Advantage Calgary…With the Vancouver Canucks dropping two seemingly winnable games this past weekend against the Oilers and a very beat-up and defeated Avalanche team, the idle Flames had an opportunity of their own to take full control of the Northwest division crown as they took on the Los Angeles Kings.
But with the myriad of injuries the Flames have endured through recent weeks only continuing, all bets were off for the home town boys. Could they put themselves into a terrific position to drive the final nail into the Canucks hopes? One step closer boys.
On The Line
With every game having utmost importance for the Flames if they hoped to win the division, or at minimum to try and hold a point advantage against Chicago for home ice if they miss out on the division, the “winnable” games against teams like the Kings are an absolute must.
The Flow
With the first breath of the game on it’s way in, the Kings came out quickly getting a couple of chances on the Flames goal, and with a relatively early power-play, it looked like the beginnings of a very long night for the Flames faithful. But with Miikka Kiprusoff getting a little bit of luck for once as Micheal Handzus went clang clang clang with the trolley of the post, and somehow not having the puck flutter past him with traffic in front, the Flames survived the first. The best chance for the Flames in the opening frame coming late in the period with an extended two man advantage that, while starting to look better with puck movement, generated very little in terms of exciting scoring chances.
Perhaps taking some inspiration from the momentum of being on the two man advantage, even though no goals were to be had, the Flames started the second period with a marked jump. Some crease crashing by the trio of Micheal Cammalleri, Jarome Iginla and Daymond Langkow ended up with the Flames taking the first lead of the game as Langkow was Daymond on the spot to poke the puck that was sitting in the crease oh so tantalizingly. Rather surprisingly for the young Kings team, the quit didn’t start there however. Wayne Simmonds, who always seems to play well against the Flames, snapped home his seventh of the season off of a set face off play that no Flame player seemed to have a chance on. Then with the game deadlocked, he nearly put the visitors up by one only to be denied by the outstretched leg of Miikka Kiprusoff. Calgary would take the lead once again as the puck slipped out to centre ice, where Cammalleri was inexplicably, to this writer, waiting for it along with a King defender. Cammalleri slipped into the zone, crossed with Iginla, then fed the captain for a patented Iginla one timer that Kings goaltender Erik Ersberg was hopeless to stop.
Relatively early on in the third period, “history” happened for Flames defenceman Jim Vandermeer. He scored his first goal as a Calgary Flame after coming to town just prior to the trade deadline last season. At first it looked like he had pulled off a beautiful move to get Ersberg to bite then slip the puck in far side, but as the replay would show, it was actually Vandermeer chipping the puck towards the net, then Jack Johnson poked the puck past his own goaltender leaving him feeling shame and an odd craving for banana pancakes. David Moss would round out the evening for the Flames as he took a great pass from Craig Conroy, drove to the net and lifted a beautiful backhand for his twentieth goal of the season (finally) to cement the fact that he is the Mossman, and he does indeed own.
Three Stars
1. Miikka Kiprusoff: The huge saves weren’t as prevalent, but he made what he had to, and the timing of his big stops was impeccable..
2. Daymond Langkow: Langkow has struggled of late, but the tenacity involved from him and everyone else on his line during the shift that lead to his goal was vintage Langkow. Something that will be needed coming into the playoffs.
3. Micheal Cammalleri: Cammalleri is starting to get his groove back, and just in the nick of time. When he’s hot, so are the Flames.
Big Save
Easily the leg save that Kiprusoff pulled out on Simmonds. An 8 for style, but a 10 for timing. If he doesn’t make that save, the Kings go up by one, have all the momentum, and it could have been Earth shattering for a fragile Flames team still looking to regain it’s swagger.
Big Hit
Matt Pelech began construction on his “Underpass of Agony” as he introduced the NHL to the PELECH SMASH! … a preview of glory to come in the future. Tagged as Robyn Regehr with a mean streak, Pelech answered the bell with a fight moments after the hit.
The Goat
Most people would go after the woefully anemic Flames power-play, but it’s starting to show signs of improving, so tonight the goat can go to Anze Kopitar for an uninspired performance. He’s the future of the Kings franchise and he needs to show he can compete at all times.
Mr. Clutch
Perhaps a little off the board, but with Robyn Regehr out of the lineup a big performance from someone like Adrian Aucoin to lead all Flames players in icetime tonight after missing his last game cannot be overlooked. While Aucoin has his fair share of stinkers, every once in a while he pulls these beauties out and that’s what makes him valuable to the Flames.
Odds and Ends
The scoring depth of the Calgary Flames seems staggering with David Moss joining the ranks of the twenty or more club. His ascension to this stage sees him join the likes of: Iginla; Cammalleri; Jokinen; Bourque; and Langkow….Iginla inches closer to regaining the goal scoring lead with his 34th of the season, just two back from Cammalleri….Tonight was one of the first times Daymond Langkow has looked like he’s getting closer to being near 100%. His play with Cammalleri and Iginla was pretty nice to see, and when Rene Bourque returns, it would be kind of nice to see him draw in with Jokinen and Bertuzzi while Cammalleri and Iginla pivot around Langkow.
Next Up
Flames can throw the final handful of sand in the eyes of the Canucks and watch eat soot tomorrow night in Vancouver. Game time is 8 PM Mountain Time and you can watch on Sportsnet West.
Lines (To Start):
Bertuzzi – Jokinen – Iginla
Cammalleri – Langkow – Lundmark
Glencross – Conroy – Moss
*Magic* – Peters – Nystrom
Phaneuf – Pardy
Leopold – Aucoin
Pelech – Vandermeer
Kiprusoff
