Groundhog day came early this year.
The Flames having stumbled out of the gate appeared to be gaining some traction. Winners of two straight, and gunning for their first three-game win streak of the season, they took to the ice against a motivated Vancouver squad who have owned them as of late. Alex Tanguay managed to squeak a puck behind Roberto Luongo but that was all the offense the Flames could muster on this night. Kiprusoff and Karlsson would share duties as the hapless Flames were lambasted 5-1 by the surging Canucks, the visitors mustering less than 10 shots through the final two periods.
Any of this sound familiar?
This was also the exact script in the first Flames Canucks clash back on November 1st. The scene may have shifted from Scotiabank Saddledome to the Rogers Center but the results stayed the same.
No doubt the groundhog was terrified by what he saw tonight, the Flames a mere shadow of themselves from just a night before, and quickly retreated back into its den. Which spells a long, cold winter for those clad in Flames red… especially if they’re bound to relive this gruesome scene over and over again.
On The Line
For the third time this season the Flames had a chance to secure their first three-game winning streak. A feat that will need to become commonplace if Calgary wants a sniff at the playoffs come April. Third time’s a charm right? And what better team to accomplish the task against than bitter rival Vancouver.
The Flow
A slow and disjointed start to the game appeared to be playing in the Flames favour. Neither team was able to generate much, slowing the flow to a more comfortable (some would say coma-inducing) pace. Halfway through the period, and the Flames already down a skater, Blake Comeau would take a selfish retaliatory penalty. The Flames were able to escape the 5 on 3 unscathed, despite a few cardiac arrests, and seemed to catch life. First it was Olli Jokinen on a clear-cut breakaway but he was stymied by the pad of Luongo. But before the period could end Tanguay caught Luongo leaning off his post, and banked in a puck off his backside. That wrapped up a solid opening frame, where the Flames outshot, outhit and outscored Vancouver.
The Flames appeared to have hopes of locking down a 1-0 road victory as they came out in a shell to start the second. Most of the period consisted of keep-away in the Flames zone. Five minutes in a Kevin Bieksa knucklepuck found a way behind a bothered Karlsson. Calgary was almost able to survive the period with the tie but with one minute remaining and all six Flames scrambling around the blue paint, the puck managed to find the backhand of former Flame Christopher Higgins. He calmly swept the puck past the blocker of Karlsson, giving the homeside a 2-1 lead into the break.
The Flames might as well have been skating on Vancouver Harbour to start the third. They were sluggish, outworked and humiliated by a hungrier Canuck team. It took less than six minutes for the game to be put to bed. First David Booth, then Janick Hansen, and finally super twin Daniel Sedin. Bingo Bango Bongo. A win for Roberto Luongo. Adding injury to insult, Karlsson went down in a heap after a pair of players landed on his right pad. He might be done for a while. And just to add more insult, the freshly inserted Kiprusoff was run hard by Booth just moments later. That added some fireworks to the final minutes, with a couple scraps from unlikely combatants.
Three Stars
- David Booth: One goal, Two assists, +2, and a hipcheck to the goaltender. That’s one effective night.
- Christopher Higgins: Give the same stat line to Higgins, minus the goalie mauling. Makes you wish these guys had stayed in Florida.
- Ryan Kesler: This one is painful. But no Flame was worthy of a star this night. Two assists along with a thunderous check to draw a penalty. The entire 2nd line was dominant against the Flames.
Big Save
Henrick Karlsson put all of his 6’6″ frame to work, sprawling across the crease with an outstretched blocker to thwart a Canuck breakaway chance early in the first.
Big Hit
Blake Comeau was caught staring at the puck in his feet during a first-period penalty kill and was leveled by a charging Ryan Kesler. You don’t see many stationary open-ice hits as big as that one.
The Goat
Blake Comeau, for the very selfish retaliation. Maybe he thought Kesler left his feet, or took liberty with him, but already down a man you can’t afford that type of selfish rebuttal. Fortunately it didn’t end up costing the Flames, but Comeau was invisible the rest of the night, nullifying what had been a very effective line over the past few games. Along with the Glencross slash from the Detroit game last week, it seems the Flames might have a discipline problem among the ranks, which doesn’t bode well going forward.
Mr. Clutch
Give it to Tim Jackman. The man has a history of success against Vancouver and was buzzing all night, generating a team high three shots and getting involved physically all night. He’s the closest thing to a Canuck killer that the Flames possess, but they’ll need to find some others if they hope to buck this losing trend.
Odds and Ends
16/55 in the faceoff circle? That’s just not going to cut it… Nine shots in the final two periods of an important divisional game? That’s not going to cut it either… The Flames may have the excuse of playing the night before and facing a rested Canuck team, but excuses don’t mean much when you continually fail to yield results… Flames have now lost 10 of their last 12 against the Whale. We are their Oilers to our Flames… Never good to see a goalie leave the net in pain. We’ll have to wait for the prognosis, but we may soon see the NHL debut of Flames first rounder Leland Irving, currently ripping it up with the Abbottsford Heat… Mason Raymond made his return after suffering a broken back in last season’s Stanley Cup Finals. Now here’s a Flame-killer: two career hat-tricks, both against Calgary. He was held to an assist tonight… According to Rob Kerr, Olli Jokinen has now played 24 NHL games against the Vancouver Canucks without a single goal. Wish he had tried something different than his standard backhand five-hole move on that breakaway, especially with Iginla trailing… That was an ugly game, but time to shake it off, get back on the horse and try again for that elusive three-game winning streak.
Next Up
The Flames are back in the Saddle Tuesday night to welcome the floundering Carolina Hurricanes. 7 pm puckdrop, on Sportsnet West.
Lines (To Start):
Glencross – Jokinen – Iginla
Tanguay – Horak – Bourque
Comeau – Backlund- Stempniak
Kostopolous – Stajan – Jackman
Bouwmeester – Butler
Hannan – Brodie
Smith – Piskula
Karlsson
