A little time ago in an arena far far away.
Stars Wars
(For proper effect tilt your screen away, and slowly scroll at a continuous pace)
It is a time of great joy for the citizens of Calgary. After a period of turmoil and defeat that scattered their resources, they have emerged with a series of consecutive victories over Imperial territories.
Now an epic battle is staged between the evil Stars Empire, who sit a top the League of Hockey, and the Alliance of Flames, who seek to launch an offensive against the powerhouse death Stars.
The Flames are led by the shifty Johnny Hockey, a young Jedi who amazes all with his powers in the far reaches of the universe. After defending their home land of Calgary, they embark on a mission across the great States to impose their will upon inferior foe.
The Stars, rulers of the Lone Star State, are carried by the dark side forces of Benn and Seguin, a duo of supreme leaders collectively feared throughout the universe.
War: The Stars are frontrunners to earn the title of Presidents, an seize Lord Stanley from the Kings of LA. The goal is one shared by all members of the League, who seek to capture the treasure from the clutches of Sith Lord Gary Bettman and raise triumphantly overhead.
And so we join our heroes, as the Flames prepare to draw their lightsabres and take to the Hoth-like surface in search of a tiny window of weakness in Dallas’ seemingly impenetrable defenses.
May the force be with them.
On The Line
The fate of the galaxy. Or two points. Take your pick. But for the rebel Flames to continue their win streak against the superior Stars, well that’d be huge. Like Jabba the Hut huge.
The Flow
Both teams entered the contest with “fangs out” ready for another tight contest. It didn’t take a Jedi Master to sense the Flames were in heavy weather as they faced off against the Western elite, especially considering they defeated them in battle just two weeks ago. Sure enough, Calgary looked like nothing but poodoo in the early going, serving as target practice storm troopers as numerous shots were fired on Ramo before one found the pads of Lehtonen. Powerplays have been a source of frustration for Flames fans for eons, and I suspect many were yelling “Mother of Kwath!” when Johnny Oduya slid in a rebound on a shorthanded rush to open the scoring. But those yells soon changed to “Mother of Moons” when a counterstrike by Sean Monahan found the top corner by Lehtonen. It was slick rush by the youngling, and an expert laser finish. The Flames weren’t done there however as Dougie Hamilton would sneak one by the enemy line in the dying parsecs.
The second period was reminiscent of a meeting of the Galatic senate, a lot of back and forth with not much to show. What deserves note is a highly impressive powerplay midway through that did everything but score. Great puck movement, slick passing, and some quality looks. If every powerplay would look like that it would soon snap the Flames’ streak of futility. Late in the period, it was Calgary’s resident C-3PO, Mason Raymond, doddering over the line and actually contributing to the efforts with a nice seeing eye shot through a tremendous double screen set by Backlund and Jones. 3-1 for the rebel forces headed to the final period.
The Flames ran around like Ewoks in the third, outmatched in power but outwitting the enemy to reign victorious. The Flames played in the name of Malachor, throwing buckets and whatever else they could muster infront of the Stars attack. Some great saves by Ramo cause Dallas great stang as they were unable to thwart Calgary’s final line of defense. A final cry of “Utinni!” greeted the final buzzer, another battle won, extending this improbable run to seven games.
A prequel to an even greater series yet to come perhaps? We shall see.
Three Stars
- Death Star: Karri Ramo. Jedi Master on this night. 36 saves deserved of a standing ovation.
- Death Star 2: Sean Monahan. Resembling Luke Skywalker with his sabre skills. The young man continues to grow and impress.
- Star’s End: Jamie Benn. A real menace to the Flames but fortunately a phantom on the scoresheet.
Big Save
Early in the third and the Stars pressing Ramo used his Jedi forces to snatch away a tight snapper from Jamie Benn with the dexterity of a Y-wing pilot.
Big Hit
T.J. Brodie looked like a womp rat early on, caught in the bullseye of Jamie Benn in the Flames’ corner and sent crashing down like a star destroyed over Coruscant.
The Jar Jar Binks
If you hope to defeat the best team in league in their own home base, there can’t be any passengers. That was the case tonight.
Han Solo
Michael Ferland looked like the love child of Solo and Chewbacca tonight, wielding around in his Millenium Falcon and crashing into anything wearing Yoda Green.
Odds and Ends
- The great goalie debate becomes less and less with each steadying performance by Karri Ramo. Flames’ fans are quick to lament about goaltending woes, but not much to dislike about the Finn’s game as of late. Two huge road victories in a row.
- Sam Bennett is playing with great energy, but has become somewhat of a Laserbrain. I’d like to see him use his linemates more as the blinders seem to go on as soon as he gets the puck. Some missed opportunities today as Bennett fruitlessly drove the puck, ignoring open teammates.
- The loss was only the 4th for the Stars at home this season. Flames have now knocked them off twice in December, propelling their incredible seven game winning streak. The Flames move above .500 for the first time this season, and now sit alone in third place in the congested Pacific Division.
- I did my best with the Star Wars references, but I’m sure there are many on this site who could do a superior job. My apologies for any glaring inaccuracies.
Next Up
The end of the win streak. Hopefully not, but a visit to St. Louis for an afternoon affair against the Blues usually means bad things for the Flames. 1 PM puckdrop on Sportsnet.
Lines (To Start)
Johnny Gaudreau – Sean Monahan – David Jones
Sam Bennett – Marcus Granlund – Jiri Hudler
Mason Raymond – Mikael Backlund – Josh Jooris
Michael Ferland – Matt Stajan – Joe Colborne
Mark Giordano – T.J. Brodie
Kris Russell – Dougie Hamilton
Deryk Engelland – Dennis Wideman
Karri Ramo
