My stance on Darryl Sutter...

During Darryl Sutter's tenure in Calgary, my opinion on his abilities as a general manager has wavered with great frequency. My exact words on Wednesday night, when my dad asked me why I was in such a foul mood: "Because some maniac is running my favourite team into the ground."

It's fairly apparent that Sutter's philosophy on how to build a winning hockey team has not changed much since 2004. After losing some key players during the lockout season, Sutter acquired Huselius and Langkow to fill out his top six and then depended on veteran role players like Nilson, McCarty, Amonte, Richie, and Donovan--all of whom's effectiveness was limited. On defence, he adopted the same blueprint--Regehr, a rookie Dion Phaneuf, Hamrlik, and Leopold made up the top four while Mark Giordano played seven games and Cale Hulse, Rhett Warrener, and Bryan Marchment shared bottom-pairing duties. The Flames won the division that year despite being somewhere near the bottom of the league in goals for. Jarome Iginla accumulated only sixty-seven points.

It appeared Sutter had finally satisfied a long-standing need when he acquired play-maker Alex Tanguay at the draft; he had a career year with eighty-one points, Iginla found himself back near the top of the league in scoring, and Langkow, Huselius, and Lombardi also had career years for the Flames. Scoring improved by a wide margin, but the team struggled on the defensive side of things and barely scraped into the playoffs, where their lack of mobility, speed, and skill relative to the Red Wings was exposed, yet Sutter was still relying on those aging vets and fringe-NHLers to fill out his roster, most of whom proved to be slow and ineffective in the new, more wide-open game after the lockout.

The 2007-08 season was much of the same. Despite a career season from Iginla, scoring continued to drop and goals against continued to rise. The lone bright spot on an old team largely made up of grinders and role players was the emergence of Boyd, Nystrom, and Moss, --all drafted and developed within the organization--as possible cheap replacements.

Then, a moment of sanity in the off season. In what were some of his more brilliant moves since he managed to defy the odds and lock up his "core" players to long-term contracts, Sutter purged the team of its dead weight--gone were Eriksson, Nilson, and Warrener and in came Cammalleri, Glencross, Bourque, and Giordano (Round Two.) It seemed like he was finally getting the hang of this whole post-lockout hockey thing, and the team was benefitting from it, up until the debacle that was the final month and half of the Flames' season.

After overpaying for Olli Jokinen at the deadline, a move that I instantly hated but will admit made sense at the time, untimely injuries and poor salary cap management didn't allow the Flames to dress a full roster--and they paid dearly for it, stumbling down the stretch and blowing what appeared to be an insurmountable thirteen-point division lead, ultimately resulting in another early playoff exit. I jumped on the Fire Sutter Bandwaggon at full speed for the first time that spring.

In the summer, Darryl redeemed himself somewhat. He gave the coaching staff their walking papers, rid the team of more bad contracts by letting Aucoin walk, dumping Primeau on Toronto in return for two solid prospects (Stralman would later be traded), and re-acquiring Prust from Phoenix in return for Vandermeer. After acquiring the rights to and then signing Bouwmeester, the little money that was left for forwards was put to relatively good use given the limited pool of free agents available. The loss of Cammalleri was bemoaned to nauseam around these parts, but it was generally thought that Bouwmeester's addition to the blueline as well as a full season from Olli Jokinen would make up for it.

Needless to say that wasn't the case, and three-quarters of the way through this season with his team unable to find the back of the net and plummeting down the standings, Sutter traded one of his biggest assets in an underperforming Dion Phaneuf to Toronto for what essentially appeared to be Niklas Hagman and a considerable amount of cap space. The move left many Flames fans feeling unsatisfied due to the lack of a draft pick and a real difference maker coming back in the deal, but the potential for immediate scoring help was there. Mere days after that, a rumoured trade sending Jokinen to the Rangers came to fruition, and the acquisition of Ales Kotalik and his three-million dollar contract signed through next season perplexed fans yet again.

After signing both Bourque and Stajan to reasonable but lengthy contract extensions in recent weeks and acquiring Steve Staios and his $2.7 million cap hit for next season, the money Sutter saved by unloading Phaneuf is once again tied up in a group of fairly average players. Rather than using the cap space to chase a player the Flames actually need in the off season, like, I don't know, a first line centre or winger, and giving himself some flexibility under the cap going forward, he has again dug himself a hole in salary cap hell. There seems to be a pattern here; for every step forward, Darryl Sutter takes two steps back.

As for the team's well-documented drafting capabilities, it's impossible to predict whether or not success in Junior or NCAA will transfer into success at the NHL level, but Mitch Wahl is having a fantastic season with the Spokane Chiefs, as are Greg Nemisz (Windsor Spitfires) and Ryan Howse (Chilliwhack Bruins). Mikael Backlund was recently recalled from Abbotsford after being named AHL Player Of The Week, recording six points and a +6 rating in three games. Most of the Flames' recent picks are looking a hell of a lot better in comparison to the players Sutter drafted in his first couple years with the team, but the team's scouts probably deserve most if not all of the credit for that.

In my opinion, we are looking at a man who potentially saved the Flames. That might sound a little dramatic, but who knows where this team would be if the 2004 cup run had never happened, after seven years of missing the playoffs? If he had never acquired Miikka Kiprusoff or re-signed Jarome Iginla? I really do respect Darryl's continued efforts to build a winning team; his dedication to making this franchise competitive year after year really is amazing, and he certainly cannot be criticized for lack of trying.

He has always had the right intentions, but some of his efforts have been misguided and old fashioned. At the end of the day, it's not his fault that the players he signs don't perform as expected, but this time it seems that he's made one too many mistakes and has played all his cards. The only real bargaining chips he has left are the big name players--Iginla, Kiprusoff, Regehr, Bouwmeester--and trading one or more of them would almost certainly mean the beginning of the dreaded "rebuild."

Since Ken King essentially admitted that Sutter has an "infinite" contract, It can be assumed that the only way we will see him go is if he resigns when he sees fit. Maybe missing the playoffs will help that process along. I just hope it happens sooner rather than later before I resent him forever for paralyzing the franchise with bad contracts and a murky future, which will likely be pretty damn soon.

Long time no blog--Olympic edition

Canada's international hockey supremacy seems to go through peaks and troughs, much like my blogging tendencies.

Prior to 2002, the men's Olympic team hadn't won a gold medal for fifty years. After that, the tournament titles and medals seemed to come with ease once again: the world cup in 2004, five straight world junior championship titles, world championship titles, world under-eighteens, women's world championships, the Spengler Cup--you name it, Canada won it. That all changed about two years ago, however. Canada lost back-to-back world championships to the Russians and women's world championships to the United States, and then there was this year's loss to the Americans in the gold medal game at the world juniors and other tournaments like the world under-eighteens in which Canada did not meet expectations.

Now, Canada finds themselves in sixth place at the Olympic tournament, on home ice, after falling to the Americans last night in a back-and-forth affair where mistakes proved to be too many and too costly. Despite out-shooting and out-chancing the Americans almost 2-1, uncharacteristic gaffes by veteran goaltender Martin Brodeur and defencemen Chris Pronger and Scott Niedermayer cost Canada the game, combined with Ryan Miller's other-worldly performance in the U.S. net. The stars seemed to be aligned for the United States: fifty years since they had last beaten Canada at the Olympics, and thirty years since the 1980 "Miracle on Ice" team won the country's only gold medal in men's hockey.

Canada is now left searching for answers after going 1-1-1-0 and accumulating just five of a possible nine points in the preliminary round. Much like four years ago in Turin, and eight years ago in Salt Lake City. Who plays with Crosby? Who starts in goal? What's wrong with the powerplay? We should've chosen Green/Bouwmeester/St. Louis/Lecavalier/Jordan Staal/Stamkos/Smyth/Insert-name-of-Canadian NHL-player-here!

Sure it can be argued that Canada was the victim of some bad bounces last night against the Americans, maybe even that they were subject to some questionable officiating, but for two games now their defensive game has looked shaky and they have been consistently out-worked in their own zone. It's nice to see Doughty, Keith, and Seabrook, and Weber rise to the occasion when Pronger and Niedermayer, and to some extent, Boyle, struggle, but it would be even nicer to have them all on their game, all on the same page.

Today's practice supposedly focused primarily on defence and special teams, an area of this team's game that has irked me, specifically the power play. In the final minutes of the game against Switzerland, Canada had a golden opportunity to take the lead and win the game on the powerplay, but Babcock deployed the "Sharks unit" instead of putting Crosby, arguably his best player, on the ice.

The Shark line and the powerplay unit made up of Heatley, Marleau, Thornton, and Boyle has been largely ineffective with the exception of Heatley's four goals and Marleau's one. Thornton has zero, and just one shot on goal in 48:38 of ice time. The purpose of all three of these players making the team was the supposed "instant chemistry" that is purportedly essential in a short tournament like the Olympics. Why not go back to the Getzlaf-Heatley-Nash line that has been so effective in the world championships? This line does not have to be kept together.

Another qualm I have with the line combinations is the constant rotation of wingers on Crosby's line, partially because it makes me feel like I'm watching a Flames game but also because I fail to see any real faults with the original combination of Nash-Crosby-Iginla. Iginla had a hat trick in the first game they played together while registering under ten minutes of ice time, and Nash has been one of Canada's best players through three games. Why change that? Kent points out the futility of chemistry in these games and in the sport altogether over at Five Hole Fanatics, so can we assume that there are just too many players on this team not playing well enough to create chances and score goals? Canada's highly-touted depth has not yet been much of a factor in this tournament, and it remains to be seen if it ever will be.

Finally, we have the goaltending conundrum that seems to have emerged after Brodeur's shaky performance in goal. During the game against Switzerland, he was the victim of a perfect shot and a deflection off of a teammate's skate, and was unbeatable the rest of the way; there was no question that he would start the game versus the Americans. Sunday night was the complete opposite.

Brodeur created the bad bounces for himself by making bad decisions with the puck and finding himself out of position on more than one occasion, and now the job falls to Luongo who, although not tested against Norway, looked solid in the Canadian goal while the rest of the team struggled to find their legs. I'm usually the last person to support Roberto Luongo given my NHL allegiances, but Brodeur's performance last night in such an important game was unacceptable, and Luongo deserves an opportunity to better him; we all know he is more than capable, especially based on his stats leading up to the Olympic break versus Brodeur's numbers.

If Canada is to medal in men's hockey at these games, they have certainly taken the hard road there. This tournament was supposed to be about redemption. Canada was supposed to come into Vancouver, on home ice, and avenge a seventh place finish four years ago in Torino, and it'll likely be nothing short of a miracle if they manage a better result this time around. I don't know what it is going to take to get this team and this country back on top. They have the talent, without question, as do other countries in this tournament, but the desire and commitment seems to come in fits and starts, which perhaps explains the perplexing problem of Canada's wavering dominance at the international level.

Up Next: Canada takes on Germany in the qualification game on Tuesday, and will face Russia in the quarter-final on Wednesday, should they advance. I'll be over here crying into my pillow if you need me.

Go Canada.

Flames vs. Panthers--Mr. 1000

The Calgary Flames have won two of their past three games. That puts a positive enough spin on things, doesn't it?

In a 4-1 win over the Hurricanes on Wednesday night, the new Flames finally got the warm welcome they deserved after a less than inspiring effort against the Flyers on Monday night.

Now, they hit the road for a three-game tour of the Eastern Conference, starting in the Sunshine State with games against the Panthers and Lightning. Matt Stajan scored a beauty for his first as a Flame, which also proved to be the game winner, and Ales Kotalik set the tone with a hard hit on the 'Canes Andrew Alberts to start the game (this is actually a video of Regehr sending Kotalik flying into the Sabres bench, because I couldn't find a video of the other hit. Entertaining, nonetheless)

Today, however, is not about the new Flames. Quite the opposite. Today is about the man who has set franchise records for most games played, most goals, and most points. The man who, since a mid-nineties trade brought him to the Flames as a young prospect, has arguably been the face of this franchise. The man who twice scored fifty goals with little to no offensive support and came within one win of leading his team to its second Stanley Cup. Today is about Jarome Arthur-Leigh Adekunle Tig Junior Elvis Iginla, Mr. 1000.

There are many memories that stand out when thinking of Jarome Iginla's NHL career: His first game as a Flame, a playoff game against the Blackhawks in 1996, in which he registered an assist. His fifty-two goal season, culminating in him being awarded the Art Ross, Lester B. Pearson, and Rocket Richard trophies.

Being named captain in 2003 and subsequently leading his team to Game Seven of the Stanley Cup finals, leading all playoff scorers with thirteen goals.

During the 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons, Iginla broke franchise records for most games played, most goals, and most points, surpassing Al MacInnis and Theoren Fleury, respectively. He scored his four-hundredth goal in a losing effort against the Tampa Bay Lightning in March of '09.

In 2007-08, Iggy would go on to score fifty goals in a season for the second time in his career, culminating in one of my all-time favourite memories. After scoring his fiftieth goal in the final game of the season, Iginla lead his team in a salute to an outgoing Trevor Linden (around the 4:50 mark).

This game cemented Iginla's status as one of the best players in hockey. This moment cemented his status as one of the best people in the game. I will always remember coming home from vacation just in time to catch the last few minutes of this game, watching in speechless awe as Linden received a rousing standing ovation, and Iggy skated towards him and led his team in shaking the retiring veteran's hand, one by one. Players that had already entered the dressing room reemerged to follow their captain's lead in one of the greatest displays of sportsmanship in recent memory. The fans at GM Place reciprocated, cheering when Jarome scored his fiftieth goal and when he was named the second star of the game. In the storied and nasty Flames-Canucks rivalry, this moment stands out as one of the more warm-fuzzy variety in its history.

The 2008-09 season was largely a forgettable one for Iginla and his teammates, and some began to wonder if, at age 32 and having played the way he has for thirteen seasons, he was starting to wear down. His goals and points now seem to come in bunches, but he still has the ability to change a game with one pass, one shot, or one fight. He has survived playoff droughts, trade rumours, contract negotiations, and personnel changes, and through all of it has grown into the calm, classy, well-spoken leader that Flames brass envisioned when they acquired him from the Stars fifteen years ago.

Here's to you Jarome; 1000 games, and many more to come.

Puck drop is 5:30 on Sportsnet West. Jay Bouwmeester will be celebrating his 400th consecutive game against his former team and Curtis Glencross, his 200th NHL game. It is indeed a night of milestones that will hopefully culminate in a "W." I'll be at work serving wine to a bunch of pretentious suburbanites, so indulge in nostalgia and cry your eyes out for me.

Go Flames Go.

The Flames' counseling session: What you didn't hear

As you may have read on Calgary Puck, a counsellor was apparently summoned into the Flames' dressing room recently, presumably to mediate between certain players/coaches and get to the bottom of whatever is plaguing this team. Part of me really wants this to be true, only because of the hilarity that would surely arise from a situation involving the Sutters and various Flames players hashing out their innermost feelings with a bunch of shrinks. Adrian Dater would be all over this shit. As with most of the scuttlebutt surrounding the Flames this season, we will probably never know if this is true or not, but why not take the opportunity to elaborate on a potentially humourous event?

This is how I imagine the counseling session went:

Visitor's locker room, Jobing.com Arena, Glendale, Arizona. January 28th, 11:15 AM

Shrink: Hey guys, as you all know, I was brought in today to help you work through some of the problems you've been having as individuals and as a team. There's no sense in keeping it all bottled up inside, as it only causes stress, anger, and resentment; so who wants to start?

Langkow: I will. Dion, you're soooo selfish! It's always all about you, and you have this stupid-looking scowl on your face all the time. Go to hell.

Phaneuf: I don't give a shit, I'm dating Elisha Cuthbert. Fuck you guys. Everyone on this team is so fucking boring. Nobody ever wants to go out or sing karaoke with me. Why can't we be more like the Blackhawks?

Shrink: Mmmhhmm, and how does that make you feel, Daymond? I think we're really getting somewhere here...

Conroy: WELL, I for one---

Shrink: Craig, I'm sorry, I'm going to have to interrupt--you just spoke for twenty minutes; please, let someone else talk.

Iginla: (on the verge of tears) I'm...I'm playing on a line with an AHL call-up and a...and a...a...PUMPKIN HEAD! (sobbing). He's so CLUELESS...he hits the post like, every shift and can't pass to save his life! WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO?!? PLEASE HELP ME!

Shrink: (comforts Jarome) There, there...Ssshhhhh. I am familiar with this. And what do you think, Jay?

Bouwmeester: Well, y'know, it's disappointing, but, we just gotta stick with it, produce a little more offensively, y'know...

Shrink: I don't see how that's relevant here...?

Bouwmeester: Sorry, what was the question? I thought we were talking about me not making Team Canada....

Giordano: (sighs) I should've stayed in Russia...

Shrink: Let's move on. What's your take on this, Eric?

Nystrom: Dude, my head still hurts.

Shrink: Ok, ok...interesting. Miikka, what about you?

Kiprusoff: Mhergfhssdshfkm (walks out).

Shrink: I see. Curtis, any thoughts?

McElhinney: Why am I even here?

Backlund/Lundmark: Umm...yeah...can we go back to Abbotsford now?

Shrink: Good point, good point. I'm sensing some tension here. What about you, Rene?

Bourque: I'm playing for a contract here. I'm the only good left-winger on this team.

Iginla: (gasping) I...m..m...miss...Alex...T..T...Tanguay...

Shrink: Right, yes. Can't argue with that. David, what's your opinion?

Moss: Everyone always talks about how I'm supposed to be "big" and "tough" and a "net presence," but I just don't feel like that's what I'm meant to be, y'know? Like, what does that even mean? They're all like: "score twenty goals, David, go to the net David!" I'm just so confused. I feel like I don't know who I am anymore.

Shrink: (nods) I think we have a real breakthrough here. Brent, do you have any ideas as to why this might be?

B. Sutter: Too casual, I don't like it.

Shrink: Mmmmkay, Darryl?

D. Sutter: I don't care what you think. I ain't making no stinkin' trades.

Shrink: Okay...(looks at watch); Look at the time! I think it's time to wrap this session up, to whom should I send the bill?

D. Sutter: (approaching Dion Phaneuf from behind with a rag doused in chloroform) I'll take care of that.

Shrink: (shakes head and mutters something, leaves the room)

(Silence)

Regehr: So...what d'we do now?

McGrattan: Rent a limo and get wasted?

Glencross: I'll drive.

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.

And it's back...

Well that was a nice little one-game respite from losing, wasn't it?

It appears that the sloppy defence displayed by the Flames in the third period of their win against the Kings on Thursday night carried over into this afternoon's contest with the Predators. After all the hullabaloo about how they had to be prepared for the early start time, how they had to adjust their game day routines, the Flames came out predictably flat and surrendered the first goal of the game just four and a half minutes in, when Martin Erat managed to get a weak wrist shot past Kiprusoff despite having three Flames skaters converge on him.

The Preds weren't done there, as David Legwand out-battled Jay Bouwmeester in front of the Flames net to put Nashville up 2-0 eight minutes later just as a questionable roughing penalty assessed to David Moss had expired. The Flames would get one back just over a minute later on the powerplay, as Phaneuf fired home his second PPG in as many games to close out the period with his team down by one and momentum on their side.

The Flames utilized that momentum nicely in the second period, as Jarome Iginla snapped an eight-game scoring drought with one of his patented snapshots from the wing, which went off the inside of the post and in. When Iggy scores, he scores in bunches, and he was at it again around the midway mark of the period. Alone in front of the Predator's net, Iginla scooped up his own rebound and poked it past an outstretched Ellis from one knee to give the Flames their first lead of the game. It was a dandy individual effort, but I couldn't find a video of it, so here's one of Brian McGrattan taking on Wade Belak instead:

McGrattan FTW.

The Flames continued to pour on the pressure, outshooting Nashville 15-6 in the middle frame, and had many glorious opportunities to take a two-goal lead. In typical karmic fashion, those missed chances would come back to haunt them and the Predators squared the affair at three with just under three minutes remaining in the second.

The third period would begin much the same as the first; four minutes into the final frame, the Predators set up in Flames zone and started cycling the puck around the boards, somehow eluding every Flame on the ice. The frozen disc eventually made its way back to Cody Franson at the point, who fired it netward where it glanced off of Daymond Langkow, past Kiprusoff, and into the net. Queue the comeback routine. The Flames fire everything in their arsenal towards the Predators' net but can't manage to beat Ellis, who stopped all ten shots in the third period and got lucky on misses by Rene Bourque and Olli Jokinen, who likely couldn't hit a barn door right now. The Flames never really came close to tying the game with Kiprusoff pulled in the final minute, and Dave Scatchard iced the game for the Preds with an empty-netter at 19:34.

This game irritated me on many levels. The Flames simply cannot afford to start games the way they did today, especially at home. The Predators established an instant presence in the Flames' zone, drew a penalty off a turnover, and scored their first goal largely due to a lazy play by Dion Phaneuf behind the Flames net. The first period was once a strong point for this team, and we've seen that trend reverse since the beginning of the month. The Flames can't seem to stay out of the box in the opening frame, and have trouble establishing themselves in the offensive zone. A bad first period only puts a team behind the eight-ball for the remaining fourty-minutes of the game, and the Flames were fortunate enough to overcome a less-than-impressive opening frame this afternoon.

Turnovers killed this team today, simply put. At one point, the Flames had committed sixteen giveaways compared to the Predators' eight. It's nearly impossible to win a game with that many turnovers, especially when your goaltender isn't performing at his usual levels of excellence, as we saw today with Kiprusoff. He deserves some of the blame for allowing four goals on twenty shots, but giveaways by the forwards and lazy play by the Flames' defencemen kick-started the process. The lack of compete level from this team's high-priced blueliners in this game was appalling. They lost puck battles along the boards in the defensive zone, failed to track down opposing forwards, and intercepting passes or blocking shots was seemingly out of the question. Jay Bouwmeester was on the wrong side of an even +/- for the third time in four games; Mark Giordano was a -2 after one of the best games of his career on Thursday. Daymond Langkow and Nigel Dawes both finished the afternoon -3, while Rene Bourque was a team-worst -4.

The physical element that was instrumental in the Flames' victory over the Kings was almost entirely absent from this game. They fell victim to Nashville's speedy, back-and-forth style of play and weren't able to even the score when it mattered. Nothing new really. Good teams find a way to win in adverse situations; clearly the Flames can't count themselves amongst those teams until they are able to do just that.

Outshooting a team for the first time in four games is nice. Iginla busting out of his scoring slump with two goals and an assist is also a plus. Winning the faceoff battle for once is good; but this league is based on results, and it's hard to recognize the positives in a game where this team let a victory slip away and didn't get the results they needed: the two points. I don't think I need to stress the importance of winning in the Western Conference any further. With this loss, the Flames fall to second in the division and sixth in the conference as Colorado takes over top spot with a 5-2 win over Columbus. A record of 3-5-1 in the month of December has cost the Flames a shot at first place in the West and leaves them only three points ahead of the eighth-place Red Wings as the half-way point of the season draws closer. If it wasn't for a 10-2-2 November, this team would likely find itself out of a playoff spot.

The Flames are now off until Wednesday, when they'll play the Blues in their final game before the Christmas break. I don't know how this team is going to utilize its practice time or how they will respond in a game after three days' rest, but my expectation levels have been significantly reduced for the time being. A record of 9-6-1 at home is nothing to be proud of, and upcoming games against the Canucks, Oilers, and Kings at the 'Dome will be crucial in determining where the Flames stand fourty-one games in.

Right now, it's not looking good.

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.

Homeward Bound

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

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

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

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

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

Finally, some congratulations are in order:

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

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

Atlanta tomorrow.

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

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

Go Flames Go.

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