With the bandwagon clearing out after back to back losses to the division rivals up North, courtesy a pair of second period collapses, confidence in the Flames was at an all time low. Tonight, the Flames faced off against their first opponent outside of their own division in this early season as they took on the Alexander Ovechkin lead Washington Captials. The Capitals making their second trip to the Dome in as many years now feature some impressive talent ready to make their mark on the NHL. The question for the Flames being, could they limit the damage?
With demoralizing performances in pretty much every game this year, the Flames and their fans were looking for any signs of life. Miikka Kiprusoff’s goals against average was exploding, the team was making bone headed plays in their own zone, and the team’s play in the second period was absolutely killing them. Tonight, the Flames looked much more like the team that fans, and likely management envisioned at the start of the season.
On The Line
It’s early in the season, but back with only one win in the first five games of the season, and things are already starting to look dire for the C of Red. Shutting down the red hot Capitals would go a long way to helping the team’s fragile confidence.
The Flow
The first period can be summed up by one statement. NINE minutes of powerplay time for the Capitals. Curiously enough the only goal of the first period was scored on the first stoppage in play as Mark Giordano did a mediocre job attempting to tie up veteran forward Sergei Fedorov who got a stray stick on a Jeff Shultz shot towards the net that sneaked past the outstretched leg of Miikka Kiprusoff. The rest of the first was completely dominated by the powerplay created when Rene (BORK!) came to the ill advised aid of linemate Daymond Langkow who took a massive clean open ice hit and received two minutes for roughing and instigating, five minutes for fighting, and a ten minute misconduct. His opponent got nothing but a couple of punches to the head. Call it the TSN turning point, because the Flames managed to kill off the nine minutes (with 2 minutes of 4 on 4 thanks to Micheal Nylander) without surrendering a goal. That act in itself could help the team find it’s defensive resolve.
Towards the end of the first and continuing into the second period, the Flames would get a massive man advantage turn for themselves as they received five on three after five on three and managed to finally get on the board when Jarome Iginla fired a puck from the top of the circle past Capitals netminder, and familiar Flames foe, Jose Theodore. A minute and fourty-two seconds later Matthew Lombardi would put the Flames in the lead just as the Capitals would kill off the remaining penalty from the Iginla five on three goal.
In the third, the Flames would continue to entertain powerplay time, but couldn’t convert. Major credit for the Flames lack of success going to the penalty killing prowess of the Capitals. The Caps got a few good chances to tie things up in the early goings of the third, but couldn’t get enough pressure to beat the Flames netminder.
Three Star
1. Miikka Kiprusoff: Kiprusoff has been facing some major flack for his play of late, but tonight he took a giant leap forward in silencing his critics. A stellar effort from the veteran Finn.
2. Jose Theodore: Theodore had the Flames number while he was a member of the Avalanche, and tonight he did his best to thwart his former rivals.
3. Todd Bertuzzi: Bertuzzi didn’t score tonight, but he is showing himself to be more and more comfortable in a Flames uniform. His biggest plus tonight… he didn’t take a stupid penalty!
Big Save
With only two minutes left in the game, Miikka Kiprusoff stuck a right pad leg out to block a dribbling puck heading to the net to keep the Capitals from tying the game. On initial inspection, it didn’t look like much, but if something like that goes in, any and all confidence is gone and the Flames would have lost.
Big Hit
Obviously it was the massive, MASSIVE, hit laid upon Daymond Langkow by Calgary native Tyler Sloan. It was a SMASH! in all senses of the term. PLUS it ended up garnering the previously mentioned massive amount of powerplay time for his team. Good work Sloan!
The Goat
I’m not saying Bourque, and I’ll explain in a moment. Dion Phaneuf may have looked good to Mike Rogers tonight, but he did not look good to me. I can’t believe I’m going to agree with Ray Ferarro, but Phaneuf was absolutely brutal at making tape to tape passes tonight. He created many a turnover because he put the puck into a teammate’s feet rather than his stick.
Mr. Clutch
This begins and ends with the Flames penalty killers. They were lights out at limiting the Capitals powerplay to the outside, especially during the second half of the first period. That kill could very well have given the players hope and confidence in their own abilities as professional hockey players, and given how the Flames have looked of late, it honestly couldn’t have come at a better time.
Odds and Ends
I know that people will want to disagree with my goat tonight, and I welcome it. The way I see it is that the penalties taken by Rene Bourque, while stupid in their own right, created a form of adversity that the entire team could build around. It was hit or miss as to how it would play out. Had the Capitals scored even once on that series, then this would be a different story, but because the Flames killed it off it results in being the type of event that makes the Flames into a better team, and for that, one almost needs to applaud Bourque for doing what he did.
What the Flames defence can probably take the most pride in after tonight’s contest is how they played a character like Alexander Ovechkin. Sure he got an assist on the Capitals only goal, but it was a second assist, and for the most part, they really limited the chances that Ovechkin had. That is just one more thing that the defencemen, and team defence as a whole can take to heart and build upon in future games.
Next Up
The Flames head out to Nashville on Thursday night to take on the Predators. Watch the game on Flames PPV in high definition, or listen to the Fan 960. The action starts at 6 PM.
Lines (To Start):
Bertuzzi – Cammalleri – Iginla
Bourque – Langkow – Lombardi
Glencross – Conroy – Moss
Prust – Primeau – Boyd
Phaneuf – Vandermeer
Regehr – Sarich
Aucoin- Giordano
Kiprusoff
