So here we are awaiting game 82 of the long and arduous NHL season. The last several years this was generally the game where the coach would decide who to rest and who’s icetime would be handled appropriately as they prepared for the marathon that is the playoffs. Not this time and not this year. For a team that had very high expectations coming into the 2009-2010 season, this was a game to try and salvage some sort of pride in a group of guys that quite frankly, have been far from anything resembling a playoff team.
On The Line
Not a thing. Not even jockeying for draft position. If ever the Flames have played a completely meaningless game, this was it.
The Flow
All Canucks, all the time and with great success I might add. Vancouver was out to a 3-0 lead before the 1st period was half way completed. It didn’t get much better after that although the Flames managed to get one before time expired on the first 20.
The 2nd and 3rd period were already decided for the most part by the first. The Flames had mailed this one in early and had the look of a club that simply wanted the whole nightmare to end and get on with their long summer vacations. It worked.
Three Stars
1. Daniel Sedin: He and his brother have both taken their games to a new level this year and both deserve every accolade thrown their way. A dominating performance by the twins even if the opposition put up as much resistance as a 6 week old kitten.
2. Henrik Sedin: See above. Both guys have been lights out and will determine how long the post season in Vancouver lasts along with captain cage-minder.
3.Kevin Bieksa: A goal and 2 assists from the usually offense challenged blueliner. The biggest indicator of how futile the Flames were on the night.
Big Save
Not sure there was one here, but admittedly I missed part a good chunk of the 2nd period with a minor house emergency. Maybe the biggest save goes to Vesa Toskala for spelling Miikka Kiprusoff from the brutal effort in front of him.
Big Hit
Was there one? This was about the least physical game I have seen for a long long time. Looked like some pond hockey at times. The biggest hit was Rick Rypien clocking Jamal Mayers in the yap in the one real bit of emotion from a Flame player on the night.
The Goat
Simple. The entire team was an abortion of effort on the night. Not completely unexpected I suppose, as there was absolutely nothing but some stats to try and pad to play for.
Mr. Clutch
For this night I will give it to Nik Hagman, but far to often he was invisible after his acquisition.
Odds and Ends
So how many guys did this game represent as their last in Flames silks? I think there will be at least 7 new faces come September….Lots of finger pointing going on with fans these days, but lets face facts here folks. this season comes down to a collective failure from top to bottom. Hard to believe so many on the same team could go on such prolonged spans of ineptness and flat out slumps….There were a couple bright spots in Kiprusoff and Backlund. Many wanted Kiprusoff jettisoned after last year. That’s why knee-jerk reactions are bad ones….Jay Bouwmeester was by a country mile the biggest under-producer on the club in terms of salary…..Ian White will be a Flame for a long time IMO. He will get a fair deal from Sutter and likely a decent term. 5 years is my guess….If the Wings lose on Sunday to the Hawks in regulation they will be matched with the Canucks in round 1. Really doubt that is what the Vancouver group wants to see. Go Hawks……
Next Up
Check the NHL schedule due out sometime in August.
Lines:
Bourque-Conroy-Iginla
Hagman-Stajan-Moss
Dawes-Backlund-Kotalik
Nystrom-Mayers-Sutter
Regher-White
Giordano-Sarich
Staois-Bouwmeester
Kiprusoff
