Flames/Sens post game: My view from the (non) cheap seats

As some of you may already know, I attended the Flames game vs. the Senators last night and have arrived here with intentions of a full post-game report, including the many pictures I took.

The friends we were going with arrived slightly late, so I was pleased to find that the game was delayed. The Hockey Gods seemed to be on my side already. I felt like a tool strolling into the 'Dome without donning either of my historically unlucky Flames jerseys, but I was confident that my red Canada hoodie would ensure victory.

We sat in some wicked club seats right behind the penalty box where I adopted a new philosophy--positive reinforcement. I'm the person that other people can't stand to watch the game on TV with because I'm constantly fidgeting nervously and spewing negative thoughts, so this time I thought I'd try something different. Lots of "Go Flames Go!" and "Way to go (insert player name here!)" and "Nice PK!", "Great block!", etc.

The only two negative comments I made were directed at Kotalik when he whiffed on a play in the offensive zone and Staios when he bobbled the puck just inside the Flames blueline, so I think I did pretty well. I'm pretty sure the couple beside me didn't cheer or speak a word to each other over the entire duration of the game. Then again, they may have been Sens fans; they left shortly after Daniel Alfredsson took a penalty and I shouted "Where's your medal Alfredsson?" across the row. That, or they were annoyed by my incessant commentary.

Anyways, the general consensus seems to be that the game was a little choppy, the Flames didn't play as well as they could have, got some lucky bounces, and found a way to win an important hockey game, which I don't disagree with. I do, however, disagree with the contention that the game was boring and that the Flames' defensive play was just "OK." I'm a sucker for shot-blocking, solid goaltending, a good PK, and an all-over structured game, so needless to say I was entertained throughout.

This game also had a little nastiness right from the opening faceoff; Chris Neil tried to catch Mark Giordano unaware with an open ice hit/elbow which Gio wisely dodged, and the two were at each other for the remainder of the game; there was a scrum after almost every whistle. Although the Flames made frequent trips to the penalty box, a few of the calls were slightly iffy and they did a great job of remaining patient and not getting frustrated by their lack of offense and the inconsistent flow of the game.

I think Ottawa's shot total was largely reflective of how many powerplay opportunities they received, as there were relatively few times where the Flames had a defensive breakdown and got bottled up in their own zone, most of which occurred in the third period. I thought I was alone in thinking that Sarich had a great game, but that seems to be a widely agreed upon fact as well.

I think the Flames' shot blocking was far more impressive in person, I don't think I've seen this team so dedicated to sacrificing their bodies for the win all season and I dare say that it's partially a result of the addition of guys like White and Staios on the blueline. Jay Bouwmeester was credited with four of the team's thirty blocked shots while Sarich had five and Gio led the team with six. Staios was credited with three shots on goal and narrowly missed on a few opportunities with traffic in front of the Senator's net.

I also got a glimpse at just how good Eric Nystrom is defensively. He was fantastic on the penalty kill all evening, blocked a shot which left him hobbling to the dressing room in pain, and assisted on the game winning goal by Jamal Mayers. I think letting him walk as a UFA would be a huge mistake and I hope Darryl finds a way to lock him up. As the Flames were fading slightly in the third period, they started to ramp up their physical play, leading to the 2-0 insurance goal; I was specifically impressed by Jay Bouwmeester, who probably threw his weight around last night more than I've seen him do all season, Ian White, and Chris Higgins, both of whom were solid at each end of the ice.

I didn't think the first line had a huge impact on this game, and Bourque was probably the best of the trio. He had four shots on goal and accumulated four penalty minutes. Iggy had a few chances, but Stajan was probably the least noticeable. There were a few different players on that line throughout the game as well, I think I saw Conroy out there for a shift or two and Higgins as well. The fourth and second lines were probably the best for the Flames, as they contributed to both goals and were consistent throughout sixty minutes of hockey.

Overall, the team seemed to have trouble establishing their forecheck and pressuring Brian Elliot and the Senators' defence, but two opportunistic goals were enough thanks to the play of Kiprusoff in what would be his 34th(!) career shutout. Kipper was magnificent throughout the game, and looked calm and steady when his team was a little shaky in the first and third periods despite getting a little help from his goal posts and a disallowed Ottawa goal, and didn't appear to have to make many overly difficult saves.

The Flames' defence did a pretty good job at keeping most of the Sens' shots to the outside and collapsing to the net. I just wish they would stop trying to cycle the puck along the boards in their own zone so often, as it usually ends up on the stick of an opposing player; as the game went on they started using the glass more to chip the puck out, which I liked.

This wasn't a bad game by any means and another important win in the push for the post season that leaves the Flames tied for seventh in the conference after an epic collapse by the Predators saw the Sharks score six third period goals to win the game 8-5. The whole team will need to be slightly sharper and more energetic when they face the Canucks on Sunday, which should be no problem against a divisional rival, but we've seen them come out flat in games against their supposed nemeses before.

I'll post some of the pictures I took at the game later, unfortunately the responsibilities of real life are calling at the moment.

Also, stay tuned for some potentially exciting news coming up in the next little while.

Go Flames Go.

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.

Flames look to do what Canadian juniors couldn't, shoot for sixth straight win in Minny

I blame Canada's loss in the gold medal game at the World Juniors on two things:

1) Nothing rhymes with six (ie: "drive for five")

2) Pepsi. Damn you and your stupid cheer.

Really, I can't whole-heartedly defend an undisciplined Canadian squad that seemed to have trouble executing their game plan and took shifts off at crucial times. They just didn't look all there too many times during this tournament, and it cost them. Perhaps something can be said of injuries to top defencemen and questionable officiating, but those are petty excuses. If anything, this loss reminds us that winning requires equal parts hard work, skill, and discipline; gold medals have to be earned, they are not simply awarded based on pedigree.

I give the Americans full marks for playing an opportunistic, well-rounded game and exposing Canada's weaknesses; they've finally banished their WJHC demons, winning their second gold medal and beating Canada en route to both tournament titles. With the loss, Canada remains tied with Russia with fifteen golds. And if you weren't already pissed about that, watch this video of the American players celebrating in their dressing room after the game. That'll do it for you.

Canada's goaltending and defence simply hasn't been up to snuff at the past two World Junior tournaments. They can't rely on their offence, specifically Jordan "The Messiah" Eberle, to bail them out every time they find themselves down by a goal or two in big games. Even in wins against Slovakia and Switzerland, Canada lacked that authoritative dominance that we've seen from them in the past, and it was certainly nowhere to be seen against the Americans, despite two inspiring two-goal comebacks.

A silver medal is nothing to be ashamed of, but in a sport and a tournament where it's gold or bust, this one stings.

Not only do we have to put up with Edmonton's Jordan Eberle and Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson, who will undoubtably suit up for the Oilers next season, but we also have Vancouver's first round pick in '09 Jordan Schroeder (who the Flames passed up on in favour of defencemen Tim Erixon, much to my chagrin) to contend with.

The Flames' prospects, on the other hand, didn't fare so well in this tournament. Greg Nemisz collected one meagre point, a goal against the Americans in a losing cause. Joni Ortio struggled on a disappointing Finnish squad that failed to earn a medal and Tim Erixon was injured after taking a hard hit early in the tournament. However, he still collected three points in five games and was a +3.

We'll let you have this one, America; you earned it. We'll be sure to show you a thing or two about hockey in Vancouver. Zach Parise could very well be eating his words in little more than a month.

For a tongue-in-cheek, unabashedly chest-thumping take on the USA's gold medal victory, check out The Two-Line Pass.

Alright, being that this is a Flames blog, I suppose I should write something on the team in question. The Flames secured a 3-1 road victory over the Nashville Predators last night, good for a season-high five game winning streak and first place in the Northwest division. They played a textbook Sutter-hockey road game, a fairly conservative attack combined with well-executed shut-down defence, and got goals from slumping forwards David Moss and Olli Jokinen before Langkow sealed the deal with an empty-netter. After nearly a month of the exact opposite, games and wins like this are a welcome sight. I've said it before and I'll say it again: I love boring hockey. Defence first, smart, grind-it-out games are truly a pleasure to watch. Win or lose, if the Flames continue to play this way on a consistent basis, I'll be a happy camper. I'm not going to deny the fact that this team still needs offensive help, but if Kiprusoff and the defence continue to operate at the level they have been in recent games, the need may not be as urgent as originally thought.

If there's one team that can beat us at our own game, it's the Minnesota Wild, coincidentally Calgary's opponent tonight (6PM, Fan 960). The Wild fired fourty-five shots at Kiprusoff in a 2-1 overtime victory at the 'Dome the last time these two teams met. At the time, the Flames were mired in a near December-long slump, so it'll be interesting to see if they can resume their typical levels of dominance against a struggling Minnesota squad trying to avoid a five-game slide. Both teams played last night, and the team that proves most able to overcome fatigue throughout the game will undoubtably come away with the two points.

The Flames got Cory Sarich back from a nineteen-game stint on IR last night against the Preds, and according to the Flames' website, he won't suit up tonight. However, there is no mention of Craig Conroy's injury, so I suspect they may have confused the two. Jason Jaffray, called up from the Heat to fill Conroy's vacated skates, had two shots on goal in 5:25 of ice time. Dion Phaneuf appears to be a-okay after leaving Saturday's game with an apparent arm injury while former Flame Owen Nolan will likely sit this one out for the Wild. All signs point to Kiprusoff starting his second game in as many nights, and why not, he's 24-7-4 against the Wild all time. Line combinations appear unchanged for both teams.

Finally, never one to keep his mouth shut, Theo Fleury lets us know how he really felt about getting cut by the Flames, putting down Craig Conroy and Darryl Sutter in the process, and gives us his take on the Flames' playoff chances on his blog. He also offers up a trade proposal, sending Robyn Regehr packing in favour of some offensive help for Iginla. Pretty sure that one's been done before, but you be the judge of that.

Given the un-televised nature of tonight's game combined with the fact that I'll be at work, I will likely miss most if not all of it. Scream profanities at your computer/radio for me.

Go Flames Go.

Post-game party: Superskills edition

While I have been slacking in the blog department, the Flames have been winning; quite a bit actually. After that not-the-best-but-we'll-take-it effort that resulted in a win versus the Oilers on December 28th, the Flames have rattled of three straight home victories against the Kings, the Oilers again, and the Leafs, putting together solid, near sixty-minute efforts in every one.

I missed the game against the Kings and two periods of the New Years' Eve tilt versus the Oilers, but from what I've heard/read, I have little to no complaints about either of the victories other than the fact that McElhinney missed out on his first career shut-out, thanks to Sean Horcoff. Ass.

The game against Toronto had its sloppy moments, as was to be expected from a team playing its fourth game in five nights, but I was pleased with the overall effort and the result. Jonas Gustavsson kept the Leafs in the game after the Flames found their legs midway through the first period and fired thirty-five shots his way, their second straight game totalling thirty-plus shots. Toronto's Wayne Primeau returned to Calgary for the first time since being traded to the Leafs in the offseason; he had one assist in the game before promptly getting injured. That's the Primeau we know and love!

On a more serious note, Dion Phaneuf also went down with an injury and did not return for the third period after being tripped/slew-footed by Matt Stajan and falling awkwardly. The tight-lipped Sutters have kept any information regarding the injury top-secret as usual, but Phaneuf was reportedly seen leaving the 'Dome with his arm in a sling. Not good. The good news is that Cory Sarich has been skating since December 29th and participated in the Flames' Superskills competition this afternoon, which I was lucky enough to attend. Craig Conroy was also MIA for today's festivities, as he is also "banged up" according to the Flames Insider. Curtis Glencross is also nursing a "slight injury," as per the same source. Must be a side-effect of his awesome-ness against the Leafs last night. Staffan Kronwall also participated in a few events today (including shooting acuracy, which he won, hitting all four targets with only five shots), which likely indicates that he will fill in for Phaneuf on Tuesday if Sarich isn't quite ready to go, which in turn would probably see Pardy get promoted to the second pairing with Giordano. Maybe the Flames can use him as a forward on the first line with that wicked accuracy...

Jokinen and Bourque didn't participate in a lot of events either, but they were dressed, which has me wondering if they are also feeling the effects of this tough schedule. No word on any potential injuries affecting either player as of yet.

Anyways, as I said, I did attend the Flames skills competition today; I wasn't fortunate enough to get my favourite seats (the place was actually pretty packed), but the ones I did get were still pretty good. Here are some of the photos I snapped:

The 'Dome: pre-game atmosphere at 11 AM on a Sunday

Johnson and Jokinen discussing breakaway strategies. Robyn Regehr, Nigel Dawes, and Jay Bouwmeester were two-for-two in the breakaway relay against Curtis McElhinney. Kipper doesn't do Superskills.

Puck control relay

Prust and Pardy about to face off in the puck control relay, doing a little trash-talking for good measure.

Bouwmeester and Johnson helping out with the shooting accuracy contest

Bouwmeester with one of the minor hockey players participating in the competition...lucky little brat. He's going to remember that for the rest of his life.

Team photo

"Jerseys Off Our Backs" draw winners; unfortunately I wasn't amongst them.

This was my third year attending the Superskills competition and it was enjoyable as always, especially since the Flames have been winning lately. The whole group was loose and having fun, despite being tired and a bit worse-for-wear. It's a great opportunity for fans to get up-close and personal with the players and tickets are only ten dollars, I highly recommend attending next year if you haven't already.

This and That:

I think I also gave the last Nike hockey commercial a shameless plug on this blog, but I can't get enough of their new one featuring Jarome Iginla, Dion Phaneuf, Jordan Eberle, and Jayna Hefford from the Women's national team. I get chills every time Eberle says, "With five seconds left, Destiny panics."

Canada beat Switzerland 6-1 this afternoon en route to its ninth straight appearance in the gold medal game

at the World Juniors, and now waits on the winner of the Sweden vs. USA game later this evening. If I'm

not mistaken, Greg Nemisz is still without a point; a disappointing showing for the former Flames first

rounder, to say the least. He's had his chances, including several of the point-blank variety in this game, but

can't seem to finish, which is what the Flames desperately need now and going forward. Team Canada will

take on the winner of the Sweden vs. USA match later this evening in the gold medal game on Tuesday.

Given the way they performed against the Americans on New Years' Eve, I'm rooting for the Swedes.

As you all know, the Canadian Men's Olympic team was announced on Wednesday. All the debate seems to

have died down now, so I figured I'd throw in my two cents. I have very few qualms with this team; the fact

that none of the Flames' defencemen made the team was mildly surprising, but given the team's play for most

of December, Steve Yzerman and Co. couldn't have been too impressed with what they saw, and looked

elsewhere to fill out the roster. As I pointed out last summer, the Team Canada brass has no shortage of choice

in defenceman, most of them up-and-coming like Doughty, Keith, and Seabrook, which makes the three

Flames blueliners expendable, even if they are more experienced in international competition. I would have

liked to see Mike Green on the team, as Canada was lacking offensive production from their blueliners in

2006, but no matter how many times Bruce Boudreau tries to defend him, he still has a reputation for suspect

defensive zone play, as does Phaneuf (the latter has been far too inconsistent to merit serious consideration

for the team since day one) Much like Brian Burke and Team USA, Steve Yzerman opted for a younger,

more versatile squad than the veteran-laden one that disappointed in Turin. Both appear to be building the

young foundations for a 2014 team, if the NHL decides to continue participating in the winter games after this year.

Scott Niedermayer is as good a choice as any for captain; Yes, he's thirty-six and his play hansn't been great on an

Anaheim team that finds itself in the Western Conference cellar, but he's won four Stanley Cups and every

tournament, international or otherwise, there is to win. He's a leader and a winner, plain and simple, and

nobody can fairly claim otherwise. I haven't seen Patrice Bergeron play enough to judge his addition to the

team, but I'm sure he has something to offer, as he has played with Crosby in the past at the World Junior

tournament. This team is relatively young, fast, and talented with just the right amount of grit. There aren't

quite as many superstars as the 2002 team had, but there is arguably more talent and more youth here than

on the 2006 squad. In little over a month, we will find out once and for all if it is a winning combination.

Up Next: The Flames hit the road for a mini two-game trip starting in Nashville on Tuesday (Sportsnet,

6PM). The Flames are 1-1-0 versus the Preds this season, with the road team winning in both meetings.

Go Flames Go.

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.

Game day musings--BORK BORK BORK

I awoke today like a kid on Christmas morning, eager to find out if Rene Bourque would be suiting up for the Flames tonight against the Desert Dogs, and to my utter delight I found out that he will be. Not only will good ol' #17 return to the lineup this evening, but he will be playing on the first line, fulfilling the dreams of Flames fans since the 2009-10 season began two months ago. The second line of Dawes-Langkow-Moss has found undeniable chemistry in Bourque's six-game absence, particularly Moss and Dawes, who has goals in each of his last four games, and I see no reason to break them up at this point in time.

Lundmark has been sent down to Abbotsford with the return of Rene, and has reinforced his reputation as a reliable farmhand with three points in six games with the big club and a shootout winner in Columbus. We thank you for your services, Jamie, but I think we are all terribly excited to see Bourque back in action this soon. While it will be tough for Bourque to regain his team scoring lead after Jarome "Star of the Month" Iginla took over with a too-hot-to-handle November, I expect him to pick up where he left off, and hopefully he will be rewarded with a new contract sooner rather than later.

The Flames are in Phoenix today for their second meeting of the season with the 'Yotes. Apparently Jim Vandermeer is some kind of clutch offensive performer now. Who knew? Cory Sarich remains at home in Calgary with a lower-body injury, likely something to do with the foot injury that was troubling him earlier this season, and the fact that the Flames have been successful without him thus far further fuels speculation that he could be part of a deal for a top-six forward. With Sarich out, Giordano has been promoted to the second pairing with Jay Bouwmeester, and seems to be a perfect fit. Both are agile and handle the puck well, with Gio, who recorded twenty-four hits in November, holding the physical edge over Bo, who blocked twenty-one shots in the aforementioned month. Team Awesome!

Phoenix has won two straight games and is 8-5-0 at home, while the Flames have won four straight and tied a franchise record for points in ten straight road games with their 5-0 man-handling of the Nashville Predators on Monday night, good for a record of 10-1-3 away from the 'Dome. This is utterly mind-boggling to me, considering how notoriously crappy the Flames have been on the road in recent seasons, and I'm wondering if this is simply a result of the coaching change or if something has really changed in the team's overall psyche.

The Flames' powerplay has shown signs of life in recent games, moving up to a respectable ninth in the league, while the penalty kill continues to operate at a rate of 87.3% on the road, having allowed only seven powerplay goals in fourteen road games. All predictions I've read for this game have the Flames winning either 3-1 or 4-1, but I don't think it'll be that easy, despite their record of dominance in Glendale. Given the play of Kiprusoff (2.27 GAA, .925 SV%) and Bryzgalov (2.12 GAA, .919 SV%) , I expect a close game which may even go into extra time.

In other news, Jiri Tlusty was traded by the Leafs today to the Hurricanes in exchange for prospect Phillipe Paradis. So long, Jiri. Your antics and subsequent embarrassing photos provided me with cheap laughs and endless minutes of entertainment. Enjoy life in the AHL. Then again, the 'Canes offensive depth is so miserable that you might just get a shot.

The Lines/Pairings

Bourque-Jokinen-Iginla

Dawes-Langkow-Moss

Glencross-Conroy-Nystrom

Sjostrom-Boyd-Prust/McGrattan

Regehr-Phaneuf

Bouwmeester-Giordano

Johnson-Pardy

Kiprusoff

Game time is 7:30 PM on Flames PPV

My wish list for the 2009-10 Flames

Hockey season is rapidly approaching, my friends. Starbucks has reintroduced their pumpkin spice latte, the leaves are beginning to turn, and season preview magazines are hitting the shelves harder than a Robyn Regehr body check. As we all know, 99.9% of these are, well, crap. So, with pre-season less than a fortnight away, I present to you my list of hopes and expectations for the 2009-10 Calgary Flames:

• I hope for lots and lots of wins against division rivals
• I expect lots of wins against division rivals
• I hope the Flames are able to avoid one of their trademark slow starts
• I expect Dion Phaneuf to return to form as the promising young defenceman he once was
• I hope Bouwmeester lives up to lofty expectations
• I expect Jokinen to live up to lofty expectations
• I hope Kiprusoff manages to curb his downward trending stats
• I expect similar (if not better) levels of production from Bourque, Glencross, and Moss
• I hope the kids are alright. Increased production from the likes of Boyd, Dawes, and Nystrom and the continued development of Adam Pardy. Maybe an appearance or two from Backlund
• I expect team defence to improve. Lots of blocked shots, sound defensive positioning, you know the drill
• I hope McElhinney starts 20 games
• I expect McElhinney to appear in at least 10 games
• I hope Iginla finally reaches the 100-point plateau (and goes about it more consistently)
• I expect Iginla's production to remain about the same
• I hope special teams improve
• I expect special teams to be practiced on a regular basis
• I hope this team finds its elusive "identity" and sticks to it
• I expect a consistent effort, every game, no matter the score
• I hope key players stay healthy
• I expect a playoff berth
• I hope that Daymond Langkow and Cory Sarich finally get the respect they deserve instead of constantly having their names tossed around as trade fodder
• I expect this season to be challenging
• I hope Brent Sutter and Co. are able to rally the troops and exorcise their collective playoff demons once and for all

And, last but not least, I hope for a Stanley Cup championship.

Here's hoping.

Off-season Musings: Another blog entry dedicated to boosting Alex Tanguay's ego

I've been perusing various Flames blogs around the World Wide Web recently and have come to the conclusion that despite the addition of Bouwmeester and the plethora of bargain-basement forwards Sutter has secured, Flames fanatics generally believe that the holes in the team's top six forward group are too big to overcome. Assuming that Sutter has finished tinkering with his lineup for the summer, there are definitely some question marks as far as the top six is concerned. While I have heard rumours that the Flames are interested in re-acquiring free agent Alex Tanguay and that the team has participated in trade talks with the Coyotes (perhaps the two are linked?), nothing more substantial has surfaced. 

Acquiring Tanguay seems unlikely for a multitude of reasons, the most prominent being that he is supposedly commanding up to $5 million, way out of the Flames' reach salary cap wise, unless Sutter is willing to trade a defenceman or put together a package which would no doubt include some of his newly acquired assets. As much as fans here would like to see the team shed Cory Sarich's upcoming $3.7 million salary (nhlnumbers.com), he is not as expendable as some may think. Sarich is a dependable shutdown defenceman who knows how to deliver a game-changing hit, and the drop-off to Pardy, Giordano, Kronwall, etc. is significant, regardless of what his detractors would have you believe. As much as Tanguay's reputation has been dragged through the mud here in Calgary, there is no denying that he was and is an excellent playmaker and could fill the seemingly empty first-line winger slot in the Flames' current lineup quite nicely. 

An addition such as Tanguay could be just what this team needs to elevate them from "playoff darkhorse" to "cup contender." Even if promises of a Keenan-free zone were enough to lure Tanguay back to the confines of the Saddledome, he would have to take a more than significant pay cut, which would require some serious persuasion on Sutter's part. If Sutter is unable to land another bona-fide top six scorer, there will be a lot of pressure on both guys like Bourque and Moss to repeat the breakout seasons they enjoyed last year and on the new guys to prove their worth. While the Flames had a solid top six last season, Keenan's infamous line shuffling never ceased; imagine what it could be like this season without a distinguished group of top-tier players occupying those positions? 

It is always nice when career third and fourth liners exceed expectations and make a regular appearance on the first or second lines (a la Rene Bourque), but this is the exception, not the rule. It seems premature to write off the capabilities of these new additions in early August, remember nobody anticipated that Cammalleri would score 39 goals for this team last season and become such a valuable player, but it is important to realize the reality of the situation. Sutter DID address team defence as his primary concern at the beginning of the off season, and spent the majority of his funds accordingly. He has not yet addressed lack of scoring as an immediate concern, but that could change as training camp rolls around, the season begins, and (fingers crossed) the injury bug hits. I don't believe we know if Bourque will even be ready to start the season, as he was still using crutches at a speaking engagement a few weeks back. 

While team defence is expected to improve astronomically this coming season, I think most people, including Sutter himself, are expecting that improvement to cover for a drop-off in scoring. If this is the case, then we may have another 2005-06 on our hands, when the Flames won the division and had a spotless defensive record but could not consistently score enough goals to put away first round opponent Anaheim. In observing Brent Sutter's two years with the Devils, he seemed to fix that imbalance and turn his team into one that possessed both defensive prowess and the ability to strike offensively. Lack of structure defensively and on special teams has been a sore spot for the Flames ever since Darryl resigned as head coach, and while New Jersey's special teams record wasn't exactly sparkling last season (15th on the PP and 20th on PK), the Devils were third overall in team +/- and 4th in GA, while Calgary finished a distant 14th and 23rd, respectively. 

In GF, NJ finished 15th with 238 while the Flames came in 8th with 251, which is only a 13-goal difference. I know comparing these stats now proves nothing as we are between seasons and the teams and circumstances were and are very different, but it goes to show that it is possible for teams to excel at both ends of the ice without sacrificing GF/GA. It seems that this is the way the Flames will have to operate if they hope to be a contender come April 2010. 

NHL Countdown: 50 days