Opening night.
Nothing quite matches the excitement that comes after an especially long summer than the drop of the puck to begin new hockey season. The rebuild of a city’s downtown, the entry draft, free agency, fitness tests. prospect camps, more fitness tests and finally, the painful but necessary preseason has come and gone. The recipe is the same everywhere; fresh faces, clean slates and new expectations. Thirty different cities sharing a common sense of optimism. The old cliches of redemption, a new season, and something to prove have been dusted off, recycled and repeated in so many conversations that coaches, players and fans alike are all slightly insane entering the month of October.
It’s been 182 days since the Flames season bitterly ended, dropping a meaningless overtime decision to a team that has never won a Stanley Cup. Suffice to say there has been more than enough time to debate the merits of what could have been, what is, and what possibly will be. The opinions are vast and varied. Let’s say we just drop the damn puck already!
On The Line
With a victory tonight and help on the out of town scoreboard Calgary can leapfrog the Vancouver Canucks and take sole possession of the Northwest Division. I digress…
Two points are on the line and considering the Flames finished only three shy of the 8th place and final playoff spot, a slow start in October could mean the difference between a spring hockey or another very long off season.
The Flow
After a week in which the majority of the national media have publicly proclaimed the Flames season as an experimental train wreck waiting to happen, the home team came into the first period of the 2011/2012 season with a chip on their shoulder. Brent Sutter’s perennial underdogs skated harder, played more physical and were the more determined team through the first twenty minutes. With less than five minutes left Mark Giordano, who was by far the Flames most confident and impressive skater all evening, made a great move on left point before making a cross ice pass to Curtis Glencross who buried the one time. Despite being out shot, Calgary’s intensity and hard work down low gave the Saddledome faithful reason for optimism.
Considering it is the season for hockey cliches – hockey is a sixty minute game. Whether it was a case of the home team feeling too good about themselves, or a road team finding their legs, the second period was an aberration from the first. The Penguins settled in and completely took it to a hopeless Flames squad, that at times looked confused and overwhelmed by the visitor’s puck possession. Pittsburgh scored early and often, beginning with Tyler Kennedy. Stepping out of the box as his penalty expired, he took a pass and showed great patience skating down the right hand side before firing a wrist shot between a committed Kiprusoff’s legs. Sloppy mistakes continued to cost the Flames, as Matt Niskanen and Evgeni Malkin cashed in powerplay markers and Craig Adams banked a bouncing puck off a helpless Anton Babchuk. At the end of forty minutes the Penguins led 4 – 1 and held a staggering 25 – 9 edge in shots.
The third period was a more inspired performance from the home side but a three goal deficit proved to much to overcome. It wasn’t as though the Flames were a far more dominant team, but to their credit they kept coming and were rewarded with a Rene Bourque goal halfway through the frame. Tanguay showed off the type of vision that earned him a new five year deal this summer, making a nifty slap pass that redirected off a Penguin defender and finally Bourque’s stick. With less than four minutes remaining, Penguin’s goaltender Marc-Andre Fluery misplayed a puck behind his net and Niklas Hagman found fellow Finn Olli Jokinen wide open in the slot, giving the Flames some life. Jordan Staal sealed it for the Pens with an empty net goal with five ticks left on the clock.
Three Stars
- First Star Name: Evgeni Malkin. The Penguin’s other Superstar, Malkin was dominant for the Penguins and showed off his physical side. If he can continue to play this way (and stay healthy) the Penguins will survive just fine until Sid returns.
- Second Star Name:Mark Giordano. Donning a new A on his jersey, the Flames blueliner was poised with the puck and gritty away from it, blocking five shots.
- Third Star Name: Matt Niskanen. The recently acquired 24 year old looked impressive jumping into the rush, scoring a goal and assist to compliment six shots on goal.
Big Save
There were a few nice saves this evening, but none that I can recall that will be in replayed in any sort of montage at the end of the 2011/2012 season.
Big Hit
A little over halfway through the second, Cory Sarich attempted something most hockey fans have only dreamed of, lining up Matt Cooke just beyond his own blue line. The Flames rearguard just missed completely running over the eternal pest, and as his arm followed through he caught the Penguin forward in the chin. Cooke (naturally) embellished and I will cease to elaborate as the implications are that I will never get back on track.
The Goat
It may only be the first game of the season, but the Flames lack of discipline in the second is not a good sign going forward. A too many men on the ice penalty and Alex Tanguay carelessly running into Fleury led to two second period goals for the visitors.
Mr. Clutch
Jordan Staal. Without Crosby, the Penguins are relying on Staal to pick up some of the slack. He was dependable all night, on special teams and even strength and added an assist and empty net goal in just under twenty minutes of ice time.
Odds and Ends
It is too early in the season for a lot of trends to develop, but the Flames pitiful record in the opener is frustrating. They have now dropped seven of their last eight games to start the season. Coupled with a tough three game road trip, including dates in the fish bowls of Toronto and Montreal, the Flames risk giving their critics some early justification… Jarome Iginla looked unpolished after missing the preseason. He didn’t record a shot, was a -2 and played over 20 minutes, although his conditioning was never in question… Roman Horak played in his NHL debut and also registered his first assist. He did not stand out, which is not a criticism for a player in his first professional game. He played a slightly less than regular shift, capping the night with 12:31 TOI… Mark Giordano is a shot blocking machine. He was hit with five Penguins shots and was in the shooting lane of many others. Finishing last season 3rd overall in shot blocks, he could compete for even more this year. The letter on his jersey is well deserved and don’t be surprised if it’s a “C” one day.
Alright, I’m capped. There’s hockey, football and playoff baseball to watch tomorrow. I love October.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Next Up
The Flames head to St. Louis for an early one on Thanksgiving. Monday. Puck drops at 12:00 MT.
Lines (To Start):
Tanguay – Moss – Iginla
Glencross – Jokinen – Stempniak
Hagman- Horak – Bourque
Kostopolous- Stajan -Jackman
Giordano – Hannan
Bouwmeester- Butler
Sarich -Babchuk
Kiprusoff
