On Tuesday night the Calgary Flames took what has traditionally been two free points against the Edmonton Oilers, and laid one of the biggest eggs the team has produced all season long. This costly error, which most fans could see coming a mile away given Kiprusoff has been stealing games left and right all season long, set the Flames back on the outside looking in at the playoff picture. Every game at this time of year is critical for the Calgary Flames, doubly so against the teams of the Pacific Division, who the Flames are in a heated battle for playoff lives against.
So on Thursday night, the Flames had a chance to get back into the top 8 of the Western conference and inch closer to another team slightly ahead of them in the standings: the Phoenix Coyotes. Having dropped their first previous meeting of the season in overtime on a Shane Doan power play goal, the Flames were hoping to make amends with Flames fans for Tuesday night’s performance, and get back into the thick of things in the playoff hunt.
Who wants some more eggs?
On The Line
Is there a modern expression that works for broken records? Kids these days only understand what a record is in the context of being all post modern and ironic (Sky Cake reference there). The Flames motto this season couldn’t be more apt at this point in time. EVERY. GAME. MATTERS.
The Flow
Calgary came out to play to start this one. Clearly looking to rebound after the disaster of Tuesday night, the Flames came out hard and found a very shaky goaltender in Mike Smith. Calgary put a tonne of pressure on the Coyotes to start the game, and the Coyotes reacted by making some boneheaded plays in front of their own net. This turned to Calgary’s favour when the puck headed to Smith with Blake Comeau looking to grab it for an offensive chance, only to see Smith charge out of his net to play the puck. Except, when Smith played the puck, he also played it right to Alex Tanguay, who attempted to pass to Mike Cammalleri to shoot at the open net, but the puck didn’t get to him. No.. instead it went off of a Coyotes players skate and right into the Phoenix net as Smith and Keith Yandle watched the puck drift into their net. Funny to see Yandle dive to try and stop it, but Smith just stand there and watch. Calgary put more pressure on the Coyotes again a few minutes later when Cory Sarich got the puck on net, Alex Tanguay picked up the rebound and found Matt Stajan in the slot to give the maligned centre his first goal in a very long time. By the end of the period you could say that Calgary was the better team, but that wasn’t saying much because Phoenix was downright terrible in the first and Calgary wasn’t much better.
The second period was a completely different story from the first. Similar to the Sharks game at the end of January, it seemed like the puck was stuck in the North end of the building. The Coyotes were buzzing and the Flames were simply not moving their feet. There were several occasions where the Flames were standing around in a five man box failing to put any pressure on the Coyotes and it looked like a Phoenix power play. Eventually on a two on one that Phoenix didn’t seem to realize was a two on one, Ray Whitney spotted Daymond Langkow trailing the play two make it a three on two and dropped the puck to the former Flame who made no mistake getting the Coyotes on the board. Just as Blake Comeau was the catalyst for the Flames first goal, he was the reason for the Coyotes second goal. Throwing the puck across the ice to the far point rather than holding onto the puck or making a simple play, he put it onto the stick of Keith Yandle who fed Ekman-Larsson for a shot that Shane Doan tipped and we’re all tied up, and things going from bad to worse for Calgary.
It got embarrassing in the third period as the Coyotes continued to walk all over the Flames until a particularly humiliating moment for Scott Hannan who caught a rut and tripped carrying the puck out of the zone. Ray Whitney was on the spot to pick up the puck and beat a completely helpless Miikka Kiprusoff to put the Coyotes up by one. At that point Brent Sutter started to really work Alex Tanguay’s line and Matt Stajan’s line as they started to generate momentum for Calgary until Radim Vrbata took an interference penalty. The Flames played hot potato with the puck for the first minute and a half or so, with Tanguay making a particularly good play to hold the puck in at the line. After a few Mike Cammalleri one timer attempts, Iginla fired the puck on net, and it was Olli Jokinen on the doorstep who pushed the puck past Smith and we were all tied up.
Overtime was five minutes of beer league level hockey from both sides and we were off to a shootout. Jokinen was up first for the Flames, and went to his familiar bank hand deke through the five hole, beating Smith, but sending the puck just wide of the net. Whitney was first for the Coyotes, went wide on Kiprusoff, who seemed to lose his net a little bit, and Whitney fired the puck through Kiprusoff’s legs to give the visitors the advantage. Tanguay was up next and Smith almost relaxed too soon on the shot as it trickled towards the open side of the net, but Smith reacted and kept it out. Vrbata was up next for Phoenix and Kiprsuoff stopped him with the poke check, so it all came down to Iginla to keep the Flames alive. Iginla tried one too many dekes and ran out of room, simply hitting Smith’s pad with a weak shot and we’re done. Flames lose.
Three Stars
1. Alex Tanguay: A goal and an assist, he was leading the charge on the second line. Generated a lot of chances, and was key in trying to get the Flames going again after they trailed the Coyotes in the third.
2. Ray Whitney: A goal, and assist, and the shootout winner for the ageless wonder in Phoenix. His goal was a bit of a gift, but it was evening things up for Tanguay’s goal.
3. Tom Kostopolous: Led the Flames in hits, shots on goal, and generated the power play that led to the tying goal. Kostopolous is doing everything in his power to try and help this team succeed down the stretch, and the coach is recognizing this by giving him more ice time.
Big Save
Had the Coyotes not won in the shoot out, Radim Vrbata would be having nightmares tonight about Miikka Kiprusoff’s glove. In on a two on one in the third period, Kiprusoff down and out, and Vrbata puts the puck right into the Flames netminders glove.
Big Hit
Not a very physical affair, a common theme with Flames games since the departure of Robyn Regehr, the Flames were really only physical in the first. The only notable exception was Tim Jackman’s extra effort and layout of Keith Yandle in the second giving the grinder a bit of a breakaway chance that he fired right into the logo of Mike Smith.
The Goat
Ugh.. there was no single goat tonight. The Flames top line was terrible until Jokinen scored, and that was a dirty goal. Blake Comeau was awful on the Coyotes second goal. The ice must have been in the worst condition it’s ever been, or the Flames need to get their skates sharpened. Mike Smith was completely out of sorts for most of the game, but the Flames were too busy trapping the Coyotes in the Flames zone to bother putting many pucks on him. Both teams were pretty bad in this one really. Phoenix was better, but that isn’t saying much.
Mr. Clutch
Huge credit to the third line of Bouma – Stajan – Kostopolous tonight. Bouma and Kostopolous were probably the only guys on the ice for Calgary who were putting any effort in. This game makes it clear that those two would be a great fourth line next season, but it’s also pretty clear that Kostopolous was one of the best Flames tonight, and a great role model for Bouma.
Odds and Ends
If you missed the second intermission on Sportsnet, click here. In that video clip it’s very clear that we are not alone in our frustrations with this team, as Jay Feaster made it explicitly clear that if the Flames did not win the next two games, this team is a seller, and they’re likely done with the playoff pursuit. The effect of the message was delivered with the cliché “fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.” Feaster was very clear in his message that he felt the team last season earned the chance to stick together and try to continue what they did starting in December last year, but that this team was not putting in the effort that he thought was required to keep this team together as we see it. His message also states that if the Flames are indeed serious about trying to make the playoffs, his strategy is likely to stand pat, or tinker slightly, but that the “additions” of players coming back from injury is really the changes we can expect to see from the Flames. So with the loss tonight, albeit in overtime, the Flames have one more game to get things together or it’s game over for a number of the 2011-2012 Flames as he won’t hesitate to tear this team apart as best he can, and prepare for the future.
One other thing to note: Krys Kolanos didn’t see any ice time after the 5 minute mark of the second period, and Roman Horak and Tim Jackman saw only two shifts in the second, and one in the third. So the Flames were running a very short bench for the majority of this game.
Next Up
Calgary takes on the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday night on CBC at 8PM.
Lines:
Glencross – Jokinen – Iginla
Tanguay – Cammalleri – Comeau
Bouma – Stajan – Kostopolous
Jackman – Horak – Kolanos
Smith – Bouwmeester
Giordano – Hannan
Brodie – Sarich
Kiprusoff
