After a terribly disappointing loss in Chicago on Saturday to drop within one game of elimination, and all the wrong things being said in the dressing room of the good guys, the injury list growing yet again with the loss of Dion Phaneuf to a probable concussion, the Flames made their way into the friendly confines of the Pengrowth Saddledome hoping to force a game seven, and the chance to finally win one on the road to advance to the second round for the first time since 2004. But this story was written before the puck hit the ice.
On The Line
In a word.. everything. Win or your done.
The Flow
Things did not start out well for the Flames. After a good first shift with some sustained pressure in the offensive zone, Todd Bertuzzi was tagged for an easy elbowing call, and as it has been all series long, the Blackhawks made short work of the power play situation as Patrick Kane found the puck on his stick with a wide open net to put the visitors up 1-0. Midway through the frame Dustin Byfuglien took the puck behind the net, and told every single person in the rink he was going to pass it to the slot.. oh, except for the FOUR Flames players who were standing in the defensive zone watching him while forgetting that Adam Burish was skating in behind them for an easy 2-0 goal. At that point the writing was clearly on the wall in bright colours. The look on the face of Miikka Kiprusoff and the body language of the Flames said it all. “We’re done.”
Credit to the Flames in the second period though. After being thoroughly beaten in the last game and a third, they were still out there trying to compete, but Nikolai Khabibulin had the answer for everything they threw at him. Outshooting the Blackhawks 17-4 in the second period, it was heartbreaking and frustrating to every single person in red in the building that on only their third shot of the period, on the power-play, Brian Campbell wristed a shot from the point past Kiprusoff to seal the deal for the Hawks.
In the third Calgary got a moment of life from Todd Bertuzzi finally doing something useful as he took a sharp angle shot and found an inch of room over Khabibulin’s shoulder to get the Flames on the board. But as the period wore on, and the Blackhawks did nothing more than continually ice the puck, the Flames sunk lower and lower until the final four seconds when Kris Versteeg put the puck in the empty net. Series over.
Three Stars
1. Nikolai Khabibulin: Khabibulin wasn’t particularly spectacular, but he made the saves he needed to make when he was asked to. That was the difference between the two teams tonight.
2. Cory Sarich: Clearly not prepared to go down without a fight Sarich continued to be one of the best Flames out on the ice shift after shift. He kept the physical play up with a couple of big hits in the game and some good shooting lanes.
3. Dustin Byfuglien: BUFFLIN finished the game with a goal and two assists. His telegraphed play to setup the second goal should never have happened, but it did, so here he is.
Big Save
Just some of the puck luck that the Blackhawks were enjoying tonight as Rene Bourque had a glorious opportunity to get the Flames within one, but while he beat Khabibulin, he couldn’t beat the cross bar.
Big Hit
Cory Sarich, as he has been known to do in the playoffs was throwing the body like crazy. In the third period, with the help of Craig Conroy to guide his target to his demise, Sarich blasted a Hawk forward at the blueline with a thundering hit.
The Goat
Every single player on the ice when Burish scored. That play should NEVER happen, let alone in a playoff game when you’re down by one.
Mr. Clutch
One has to go with the Chicago Blackhawks power-play. Deadly efficient, scoring on their two power-play opportunities on the evening.
Odds and Ends
We’ll leave the analysis of the season for a later date.. but to the inevitable people who will demand that this team be ripped to shreds for the lack of post season performance, or even late season performance I have two words: “shut it.” People will always remember the fact that the Flames lost the series, not the circumstances surrounding the loss. Many will argue the impact of injuries, and others will respond that injuries can’t be used as an excuse. That’s true, but injuries are certainly a factor leading to the end of the Calgary Flames season. To imagine how this would have unfolded with Robyn Regehr unleashing hell on Earth on players like Martin Havlat, Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews.. how can someone not think that having a player like Regehr involved in the series, a HEALTHY Sarich (would you look at how he did with a broken foot?!) and Phaneuf actually being an ambi-turner, it’s mind boggling to think that if those circumstances were different, that this series would have looked anything like it did. In the end, this writer isn’t depressed, isn’t ready to blow everything up, is certainly frustrated, but will take a lot from this past season and look forward to the next with great hope for the future of the Flames.
Next Up
A very long offseason wondering what could have been if circumstances were different.
Lines (To Start):
Cammalleri – Jokinen – Iginla
Glencross – Conroy – Moss
Bourque – Langkow – Bertuzzi
Roy – Peters – Nystrom
Sarich- Leopold
Pardy – Aucoin
Eriksson- Vandermeer
Kiprusoff
