The Calgary Flames found themselves in an ominous situation at the start of the game. Win tonight and they still have a thread of hope, but even so, the chances are minimal at best. Lose and you can pretty much close the book on the 2009-2010 season.
As history would play out, the loss came, the Avs won. The season was for naught.
On The Line
Everything and nothing. With destiny outside their control, Calgary can still win all their remaining games and miss out on the post season dance. Given that they aren’t in the drivers seat, this game meant that they either survived the crash or were decapitated.
The Flow
The first period was a snore fest. Neither team came out to control the play. San Jose scored the only goal of the period on the power-play, and it was a goal that just sort of happened. Rob Blake threw the puck on net, and from this writers vantage point, it bounced off of something and was in the net. The Flames and Sharks put up respectable shots against, but neither team really had much in terms of scoring chances.
The second period was much the same as the first. The Flames held court in the San Jose zone for periods of time, but a fourth line shift from the Sharks hemmed the Flames in the defensive zone and a goal resulted for Jamie McGinn. The goal was a broken play, and you could just tell it was about to happen when it did.
The third period was the only spark of life from either team, and the only reason for that was the Flames scored a goal. Rene Bourque knocked a Jay Bouwmeester shot-pass behind Nabokov on the power-play after Rob Blake was hauled off for delay of game. Calgary put the Sharks in the pressure cooker, but it was too little, too late. Game over, and the only thing left to do was watch the remainder of the Avs and Canucks.
Three Stars
1. Evgeni Nabokov: While he made 38 saves, he didn’t have a lot of quality chances to face. The numbers put him here.
2. Miikka Kiprusoff: Kiprusoff as he has been all season long, was pretty much the only thing going for Calgary through most of the game.
3. Jay Bouwmeester: A building block game for the big guy. He played a strong two way game and picked up an assist on the Flames only goal.
Big Save
Right near the end of the first period Miikka Kiprusoff sprawled out not once, not twice, but three times to silence the big guns of the Sharks. Kicking his legs out over and over again, he somehow managed to get control of the puck eventually to cease the pressure.
Big Hit
Jarome Iginla was the recipient of a suicide pass and if he hadn’t absorbed most of the blow he would have had his senses knocked right out of him at centre ice in the second period. Not sure who hit him though.
The Goat
Pretty much anyone not named Miikka Kiprusoff.
Mr. Clutch
Miikka Kiprusoff.. if you need to know why, read above.
Odds and Ends
So this effectively ends the meaningful games for the Calgary Flames in the 2009-2010 season. This game was a picture perfect example of what happened throughout the entire Flames season. It was marred by lack of execution, lack of consistency, lack of urgency and the inability to score. It was a perfect summary of the season in a single game. Depressing.
Next Up
Calgary takes on Minnesota on Thursday night at 7:30 PM MT. Watch the game on Sportsnet West.
Lines:
Hagman – Stajan – Iginla
Bourque – Backlund – Kotalik
Dawes – Conroy – Moss
Nystrom – Mayers – Sutter
Regehr – White
Staios – Bouwmeester
Giordano – Sarich
Kiprusoff
