Game day--No time to grieve

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

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

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

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

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

Such is the wild unpredictability that is the Calgary Flames.

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

Game time is 7:30 on TSN.

Go Flames Go.

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.

Wanna get really depressed?

On the surface, a six-game losing streak and falling out of a playoff spot is extremely disheartening, but if you want to get really depressed, I suggest you take a peek at the Flames' real time stats so far this season. I dare you. I'm no stats buff, but even I know when a team's numbers are in the toilet, and the Flames are in the bottom half of the league in nearly every statistical category. Normally, I avoid Sportsnet's articles because, well, they're not all that good, but it's hard to deny the merit of these two scathing indictments written by columnists Mark Spector and Mike Brophy.

I know that statistics are not always indicative of a team's play/record, just look at the Avalanche this season, but it's the fact that the Flames are weak in areas where they are supposed to be strong which bothers me the most, and their losing ways of late don't do much to de-emphasize that. Sixteenth in the league in hits is not acceptable for a team that is supposed to be punishing and tough to play against at both ends of the ice. Thirteenth in team +/- , and a -3 on home ice, twenty-fourth in the league in giveaways, and fifteenth in blocked shots do not indicate the makings of a good defensive squad. Thirtieth in faceoffs is an abomination for a team whose coach is hell bent on puck possession. A six-game slide has seen the Flames fall to tenth in penalty killing. Poor stats can be masked by an overachieving team, as we saw with the Flames early in the season, but in this case, there seems to be a clear disconnect between philosophy and results.

On the offensive side of things, the numbers aren't surprising, but still appalling. The Flames are near the bottom of the league in all categories--twenty-sixth on the powerplay, twenty-eighth in shots per game, twenty-sixth in goals per game. Even during stretches when these numbers appeared to be on the upswing, it wasn't enough to vault the Flames out of the offensive basement.

As for Brophy's article, his assertions that the Flames lack firepower up front/on defence and are built like a pre-lockout club certainly have some truth to them, but it is not for lack of trying. Sutter tried to build what he thought would be a more mobile defence, and has had success with Bouwmeester and Giordano. He tried to add what he thought was skill and speed with Jokinen, Dawes, and Sjostrom, and tried to give his young drafted players like Moss, Boyd, and Nystrom a chance. Perhaps he was naive and stubborn in believing that these players would make up for the offence lost through the departure of Cammalleri, et al. in the offseason, but weren't we all? Brophy argues that Bouwmeester has not produced as much as was expected of him offensively, which is true, but as a defenceman, that is not necessarily in his job description despite past offensive success with Florida.

He points to the goal Sidney Crosby scored against the Flames earlier this month, where he split the defence and went around Bouwmeester to the front of the net, as evidence for why Jay was rightfully left off of Team Canada. I think Crosby has made nearly every NHL defenceman look silly at some point in his young career, even if Bouwmeester has been victimized by Sid on more than one occasion. One play hardly summarizes his defensive play so far this season, and it's hard to argue that he hasn't played as well as expected in his zone when he leads the team in +/- at +10, which, when you think about it, is a little sad.

Even more so is the stats comparison between the Flames' "Big Three" on defence--Regehr, Phaneuf, and Bouwmeester--to the Capitals' Mike Green. Green has fifty points so far this season, one less than these three players combined. While Green is considered an "offensive defenceman" and scoring on a regular basis is expected of him, the same thing can be said of Phaneuf, based solely on his first two seasons in the league. Regehr has and never will be counted on to score goals, while Bouwmeester is expected to contribute offensively, but not at a detriment to his well-rounded defensive game. The only top-four defenceman to escape criticism this season has, coincidentally, been the only one who has exceeded expectations thus far--Mark Giordano.

It's nearly impossible to defend Darryl Sutter's decision to trade for Jokinen, given his downward trending stats and his performance since arriving in Calgary. This is only amplified by the season that Mike Cammalleri is having in Montreal. With twenty-six goals and fourty-six points, he would be the Flames' leading scorer had Sutter opted to resign him instead of completing the ill-fated deadline deal that signaled the beginning of the end for Cammi in Calgary. As much as Sutter contends that he signed Bouwmeester over Cammalleri vs. Jokinen over Cammalleri, the absence of Jokinen's 5.5 million dollar salary would have probably allowed him room to sign both Cammalleri and Bouwmeester in the off-season.

Brophy rightfully points to Miikka Kiprusoff, who, aside from a few blips, appears to be having another MVP-calibre season, as one of, if not the only, saving graces for this year's Flames squad, but emphasizes that he is desperately in need of assistance, which has been apparent in most of this team's recent losses. With Dawes and Moss placed on Injured Reserve yesterday, the Flames are now lacking forward depth more than ever, and at a time when offensive production has all but shut down completely.

Now would obviously be the time for any potential trade to be made. It doesn't have to be a flashy, Kovalchuk-esque deal; the slightest addition could bolster this team's offensive attack, perhaps in the form of a player like Ray Whitney or Colby Armstrong, both of which have been mentioned in trade rumours involving the Flames on separate occasions this season. But we all know Darryl's MO--he has once again stubbornly overestimated the skill and depth of his team, and he will likely ride it out to the bitter end, regardless of results, regardless of obvious deficiencies.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

St. Louis tomorrow. The Blues sit just six points back of the Flames, now tied for eighth in the West with the Red Wings.

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.

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.

The Getzlaf brothers are on a mission

After we all recovered from the Chicago Shit-Kicking, Pt. 2, the Flames departed for a mini two-game road trip in sunny So-Cal, beginning with an afternoon tilt in L.A. on Saturday and closing with a match-up against the Ducks on Monday night.

After being challenged somewhat ambiguously by Brent Sutter after the loss to the Hawks, the Flames' leaders and veterans responded against the Kings. Down 2-1 after giving up two quick goals, Jarome Iginla tied the game and went on to record his ninth career hat-trick while Daymond Langkow scored the game-winner shorthanded en route to a 5-2 victory, a rarity in afternoon road games.

The Flames took on the Ducks tonight at the Honda Centre, a building where they haven't won since January of '04. After failing to register a shot on goal for the first five minutes of the period, the Flames broke out and Curtis Glencross scored on a breakaway to put the guests ahead one-zip.

The lead, however, would be short-lived, as the Ducks would tie the game on a goal by Bobby Ryan, assisted by Jamie Lundmark on a brutal giveaway behind the Flames' net. Lundmark was promptly removed from the first line and replaced with Dustin Boyd. A minute and change later, Anaheim took the lead on a goal by Ryan Getzlaf, who also made his presence felt in this game by cranking a shot off of Cory Sarich's head. It appears that the Getzlaf brothers have a personal vendetta against Calgary sports teams, which is odd considering Ryan was once a member of the Hitmen. Ungrateful ass.

The Flames spent much of the second period shorthanded, burdened with the task of killing off three straight Anaheim powerplays, including a lengthy five-on-three. The Flames were outshot 15-8 in the period and got lucky on a few missed chances by the Ducks, but entered the third period down by just one goal after some solid penalty killing and superb saves by Kiprusoff.

The Flames then took over in the third, outshooting the Ducks 18-7, but would not be rewarded until the final thirty seconds of the game. With Kiprusoff on the bench and the puck in Flames territory, it looked as this game was headed for the "Let This One Slip Away" file. That was until Iginla hustled back to into his own zone to collect the puck, took off down the ice with Jokinen and Glencross, and put a sizzling wrister five-hole on Giguere after receiving a nice cross-ice pass from Jokinen. Tie game with eighteen seconds left in regulation.

Both teams had their chances in overtime but failed to find the back of the net, and Teemu Selanne eventually won the game in the shootout after Dawes, Glencross, and Jokinen were all stopped by Giguere, who made 41 saves against his former team. Typical.

I was curious as to why Brent Sutter didn't use Iginla in the shootout until Ryan Lambert from Two-Line Pass informed me via Twitter that Iggy hasn't scored a shootout goal since 2007 (!) I had no idea it had been so long, but you'd think that Sutter would give him a chance after he played such a good game and scored the game-tying goal?

Three out of four possible points on the road is great, but there are still some irritating habits that keep resurfacing with this team; one of them being the defensive-meltdown-and-surrendering-two-quick-goals act. This one occurred as a result of a particularly horrendous series of giveaways, poor down low coverage, and poor rebound control.

This minute-and-eight-seconds long sequence of crap sucked all the momentum out of an otherwise good period and is a fine example of the mental lapses Brent Sutter has been referring to. You're not always going to be able to bounce back from those, and the Flames are fortunate that they have been able to do just that over the past two games. I still wonder if this team will ever be able to play hockey for a full sixty minutes.

Even though the Flames registered a season-high fourty-three shots on goal, Kiprusoff was still forced to make twenty-nine saves, some of them very difficult, as a result of lax defensive play. Phaneuf and Regehr struggled, in particular against the Ducks' top line, as both were on the ice around the crease for both Anaheim goals, failing to clear rebounds and cover their men. Phaneuf finished the game -1 while Regehr was -2.

While the Flames' penalty kill has improved exponentially since the game against Chicago, killing off all six opposing powerplays in their past two games, the powerplay has yet to follow suit; the man advantage was a futile 0-4 again tonight against the Ducks, and one can't help but wonder if a powerplay goal could have changed the outcome of this game. Brent Sutter and Co. really need to get the PP going, and sooner rather than later.

Notables:

- Olli Jokinen is still not the $5.5 million first-line centre we were promised, but he continues to show signs of improvement. He registered four shots on goal tonight against the Ducks and assisted on both Flames goals. He had a few golden chances around the net, but was unable to make anything of them. He maintained a presence in the offensive zone and his pass to Iginla on the tying goal was especially impressive.

This was undoubtably one of Olli's best games of the season. His improved performance as of late may be the result of a little one-on-one practice time with Brent Sutter last Thursday. Also, Matthew Lombardi inadvertently scored in his own net tonight against the Oilers, which isn't much but it makes me feel marginally better about the whole situation.

- Curtis Glencross had three, yes three, breakaway or partial breakaway chances in this game, scoring on one of them in the first period. He was simply fantastic in this game, finishing +2 with four shots on goal.

- Dustin Boyd played very well while filling in for Jamie Lundmark on the first line. His speed, passing ability, and versatility make him an ideal linemate. He finished the game with an even +/- and three shots on goal.

- Moss and Nystrom were both very impressive against the Ducks and have been playing very well lately, especially Moss. Both did an excellent job of winning puck battles along the boards, protecting the puck, and creating chances around the net.

- What more can I possibly say about Jarome Iginla? The guy has scored twelve goals in his last ten games, including a hat-trick and multiple game-winners, and he turned in a fine performance again tonight. He won puck battles, intercepted passes, and controlled the play in the opposing zone for large chunks of time. His effort on the game-tying goal was a thing of beauty.

- Jay Bouwmeester led the team with six shots on goal and he was +2 on the evening, again demonstrating his ability to contribute at both ends of the ice. Congratulations on being awesome, Jay.

- I know I have professed my love for Daymond Langkow in the past, and I'm going to take this opportunity to heap more praise on the gritty veteran centre. I counted at least two sequences in this game where he forced a turnover in the offensive zone and created a scoring chance. He is just so quick-thinking, smart, and effective with his stick and body positioning. Never leave us, Daymond.

Up Next: The Flames return home briefly for a date with the Phoenix Coyotes on Wednesday before departing for Detroit to begin a six-game road trip Friday.

Flames/Avs post-game: ARRRGGGHHHHH

This game was frustrating beyond belief, as I suppose we all should have known it would be.

The Flames got off to a great start and a quick 2-0 lead on two lucky goals by Iginla and Jokinen in the first period and subsequently blew it, but still managed to edge the Avs 8-6 in the shot department after one.

The second period was excellent, and much like the Flames second period against Edmonton on the weekend, the Calgarians outshot the visitors by a wide margin. They drew penalties, hit, went to net, and seemed to be wearing out the Avs, who were playing the second of back-to-back games. You got the feeling that if the Flames kept at it, they would come away with the hard-fought victory and more importantly, the two points.

The third period started and that feeling began to ebb away as the Avs outshot the Flames 3-o to start the period. The Flames would pay for their slow start to the period. With the second line trapped in the defensive zone, the Flames failed to clear the puck and Wojtek Wolski, wide open in the slot, froze every Flame in the vicinity to fire a shot past Kiprusoff at 5:31. Now that Joe Sakic is retired, this bum has our number. Great.

The Flames pushed back and fired twelve shots on goal to Colorado's four, but the Avs blocked shots and played the trap like it was the 90s and they were being coached by Jaques Lemaire, and left the Flames forwards visibly frustrated. This showed in the final minute and a half of the game. With Kipper on the bench; Dion Phaneuf was forced back into his own zone, he circled around the net and tried to reach a teammate with a pass just outside the offensive blueline, but iced the puck instead.

Kipper had to come back to the net and the Flames had little time to get back down the ice and get set up to score the tying goal. No dice. That annoying rag-tag bunch of eighteen-year-old punks and Flames cast-off draft picks skated away with the 3-2 victory despite being outshot and outhit, the story of their season and in a large part, the Flames' (although not the eighteen-year-old punks part).

Again the Flames' weakness was the elusive sixty minute game. They came pretty damn close, but a single mistake like the defensive breakdown to start the third is all a team like they Avs need. They play solid defensively, then jump on your mistakes. They are indeed the new Minnesota Wild. Except the Flames always owned the Wild.

While the Flames did accumulate 32 shots on goal, and over 30 for the second straight game, a lot of them weren't very high quality chances. Anderson was not forced to make any spectacular saves, and was helped out A LOT by the Avs D. He got caught out of his net a few times playing the puck, but the Flames couldn't capitalize, which was the story of the game for our boys in red. They did get traffic to the net, but not as much as I would have liked, and Anderson still had a relatively easy outing as a result.

Speaking of goalies playing the puck, when did Miikka Kiprusoff become Marty Turco? Well, not quite, but his puckhandling was superb tonight, and has improved ten-fold since the whole goalies-playing-the-puck thing became a trend after the lockout. Kiprusoff was not really tested on the remainder of the shots that the Avs accmulated, which could explain why he allowed three goals on fourteen shots.

He didn't have to be spectacular, so he wasn't. While the Flames' D was solid for the majority of the game, all three Avs goals can be traced back to a defensive miscue. Failing to clear the puck, mad scramble around the crease, and so on. This leads to a goal almost 100% of the time and is what really drives me bat-shit crazy about this team. Get the puck out. Chip it out off the glass, ice it if you have to, just clear the damn thing.

Some other things:

- Iginla was really really good in this game. He missed that one shot in close that he probably should have had, but after that he was really strong on the puck and good on the forecheck. He generated lots of chances in the offensive zone and if SOMEONE (Jokinen) could finish (no pun intended), it could have been a very different game.

- Speaking of the Finnish Flash in the Pan, he actually looked pretty good tonight. He created a lot of chances, opened up a lot of space, and drew a penalty, but seemed to be squeezing the stick a little. Olli is a shooter, he needs to shoot when he has the opportunity instead of opting to pass in a less-favourable situation. You're probably thinking "Thank you, Captain Obvious" right now, but it is the truth. He shot the puck more as the game progressed, but Craig Anderson absorbed every Flames shot after the first minute and a half of the opening frame like a fucking ShamWow.

- Rene Bourque is a beast. Aside from being on the ice for the defensive meltdown that led to the game-winning goal by Wolski, he was dynamite again tonight, especially on the PK. He dominated the end boards in the offensive zone and probably should have drawn a penalty when he was tripped up on a shorthanded rush in Avs territory. He forced turnovers, he hit everything he saw, and came a few unlucky bounces away from a goal.

- Dawes and Langkow showed some jump as well, although they were also on the ice for the GWG.

- The lines got a bit mixed up in this game, as Jokinen was rewarded for his strong play by being moved back to the first line with Iggy near the end of the game, but Iginla was also playing on a line with Langkow and Bourque. Glencross was also very good in this game. The fourth line enjoyed a few great forechecking shifts in the Avs zone, but didn't have much of an impact overall. I believe the third line ended up comprising of Sjostrom, Conroy, and Moss; this line had their chances, as did every other line, but was a turnover machine and had trouble gaining entry into the Avs zone.

- Phaneuf had a really great game, although I believe he was also on the ice for the GWG, correct me if I'm wrong. He made two or three great defensive plays, and one of Rob Kerr/Charlie Simmer uttered the line: "Phaneuf makes a smart, safe play" causing every Flames fan to pinch themselves simultaneously.

- Bouwmeester was equally impressive tonight; he just settles everything down, he's such a great skater and passer, and by my observation, he even dished out a hit or two. Is the Sutter style beginning to rub off on him? Regehr was very good as well, crunching the few Colorado forwards that dared enter his 'Tunnel of Death."Perhaps all three were motivated by the presence of a certain Mr. Yzerman, doing some subtle scouting for a little event called the 2010 Winter Olympics? Hmmm?

- Pardy and Giordano struggled, and finished -2 and -1 respectively. I noticed that Gio overskated the puck and made an ill-advised pass or two that ended up on the stick of an opposing attacker. I didn't really notice Pardy at all except for when he ended up in the sin bin for a hooking infraction behind his own net.

- The Flames' PK was very good, largely because they were much more disciplined and only got dinged with two minors, but also because they were more aggressive--they moved their feet and the puck. and won crucial faceoffs in their own zone. The Flames did a good job of moving the puck on the powerplay, but didn't produce results and failed to direct many overly dangerous scoring chances Andersons' way. Tres frustrating. They failed to get anything going whatsoever on their lone PP opportunity in the third, which had "game-changer" written all over it and could have swung the momentum in the host's favour.

- Flames PPV was everything I dreamed of and more! It started off with a hilarious mental image or Cory Sarich as a minister, then swiftly moved on to a backwards Flames history montage to the tune of Coldplay's "The Scientist," just like the one CBC used to open the cup finals last season. I'm getting the chills just thinking about it. During the first intermission, Brandon Prust pushed some dorky correspondent around the ice while "showing" him how to fight and forecheck effectively. It was magic. Brandon Prust is much better looking than I originally thought...I may have a new crush.

In the second intermission, Eric Nystrom cooked his famous Bison ribeye and sweet potato fries for Tara McCool. Then, his roomie Dustin Boyd and neighbour (!) David Moss showed up as surprise dinner guests. I was positively giddy watching this, and so badly wished I was Tara McCool at that moment, even though she may or may not have Swine Flu.

Quote of the Day goes to...Eric Nystrom: "I'm a big believer that you can get a lot of energy from fat." The secret to Ny's success. As long as he doesn't follow the Kyle Wellwood Diet and Exercise Regime, I'm cool with it.

Charlie Simmer interviewed Sutter Sr. during the second intermission, after the Flames had rattled off a solid period and looked like they had the game in the bag, and Darryl was surprisingly talkative and...not surly. He happily chatted about how he's not worried about Jarome Iginla, the Flames' good start, the Abbotsford Heat, and more. When asked about Dustin Boyd missing the game with the flu, he affectionately referred to the Flames forward as "Dusty." I suppose Flames PPV brings out the best in the GM. A truly odd and unique experience. I'm not quite sure what to make of it.

The aforementioned Heat shut out the Milwaukee Admirals by a score of 2-0, with goals supplied by Chucko and Germyn, to record their first-ever shutout in franchise history. Snaps to the Baby Flames! Even if their website is an abomination that looks like it was designed by fifth-grade ESL students.

This post is a lot longer than I intended; oh well, I'm a wordy bitch. Anyways, the Flames now know what it feels like to outwork a team and lose, which can only be a good thing, and will hopefully serve as motivation against the Wings on Saturday night. I may or may not be in attendance, live--and perhaps drunk--blogging from the Sportcheck Zone. A lot of us were on Cloud 9 after the win against Edmonton on the weekend, and this loss reminded us that this team still has work to do. The hitting/shooting/shots against/faceoff performance is encouraging, but they need to put it all together in a nice little sixty-minute package; it doesn't have to be pretty, as long as they get the job done.

Post-game party: Quick notes from last night's game, Stars@Flames

The Flames improved upon their unbeaten record with a 4-3 shootout win over the Oilers last night in Edmonton, also improving to 2-0 in this season's edition of the Battle of Alberta. The Flames played a pretty solid first period until the last few minutes, when Ethan Moreau scored on a breakaway out of the penalty box. The Oilers would strike again with under a minute remaining, when Craig Conroy lost his man Lubomir Vishnovsky, who fired a slapper past Kiprusoff, who looked shaky in the opening frame, allowing two goals on nine shots.

The visitors played a much smarter game in the second despite being forced to kill off a penalty resulting from a hit by Jarome Iginla on Sheldon Souray where the Flames captain inadvertently tripped Souray while attempting to finish his check, causing both to collide into the end boards with Souray getting the worst of it. He was cut and later diagnosed with a minor concussion. This is the only video I could find of the hit, although I don't agree with the title:

The Flames would score a late goal to pull within one on a backhand by Daymond Langkow, and outshot the Oilers 9-4 in the middle frame with most of those shots coming on their three powerplays of the period, including a two-man advantage.

Nigel Dawes squared the affair at two early in the third, and it would stay that way until the Oilers again took the lead with just over six minutes remaining. In a late effort to preserve their record of zero regulation losses with Kiprusoff on the bench, Rene Bourque tied the game with only 1.5 seconds remaining, perfectly tipping a Bouwmeester slapshot between Khabibulin's pads.

The Oilers stole the show in the overtime period with Mark Giordano off for tripping, firing seven shots on Kiprusoff, but to no avail. The Flames 'tender snagged every shot he saw, making a series of spectacular glove saves and allowing no rebounds to give his team a shot at the 'W' in a shootout.

Nigel Dawes was the first shooter for the Flames, in their first shootout of the new season, and he scored after Sam Gagner's attempt was saved by Kipper. Patrick O'Sullivan tied things up for the Oilers, but Olli Jokinen, the Flames' next shooter, had a trick up his sleeve. He deked out Khabibulin several times before tucking a shot just inside the post, which trickled across the line with a little help from the Oiler goalie's pad. Ales Hemsky was the Oilers' last shooter, and fired a shot off the corner between the post and crossbar. Voila...Flames win!

The shots in this game ended up even at twenty-eight a piece, which ties the best effort in terms of shots the Flames have mustered this season. Their powerplay, which was operating at 75%, good for #1 in the league, was a futile 0-4 on the night. While a powerplay operating a such a high efficiency is clearly not sustainable, I think fans hoped for a better result against the Oilers' 29th ranked penalty kill unit.

This effort was probably the most consistent for the Flames as of yet, and maybe their best defensively. Robyn Regehr was the only player registering a minus on the team, as he continues to struggle. He was largely at fault on the Oilers' first goal and seems a lot easier to push off the puck than we are accustomed to. His passes seem ill-advised and his hits lack their usual "oomph"; I don't think we've seen a single instance of him knocking the wind out of Ales Hemsky as of yet.

The second line was the Flames' best line last night, with Dawes, Langkow, and Bourque scoring all of the team's goals in regulation. I think I already mentioned how much I love Rene Bourque. He collected a goal and two assists last night, and continues to be one of the Flames' best forwards. I just love everything about the way he plays... he's fast, strong, he wins battles, and he never gives up on a play.

The first line seems to be improving every game, although they didn't score, the trio of Iginla, Jokinen, and Moss were sharp last night, demonstrating their speed, strength, and crisp passing. All three were +1, and Jokinen was surprisingly good defensively after an abysmal effort in his own zone Tuesday against the Canadiens. The fourth line is just so good, and again created multiple chances, against the Oilers, although failing to score.

The Flames showcased the excellent transition game that they are capable of with Bouwmeester and Giordano providing speed and mobility on the blueline, and were able to control the neutral zone. The areas that remain a concern for the this team are faceoffs, which were again largely dominated by the opposition, and lazy play in their own end, which afforded the Oilers a number of quality scoring chances and resulted in trips to the penalty box.

Finally, news broke today that Oilers coach Pat Quinn has been fined $10,000 for his comments about Jarome Iginla made after the game. If that's not enough to teach him to keep his mouth shut, I don't know what is. Iginla told the Flames Insider that the trip was unintentional, and that he understands why the Oilers are upset and feels bad that Souray was injured on the play. Really, when have we ever seen Iginla intentionally injure someone, with the exception of fighting? I may come off as a homer, but I believe this was a genuine accident which took a freakish turn and looked a lot worse than it actually was.

Up Next: The Flames will aim for their first ever 5-0 start tonight when they host the Dallas Stars (0-0-2) at 7 PM (MT). The Stars and Flames split the series at two wins apiece last season. No word on whether or not Kiprusoff will start.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Images courtesy of the Flames Insider