Wallowing in the basement of the Western Conference, the Calgary Flames welcomed the middle of the Eastern pack Ottawa and their old nemesis Craig Anderson, he who makes monsters out of mediocre hockey teams. The outcome of this game could be predicted like the entirety of Flames nation was Nostradamus. Goaltending is solid, offense is non existent, result is frustration.
On The Line
At this point in the season, the put up or shut up mantra has lost all effect, the Flames inconsistency remains, and frustrations around the team are mounting. They really needed to entertain the fans tonight.
The Flow
The first period saw the Flames come out swinging, getting a couple of good scoring chances in the opening moments, the best one coming when Paul Byron found Lee Stempniak in front of the net, but Anderson was there with the pad save. But after their first three shots on net, the Flames fizzled for most of the remainder of the period; aside from some brief spurts, usually off the stick of the Kelly Hrudy Set Me in My Place Club president Rene Bourque. Ottawa generated a number of chances themselves, several coming on a late power play. But the period ended in a scoreless draw.
The second period was much the same as the first, until very near the end of the frame, when Jay Bouwmeester failed to cleared the puck past the blueline, and the luck ended up on the stick of Daniel Alfredsson in the slot, the exact wrong person to have the puck in that spot. Alfredsson made no mistake burying the puck over the shoulder of Miikka Kiorusoff. The Flames responded moments later with time almost up in the second, when Matt Stajan created a turnover off of Anderson, and threw the puck towards the front of the net, which was then chipped in, past a flustered Anderson. It was debatable as to who tipped the puck in, but officially, Tom Kostopolous got credit for the goal, but it was entirely Stajan’s doing.
If the game could have ended right there, it probably would have been for the best for Flames fans. Instead we were treated to more frustrating offensive chances, a couple of good ones, but nothing that Craig Anderson had to make much effort on, and the eventual mistake leading to a game winning goal against when Jay Bouwmeester was caught flat footed and allowed Bobby Butler to get past him, who then deked around Mark Giordano and surprised Kiprusoff with another top corner shot. Butler would add one more on a rocket of a slapshot from the sideboards, and the Flames were snuffed out once again.
Three Stars
1. Bobby Butler: his first two goals of the season, and they were big ones.
2. Craig Anderson: Anderson was as solid as a rock in net for the Senators, he wasn’t particularly challenged, but came up strong when needed.
3. Matt Stajan: Stajan pretty much scored the only Flames goal, and had he been playing with some better line mates could have had a few more assists tonight.
Big Save
Early in the first the line of Horak, Byron and Stempniak caused a fit in the Senators zone, and a nifty cycle and pass setup from Horak and Byron to Stempniak, could have given the Flames some life moments into the first if not for Anderson’s save.
Big Hit
A common theme after the departure of big bodies like Phanuef and Regehr, the Flames lacked any physical presence tonight.
The Goat
Alex Tanguay has got to get his head out of his (you know where). His play with the puck was horrible tonight, and he killed the Flames power play almost single handedly with his slow play and poor decision making. We came to expect great things, a changed and matured player from Tanguay after last year, and tonight was like 2008 all over again.
Mr. Clutch
It has to be Bobby Butler if only for the fact that he scored before the Flames could in the third. Once Ottawa was in the lead in the third the game was over.
Odds and Ends
Let’s keep it short about the Flames power play tonight. The problem was simple and glaring, absolutely zero movement from the players, no traffic in front of the net, and attempting to force plays that aren’t there (one timer to Iginla). Move bodies, get in front of the net, and don’t hold onto a the puck, and the goals will come. Tanguay and Iginla almost need to sit upstairs and see exactly how bad they are playing in power play scenarios.
On the other side of special teams, the Flames penalty kill was outstanding once again. The Flames puck pressure when down a man was extremely well executed, and while they allowed possession around the outside of the offensive zone, penetration was held to a minimum.
It is interesting to watch Craig Anderson, he is spectacular at rebound control. His play took away the simple play of throwing the puck on net, because he swallowed up anything that generally went near his crease.
Also frustrating how the Flames never seem to make plays happen off the rush, especially tonight. Even when they did have opportunities, it was one play too many, or a moment of hesitation, and the scoring chance was over.
Next Up
Flames take on the Blackhawks on Friday night. Game time is 7 PM and you can watch the action on Sportsnet West or listen live on the Fan 960.
Lines:
Tanguay – Backlund – Iginla
Glencross – Jokinen – Bourque
Byron – Horak – Stempniak
Jackman – Stajan – Kostopoulos
Butler – Bouwmeester
Giordano – Hannan
Smith – Brodie
Kiprusoff
