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Calgary Takes Division Lead In Matinee
Flames 2 Wild 1
D'Arcy McGrath
February 24, 2008
It's Oscar Night in Hollywood, with the writer's strike
finally a thing of the past and actors heading back to work in the next
couple of weeks.
The Flames took the podium once again in
Minnesota and put in some more work of their own, playing the road
style to a T and carrying through with a division grabbing 2-1
performance in Minnesota.
As in similar games, the team was
outshot, but kept blue chip chances to a minimum and riding a hot
goaltender to their fourth straight win, their third straight on the
road.
On The Line
The scoop never changes ... yadda yadda yadda division
game, yadda yadda jadda tight conference, etc. But this one had yet
another angle in that the Flames recent three game win streak gives the
team a chance to leap frog the night's hosts, the Wild and grab first
place in the division, and with it the third seed in the West. Amazing
that such a a goal is in grasp given how bleak things looked just last
week with back to back losses in greater Los Angeles.
The Flow
Pretty much the classic road game, a similar games to the Flames
effort in Dallas. The storm was weathered early and then the Flames
went to work on the powerplay with Daymond Langkow finishing off a
great pass from Jarome Iginla. The Flames doubled their lead in the
second when Owen Nolan made a great pass to Craig Conroy on a two on
one, getting the Wild right where they want them. The quiet slow down
game slipped away however when the Flames got in all kinds of penalty
problems, taking three over lapping penalties in a row to conclude the
second period. Early in the third with the last of the three to Dion
Phaneuf still being served Mark Parrish picked up a rebound and brought
the game back to within one. The third period was pretty quiet for
Calgary as they managed to keep the Wild to the outside and ran down
the clock for a huge road win.
Game Stars
1. Miikka Kiprusoff - the man is in the zone again, big time.
The shot totals were likely not indicitive of scoring chances, but
without a solid afternoon from Kiprusoff the Flames likely don't find
two points.
2. Daymond Langkow - Scored
the game's first goal and had a few other great chances, solid two way
performance for a guy that has been a dependable scoring source over
the past couple of weeks.
3. Mark Parrish - scored the Wild's only goal and could have had two or three on the night if not for the game's first star.
Big Save
Key moments in key games, and a huge save from your
goaltender early in the first period is certainly one of them. Miikka
Kiprusoff absolutely robbed Mark Parish when the puck slid in front
with the Flames running around, and a point blank chance was turned
away with a blocker. It wasn't to be the only big stop in the contest.
Another memorable stop was a pad save on Gaborik with the Wild on a
four on two midway through the third and the Flames up a goal.
Big Hit
The Flames have turned
their season around on the back of physical play that has changed the
team's game style and made them a difficult bunch to play against. To
keep that up you'd hope that his honour, the hit of the night, would
have nightly heated competition amongst players with blazing "C"s on
their togs. David Hale set the nasty mood index ealry in this one with
a great push hit on a whistle, sending David Voroos on to his but in
the first. In the second Dion Phaneuf was right on target when he
smoked Wild star Marian Gaborik into the corner boards.
Mr. Clutch
Flames
penalty killing. They gave up a powerplay goal but weathered a storm or
two with some effective, agressive PK, preserving the lead into the
late stages of the game. Powerplay did it's bit by scoring the club's
first goal as well.
The Goat
I'm nitpicking here, but stick fouls. The Flames have to
make their penalties register in the pain column, not the hook and trip
column. They had a two goal lead and great control in a road game until
three straight stick fouls in the second turned the game into a nail
biter.
Odds and Ends
Good to see Marcus Nilson out of the Mike Keenan
doghouse and back into the lineup somewhat regularly. Nilson isn't an
offensive juggernaught by any means, but he's a versatile player that
can fill in in any capacity, including spelling Alex Tanguay on the
second line when Tanguay left the game with an undisclosed injury. ...
Speaking of the Tanguay injury, if it's somewhat unkown going into
Tuesday's deadline do all of his trade rumours come to an abrupt end?
Stinger shouldn't be that serious however ... Can't say enough about
the evolution of David Hale this season. Makes you wonder how many
"should have been" NHLers have passed through the league getting a cup
of coffee when all they needed was a half a season to turn the corner.
A UFA in July, suddenly I'd put Hale on the resign list when he was on
the "meh" list a month ago. ... John Garret pointed out the fact that
when things go well things tend to bounce a club's way. That was the
case again in the second period when the Flames had a Wild goal
disallowed that likely shouldn't have been and then scored themselves a
few minutes later to alter the game significantly. ... Owen Nolan
again, been said to death, you know what I mean. ... Ok not the most
mature thing I realize but anyone else want to giggle when you hear the
term "soft dump" called in a hockey game. ... What a winding road this
team has provided this season with streak after streak after streak
leaving fans in fits. A two game losing streak has now been followed by
a four game win streak with the turnstile changing a team from a fight
for the final playoff spot in Phoenix to the division lead after a win
in Minnesota. Who are these guys? ... Almost as important as the
division lead, the Flames managed to put two points space between
themselves and three other West clubs (San Jose, Vancouver, Nashville)
and an almost breathable six point bulge on the 9th place Avalanche.
Those same Avalanche visit the dome on Tuesday night in what will be a
huge four point game for the West standings. ... Tuesday is trade
deadline day meaning we may have just seen the last of this edition of
the Flames. Any deals made between now and the buzzer will have said
players not playing for Calgary against the Avalanche. What to expect?
Probably very little, but count on at least one small deal. ... Even
with Tanguay out in the first period, Mark Smith and Eric Godard only
saw the ice a total of 41 seconds in this one prompting me to wonder
why they don't dress seven defensemen to protect against injury or
penalty trouble on the backend.
Next up
Tuesday night the Flames host the Avalanche at the Saddledome, game time 7pm on Sportsnet.
Lines:
Huselius - Langkow - Iginla
Tanguay - Conroy - Conroy
Primeau - Yelle - Lombardi
Smith - Nilson - Godard
Phaneuf - Vandermeer
Regehr - Sarich
Aucoin - Hale
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