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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Go Flames Go.

Post-game Party: Playoffs!!!1

I consider myself a realistic fan. As such, I assumed that the Flames' night was probably over when the Wings scored a power play goal to take the lead in the second period.

However, something about their 4-2 comeback victory in Detroit has me unreasonably excited.

This was a big game, and an even bigger win. Maybe the biggest of the season thus far. After a relatively dull first period featuring some good chances at both ends, Daymond Langkow tallied his thirteenth goal of the season on a bad angle slapshot, giving the Flames the lead. After responding with some continued pressure in Wings zone and almost scoring to go ahead 2-0, Detroit stormed back with fifteen second period shots and two unanswered goals to take the lead.

As statistics will tell us, the Flames don't really do comebacks, especially those of the third period variety, so when they outshot the team they're competing for the final playoff spot with 15-4 in the final frame and scored twice to take the lead, it was a thing of beauty. Chris Higgins sealing the deal with his first as a Flame--a short-handed empty-netter--was particularly special. This was a playoff-like victory. In a historically unfriendly building where the hosts had won four of their last five, the Flames didn't quit and were on the right side of some lucky bounces for once. Their best players came through and Kiprusoff looked extremely solid in goal, as he made important save after important save in his second straight win at Joe Louis Arena this season.

After losing 4-0 to Minnesota in their first game back from the Olympic break, the Flames have won three straight games and have outscored their opposition 14-7. I believe the Flames' 'magic number' hovers somewhere around the 94-point mark, and with 75 points they need to win approximately ten more games out of the remaining sixteen to have a real shot at the post season.

I have my cynical-and-jaded-sports-fan moments, more than usual these days, but at the end of the day, I want this team to be successful, which means making the playoffs. Making the playoffs in better than not making the playoffs under any circumstances, even if another first-round exit at the hands of an up-and-coming Western Conference powerhouse awaits.

The heart wants what it wants.

Ottawa Thursday.

Go Flames Go.

Post-game party: Superskills edition

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Puck control relay

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

Bouwmeester and Johnson helping out with the shooting accuracy contest

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

Team photo

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

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

This and That:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Go Flames Go.

Post-game Party: Progress

Progress isn't always pretty, but it's invariably encouraging.

Last night, Rene Bourque and Miikka Kiprusoff threw an unwilling and broken Flames squad on their backs and led the charge in a 4-1 victory over the Oilers, the Flames' first in three games and only their fourth in the month of December.

Despite the end result--two points and ever-important provincial bragging rights--the dark cloud surrounding this team has not entirely dissipated. The Flames were outshot 16-5 in the first period and were fortunate to escape the opening frame in a 1-1 deadlock. The final shot totals favoured the Oilers 35-24 in a game where they blocked eighteen Flames shots. The Flames also totaled fifteen missed shots at even strength--a disturbing trend that shows no signs of stopping. Besides getting outshot by a team with only a marginally better Shots For/Game average (28.3 for the Oilers compared to 27.0 for the Flames), the Flames also lost the faceoff battle to the Oilers, winning 42% of the draws compared the 58% for Edmonton. I know I said that the faceoff debate seemed like a moot point a little while back, but since this awful streak of bad hockey began, faceoff percentage just jumps out as another glaring weakness of this team. Again, they got beat by a team with only a marginally better faceoff winning percentage--46.6% for EDM vs. 46.2% for CGY. Essentially what I'm saying is that the Flames were lucky to come away with a win against the second-worst team in the league, despite the lop-sided score.

All that aside, this game showcased excellent bounce-back performances from three players who struggled mightily Saturday night against Vancouver--Bourque, who was -2 against the Canucks, Jokinen, who was benched for all but two shifts in the third period, and Kiprusoff who allowed four goals on thirteen shots in the first period. The newly configured line of Bourque-Jokinen-Dawes combined for six points against the Oilers and was a combined +5. While the new top trio of Glencross-Langkow-Iginla didn't exactly shine, Iginla was still involved in the game physically, dropping the mitts with the Oilers' Ladislav Smid in the third period. Also, kudos to Dustin Boyd, who registered his first career NHL fight when he tangled with Andrew Cogliano early in the first.

We needn't be reminded to take this victory in stride; a much tougher contest awaits this team tomorrow night at home against Ryan Smyth and the L.A. Kings (7:30PM, Sportsnet). Given how hard they made the game against the Oilers for themselves, it'll be a huge challenge that I'm not feeling all that optimistic about, especially given the fact that the Flames have lost three straight at the 'Dome. I'm leaving California today, so the Kings and I have separated for the time being, citing irreconcilable differences. Really, I was just trying to make the Flames jealous; it didn't mean anything, promise ;)

After missing three Flames games and catching only snippets of Canada's three World Juniors' games, I'm not a very happy hockey fan. Upon my return to the Great White North, I will do my best never to miss a game again. Ever.

I did manage to catch two periods of Canada's 8-2 win over Slovakia on the flight home (thank goodness for Westjet and their mini TVs); Canada was impressive once again, showcasing their pure offensive skill and breaking a previous shut-out record in the process. However, the game was not as much of a blowout as the score indicates; the shots ended up 35-27 in favour of Canada, and if Canada hadn't scored three goals on their first four shots of the game, it may have been a different story.

Slovakia has an above-average team that isn't afraid to play physical, and they made life miserable for Canada's defenders and penalty kill on a few occasions. Greg Nemisz was held pointless yet again, despite playing with Windsor teammates Ryan Ellis, Adam Henrique (albeit injured), and Taylor Hall, who had a hat-trick in this game, which can't be doing much for the nineteen-year-old's confidence. Hopefully he finds a way to put some points on the board sooner rather than later, being that this is such a short tournament.

Oh, and there's also the small matter of the Canadian Men's Olympic team being announced tomorrow morning at precisely ten o'clock, with TSN's preview show airing at nine-thirty. Stay tuned for the inevitable debate on which media type's projected roster was more correct and the glorified self back-patting that will surely ensue. Everyone and their dog likely has a pretty good idea of what the finished product will look like, and I'll be shocked if there are any major omissions or surprise add-ons akin to the Crosby-Bertuzzi debacle of Gretzky's doing in 2006.

L.A. tomorrow and Edmonton the day after that. Let's see if the Flames can close out 2009 in style.

Go Flames Go.

Post-game Party: The rocky road to redemption

Well we kicked the skid, although not with as much authority as I would have liked.

The Flames came storming out of the gate against the Kings at the 'Dome tonight, eager to set the tempo for what was a hard-fought, physical contest. Mark Giordano and Aaron Johnson were especially punishing on the blueline, as Giordano drew the ire of the Kings after dealing a series of solid jolts to their captain Dustin Brown, who was held to only one shot on goal and was visibly upset on the Kings bench. Brown attempted retaliation later in the game on a few hits that Gio managed to dodge, including an attempted elbow to the head that surely would have been reviewed by the league had it connected.

After a solid first period in which the Flames managed to kill off two straight Kings powerplays, they registered a powerplay goal of their own when Dion Phaneuf blasted a slapper through traffic with only 0.7 seconds left in the opening frame. The second period was essentially dead even, with each team firing eleven shots at the opposing 'tender. The third period is where things started to go downhill. After Nigel Dawes scored to put the Flames up 2-0 early in the final frame, the Kings took over. At one point, scoring chances were 9-3 in favour of L.A., and things started to get really sloppy at around the five minute mark.

After a couple good shifts in the offensive zone by the Kings during which the Flames failed to exit their zone after multiple opportunities, Robyn Regehr was dinged with an interference penalty. After a successful kill, the Flames iced the puck as Regehr stepped out of the box. A faceoff in the defensive zone led to more pressure from the Kings, and Corey Elkins shoveled home his first NHL tally to cut the Flames' lead in half. Thankfully, the Hockey Gods smiled down upon the Flames just minutes later, and presented them with a gift of a powerplay opportunity after an interference call on Justin Williams in front of the Flames net. Having already met their maximum powerplay goal-per-game quota of one, the Flames failed to generate any shots on the man advantage, and the Kings were back on the attack shortly thereafter.

During a rare shift in the Kings' zone, Williams struck again, this time clipping Public Enemy #1 Mark Giordano with a high stick with just over ninety-seconds remaining in the game. What followed resembled nothing remotely close to a powerplay, as the Kings set up shop once again in the Flames zone. With a minute remaining in the contest, Jay Bouwmeester, who has been average at best in recent games, took an idiotic cross-checking penalty after failing to clear the puck, resulting in one of the most stressful final minutes of a game in recent memory. After winning a faceoff to the right of Kiprusoff with 1.2 seconds left in the game, the Kings directed a final shot netward for a grand total of sixteen in the third period and thirty-five overall before the Flames managed to escape with the much-needed two-points.

This victory offers little comfort to Flames fans, as another incomplete and inconsistent game almost saw them squander a two-goal lead and fourty-five minutes worth of good hockey. Again, if it wasn't for Miikka Kiprusoff's MVP-like performance in goal, this game would likely have ended much differently. The inability of this team to exit and clear the zone cleanly remains a major area of concern and frustration, and to me, separates them from the elite teams in the league.

Watching a team like Pittsburgh, Chicago, or New Jersey play, it is enviable how quickly and smoothly their players exit the defensive zone, aided by crisp passes from defencemen to forwards. There is no getting hemmed in by the opposition, no scrambling around, no failing to get to loose pucks or getting outworked along the boards. These shortcomings have been painfully obvious lately, and what seemed to be one of their strong points in November is now an area in need of much improvement.

Adam Pardy's recovery from a sprained wrist helps to bolster the backend, I thought he had a pretty good game tonight, but the Flames as a group need to recommit to team defence. Allowing over thirty shots on goal every game, regardless of the ability of your goaltender, is irresponsible. If the Flames' team defence improves, the offence will surely follow. Taking a 2-0 lead early in the third might seem like justification to "take your foot of the gas," but not to the extent that you are getting outshot 16-3. Jarome Iginla and Nigel Dawes led the Flames with three shots a piece; the Kings? Doughty and Kopitar both had six while Justin Williams registered seven shots on goal, despite spending four minutes in the penalty box.

This is the second straight game where the effort of this club has fallen flat in the third period, only this time, they were up by two goals instead of tied. It reminds me of the beginning of the season, when the Flames were eking out wins based on the merits of twenty or fourty minute efforts. While the sense of "urgency" and tenacity that has been relatively absent over the duration of their now defunct three-game slide made an appearance tonight, the Flames still need to show a consistent commitment to the style of play that they know makes them successful and a tough team to play against.

In other news...

Thanks to kind-hearted Oilers blogger Jay from Low On Oil who has been spreading the word about my humble little blog, I have received an invitation to join the Bloguin Network as a Flames blogger (duh)! Needless to say I am honoured and extremely excited to join such a diverse and knowledgeable community of sports bloggers. It will likely take a month or more for the new site to be established, and in the meantime I am considering changing the name of this blog to something more Flames-related. So far, Jay has suggested "Fan the Flames," which I modified to "Fanning the Flames." I welcome your suggestions in the comments section, or feel free to send me an email at hazel.mutch@hotmail.com

Up Next: The Flames host the streaking Nashville Predators in a matinee game on Saturday. The Preds have won three straight and are a respectable 9-5-2 on the road; this game will be a tough test for a Flames team that hopes to get back on track before Christmas and has struggled to find consistency at home. By the way, what is the deal with Jamie Lundmark? Does anybody have the vaguest idea as to why the Flames have recalled him when there are no injuries plaguing the forward ranks that I'm aware of? It doesn't even appear on the team's website. He is just lurking about town with no intended purpose. Very odd indeed.

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.

Post-game Party: Roooaaaadd trrriiiipppp!

Glitter Graphics

So here we are, 1/3 of the way through our annual trek across the American west/mid-west complete with bizarre game times and the occasional appearance from C-Mac. In my last post, I made a point of saying that the game in Detroit on Friday would be difficult and might not be pretty; well it was difficult, Kiprusoff faced fourty shots in the game and the Flames were largely outplayed, and it wasn't pretty, apart from a few lucky bounces, some sub-par goaltending from Osgood, and the end result: a 3-0 shutout win for the Flames in one of the most notoriously unfriendly buildings in the NHL.

The Flames were outshot 15-6 and 17-5 in the first and second periods and, although they were faced with the task of killing off six Detroit powerplays as the refs attempted to even the proverbial score, were the beneficiaries of an early whistle, a questionable goaltender interference no-goal, and some timely defensive ineptitude from Pavel Datsyuk. They got it together in the third period and managed to hold the Wings to only eight shots, some of which were very good quality scoring chances, after taking the 3-0 lead early on a nice shot by Jokinen that went top-shelf on Osgood.

At one point in the final frame, Todd Bertuzzi had a scoring chance, a relatively tame but hard shot from the faceoff circle, and I screamed at the TV: "NO, YOU'RE NOT SCORING!!!" and it seemed to work. The Wings were shut out in back-to-back games at home for the first time since the 70s, and given that they are depleted by injuries, deserved a better fate. The final result is flattering for the Flames, but they are not yet the elite level team that a 3-0 road win over the Red Wings might imply that they are.

Stop Two: Columbus

Nationwide Arena is another hard-luck building for the Flames, who lost their last outing there earlier in the season by a score of 2-1. Curtis McElhinney was given the start after Kiprusoff's magnificent fourty-save performance the night before, and the Flames got off to a surprisingly good start, outshooting the Jackets 10-5 in the opening frame. After the Flames took the lead on a goal by Jokinen five and a half minutes into the second, things swiftly turned south for the visitors. They went over twelve minutes without a shot in the middle frame and the Blue Jackets took the lead on three unanswered goals by Rick Nash, Marc Methot, and Jared Boll, two of which were assisted by former Flame Kristian Huselius. I think I've already mentioned how much I loved watching him play when he was a Flame; I was pretty heartbroken when he signed with the Jackets, and games like this don't do much to ease the pain.

After a lacklustre start to the third, I was ready to write this game off on the basis of fatigue and a couple bad goals allowed by C-Mac, but that changed with under ten minutes remaining in the final stanza. After a few good forechecking shifts, Dustin Boyd converted a swell pass from Jokinen (who now has three goals and nine assists in his last eleven games) to cut Columbus' lead in half. As Duncan from Hit The Post points out, he has not only been contributing offensively, but he has been doing so at important times in the game. Joker's not exactly Mr. Clutch, but his timely offense of late sure does help. Good on 'ya, Pumpkin Head. Just over a minute later, Nigel Dawes swatted home what seems to be a now patented behind-the-net feed from David Moss for his third goal in as many games to send the game into overtime.

The Flames would go on to outshoot the Jackets 4-3 in OT, fueled by their late-period comeback, but to no avail. The shootout wasn't exactly a goaltending battle, as both 'tenders surrendered goals on the first two shots they faced, followed by saves on Iginla and Tyutin respectively. In the fourth round, former Flame Anton Stralman missed, running into McElhinney in the process (Fun fact: I was in the process of making a white chocolate mocha for a customer at work and simultaneously rambling on about Stralman's stats with CBJ as he was about to shoot when I was unceremoniously rushed by said customer), and Lundmark sealed the deal for the Flames with his first career NHL shootout goal.

The Flames enter the second third of their six-game roadie tomorrow (6PM, Sportsnet) against the red-hot Predators in Nashville. The Preds are 9-4 at home, recording impressive wins against the Wings, Devils, Sharks, and Blackhawks. The fact that they refer to themselves as "Smashville" on the team website makes me want the Flames to beat them even more. Sarich and Bourque are still out with undisclosed injuries for the Flames, who have recalled Staffan Kronwall from Abbotsford. I've also heard through the grapevine that Reggie has been playing with somewhat of a bad elbow. The Preds are healthy as far as I can tell. The Flames could tie a franchise record for points in ten straight games if they record at least a point tomorrow against Nashville; they swept the season series with the Preds 4-0 last season.

This game is being called a "measuring stick" game for the Preds, as they look to establish themselves as a legitimate playoff contender in the West. Let's make it difficult for them.

Go Flames Go.

Post-game Party: Ghosts of Coyotes past

The Flames touched down in Calgary briefly last night for a game against the Phoenix Coyotes which resembled a big 'ol somewhat incestual family reunion--these two teams have exchanged players more often than Elisha Cuthbert--so naturally, certain individuals had a chip on their respective shoulders.

After a lacklustre first period in which the Flames took back-to-back penalties and were outshot 11-7, they turned it around in a hurry in the second, outshooting Phoenix 11-4. The Coyotes had been slow getting to loose pucks in their own zone all evening, and the Flames finally capitalized late in the second, as Curtis Glencross feathered a perfect pass to Daymond Langkow, uncontested in the slot, who promptly fired home his eighth goal of the season to give the Flames a 1-0 lead.

The third period was a little more back and forth, but the Flames were obviously playing it safe and trying to protect the lead, which resulted in them getting hemmed in their own zone for long stretches as Phoenix pressed for the equalizer, which they eventually got on a powerplay midway through the final frame.

A breakdown in communication between the Flames' penalty killers Nystrom and Glencross left the Coyotes' Keith Yandle with an open shooting lane from the point, and he blasted a shot past a screened Kiprusoff to square the affair at one. The Flames would respond just over four minutes later; David Moss, engaged in a battle behind the net, managed to win possession of the puck and, doing his best Gretzky impersonation, fired a slick no-look pass to a wide-open Nigel Dawes, who made no mistake on his fifth of the season and first in thirteen games.

Dawes' tally put the nail in the coffin for his former team and propelled the Flames to a 2-1 victory, finally putting a stop to the team's four-game losing streak on home ice. Daymond Langkow also chipped in against his old mates, and led all Flames forwards in ice time at 20:30. Lanks was everywhere against the 'Yotes; killing penalties, forcing turnovers, scoring, assisting, you name it, and was named the game's first star as a result. While it is not surprising that the Flames second line again fulfilled the lamp-lighting duties, it is surprising that they continued to do so without Rene Bourque. David Moss appears to be fitting in nicely with his new linemates.

Olli Jokinen's effort against his former squad was nowhere near as inspiring as that of his teammates, as he was more of a liability than anything else--I counted at least two sequences where he turned over the puck, once in the offensive zone off an ill-advised pass and once more in the neutral zone. The latter was particularly atrocious as it lead to a dangerous scoring chance by Shane Doan and forced Kiprusoff into a hard and very uncomfortable-looking save, one of his twenty-seven in the game. After what was one of his better games of the season, if not his best, against the Ducks, it appears we are back to square one with Joker.

On the defensive side of things, it was somewhat of a tough night for the Flames' blueliners. I don't know if anyone else thought that Bouwmeester struggled a bit--he wasn't terrible by any means but his positioning was slightly off and he was a little slow getting to loose pucks; I counted two giveaways on his part and one sequence where he overskated the puck, opting to take an opposing player into the end boards instead. Phaneuf's lack of effort in his own zone was again glaringly obvious last night, as I noted that he was successful in winning possession of the puck and exiting the defensive zone only once.

I know I'm a little late to the party on the Phaneuf v. Sutter v. Other Unnamed Flames Player rumour mill, but issues in the dressing room can sink a team and compromise its season, as we all saw last year with the Montreal Canadiens. While the issue will likely never be directly addressed by the organization, I certainly hope the Flames are able to sort it out sooner rather than later, if there is any truth to these rumours whatsoever.

The Flames landed in Detroit today where they'll begin a season-high six-game road trip (5:00PM, Sportsnet) with stops in Columbus, Nashville, Phoenix, San Jose, and Los Angeles. With the Flames currently one point back of first place in the Northwest, the importance of this road trip cannot be stressed enough. This team has exceeded expectations away from the Saddledome, but every team they face on this trip will present a challenge, some more than others, and games against Detroit and San Jose could be of the "measuring stick" variety.

Tomorrow's matchup with the Wings will be difficult and it may not be pretty. Let's hope for the best.

Go Flames Go.

If procrastination were a Country, I'd be its First Lady

If procrastination were a Country, I'd be its First Lady. I really should not have a blog.

The Flames kicked off their mini-three game road trip with what was probably their best all-around effort so far this season, resulting in a 1-0 win over Montreal--Kiprusoff's 200th as a Flame, and his 31st career shutout. The Canadiens had some marvelous opportunities, including breakaway chances by both Cammalleri and Gomez, but the Flames held the edge in almost every other department in this physical affair, which saw the Habs out-hit their visitors 26-21.

The effort in Buffalo was not lacking by any means, but the Flames were clearly overwhelmed by the up-tempo, physical Sabres and allowed them to dictate the play after taking the lead early in the first period. The Flames were outshot 18-5 in the opening frame, but escaped the Buffalo blitzkrieg tied at one thanks to some timely stick-work from Cory Sarich and heroics from a certain netminder. The visitors found their legs in the second, dominating the shot clock 12-3, and played an evenly matched third period before eventually succumbing to the Sabres in a shootout.

The stat that stood out most in this game--16 missed shots by the Flames. They finished the game with 26 shots on goal, not enough against a goaltender of Ryan Miller's quality. For a team that has struggled to score goals recently, they have to get more shots on net. Another number that was hard to swallow? The Flames' 11% faceoff performance on the powerplay. They went 0-5 against the Sabres, and that horrendous faceoff percentage was likely a contributing factor. The Sabres operated at 89% shorthanded, while the Flames, boasting an extremely efficient penalty-killing unit as of late, won only 2 of 7 short-handed draws while managing to nullify all but one of Buffalo's powerplays, including one in overtime. Overall, these were my only real qualms with this game, can't complain too much about a 2-1 shootout loss in a city where this team hasn't won in thirteen years.

Yesterday's game in Toronto was an entirely different story. It all started off well; the Flames jumped out to an early two-goal lead shortly after the "80s Night" festivities had wrapped up at the ACC. Both teams were playing on the second night of back-to-back games, so some sloppiness was to be expected, but it appeared the Leafs had gotten theirs out of the way early. Toronto's relentless forecheck and consistent pressure on the Flames puck-carriers frustrated them, and resulted in some undisciplined play by the visitors. The Leafs and their 3rd best powerplay (?%$#@) capitalized, drawing within one. Dustin Boyd restored the two goal lead on a brilliant individual effort after blocking a shot in his own zone, chasing Gustavsson from the game in the process.

The second period was so atrocious I almost wanted to file it under "this shall never be mentioned again" and allow it to sit there, collecting dust forevermore. The entire twenty minute frame resembled a game of keep-away. The really twisted kind where one of the worst teams in the NHL fires twenty shots on goal compared to a supposed Stanley Cup contender's four. As you can imagine, the majority of the period was spent in the Flames' zone. When they did manage to venture past their own blueline, ill-advised passes and turnovers ensured they ended up back behind it in no time. Somehow, the Flames managed to escape the period with a one goal lead. Kiprusoff is a fucking one-man team right now. "Lights out," "Mr. Clutch," whatever you want to call him, he's been unreal. Either he is determined to prove his detractors wrong (i.e. just about all of us at some point or another) or he really, really wants to make Team Finland.

Toronto's second period outburst seemed to tire them out, and the Flames took advantage in the third. I like to think that this was their strategy all along. Iginla scored his second of the game on another of his trademark shots from the wing and Bouwmeester sealed the deal with a slapper, temporarily alleviating the Flames' nagging powerplay drought. Thank god Toronto's defence still sucks. The Flames managed to escape TO with a 5-2 win, their first at the ACC since 2000, despite getting outshot 40-22.

Notables:

The moment that made you want to laugh and cry simultaneously--Jokinen's "fight" with Francois Beauchemin. It made you want to laugh because he was instantly taken down Beauchemin--who is one tough customer--and emerged with nothing but a cut to show for his efforts, and cry out of frustration on his behalf. The big lug led the team with three hits and had three shots on goal against Buffalo and has been surprisingly decent defensively as of late, but just can't seem to catch a break. Sure the effort could be better, more consistent, but it's there. The hardest thing for a player to do when he's in a slump is to "simplify" his game, but that is exactly what Olli needs to do. Shoot the puck, use his size, and do the things that made him successful in the past. I really feel for the poor sucker.

- Derek Roy was, to borrow a phrase from the infamous Pierre McGuire, a "Monster" against the Flames on Friday night. He had 7 shots on goal (that's three more than any Flames player had in the game), scored a beauty of a goal in regulation and added another in the shootout. If you weren't considering him for Team Canada, you are now. He's fast, talented, and I think he can provide some serious energy in a third or fourth line role for Canada in 2010. I bet Iggy would love to have this little 5"9 SOB as his centreman.

- The Flames' powerplay has fallen from second in the league to twelfth. We all knew that the success they were enjoying at the beginning of the season would level off at some point, but nobody could have predicted the drop-off would be this severe. It's their powerplay faceoff percentage that worries me most--11% against the Sabres and 33% against the Leafs--since it is impossible to maintain zone presence without possession of the puck.

- Speaking of special teams, Brent Sutter said something that was of great interest to me a few days ago when describing his team's recent success on the penalty kill. He said in an article in the Calgary Herald that he had employed some of the same strategies the team had been using before he was hired as Head Coach, when they finished 5th in the league on the PK last season under the tutelage of Mike Keenan and Co. Does this mean that the previous coaching staff wasn't completely inept in the special teams department, or that the Flames just have a lot of good penalty killers on their roster?

-David Moss and Phil Kessel are cousins. Who Knew?

- Moss has been playing very well on a line with Boyd and Nystrom. The trio were some of the only forwards who were skating well and were able to establish a forecheck and good puck support in the offensive zone against both the Leafs and the Sabres.

- Robyn Regehr was +4 last night against Toronto and Dion Phaneuf was +3. If only Brent Sutter's stubbornness when it comes to pairings/line combinations would yield the same results with Jokinen and Iginla.

-Sheldon Souray finally returned to the Oilers lineup this afternoon when they faced the Thrashers in Atlanta after missing sixteen games with a concussion, blamed on an inadvertent trip by Jarome Iginla, during which Oilers fans whined incessantly about how they were missing on of their best players and practically called for a lifetime ban from the NHL for Iginla. They still lost.

Up Next: The Flames return to the 'Dome on Tuesday night to face the Avalanche, coming off an embarrassing 8-2 pounding last night at the hands of the Canucks, after which a handful of Avs players were forced to sit through HNIC's "After Hours" with Kevin Weekes and Scott Oake. The Avs won a 3-2 decision at the 'Dome back in October.

I promise to be a better fan and contribute more frequently to the hockey blogosphere this week. Pinky-swear.