fans (or so they thought), and thus a feature documenting the rivalry between Crosby and Ovechkin, Canada and Russia, is going to be biased. They are telling us what they think we want to hear, showing us what they think we want to see. This is not to say that all Canadians share the sentiments about Crosby and Ovechkin so often expressed through the media or that they even view Crosby in a more favourable light. As for Wyshynski's assertion that the feature didn't answer the question of "who's better?" as implicitly promised, is that really necessary anymore? Honestly, I tired of this so-called rivalry quite some time ago; can't we just appreciate both players for what they contribute to the sport we love? I can't help but think that one Toronto media tour does not give Greg Wyshynski the right to make generalizations about Canadian hockey fans and the diverse contributions to the world of sports media that we have to offer.

If my take on the Crosby vs. Ovechkin saga doesn't do it for you, maybe this one courtesy of Bloge Salming will:

Comic gold.

Alright, now that that's over with:

Minnesota tomorrow.

The Wild appear to be back to their notoriously stingy selves after winning a 1-0 snoozer against the Avs last night, and are 11-4-3 in their last eighteen games. Minnesota is another team that doesn't have best of luck at the 'Dome, and Flames fans should hope that that trend continues as it appears their injury situation may be getting worse by the day. Adam Pardy left practice early this morning while Iginla, Nystrom, and Conroy were given the day off for "maintenance." There have been no updates on Cory Sarich, who appears to be suffering from an incurable Forsberg-esque foot ailment, which is concerning, but not dire. That being said, Sutter expects everyone but Sarich to play Friday, which probably means that they will all be sitting in the press box with emergency call-ups from Abbotsford taking their respective places in the lineup.

Game time is 7:00PM on Flames PPV.

Go Flames Go.