To win, or not to win – that is the question: whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outraged fans, or to take arms against a sea of tankers, And by opposing them? To lose, to slide. To slide, to dream: ay, there’s the rub; for in that slide of losses, what dreams may come? The Merchant of Zurich? Two Gentlemen of Suomi?
Okay, maybe the tanking debate isn’t worthy of a Shakespearean soliloquy, but it is a Tempest, even if it is Much Ado About Nothing. In the end I guess, this above all; to thine own self be true. And enjoy the games.
On The Line
For Colorado, a great deal, as they currently sit one precarious point ahead of the Wild for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
And for the Flames and their position in the standings, a fair bit as well, as they are entangled with Buffalo, Columbus, and Winnipeg for lottery status.
The Flow
The Flames jumped out of the gates with two good shifts in the Colorado end to start things off. The home team looked pretty good and it took 8 minutes for the Avs to get a shot. About halfway through, Stajan directed the puck into a gaping net with his skate, off a nice setup from Jokipakka. Then with about 3 minutes left, Boedker sent a nice cross-crease pass to Johnson to tie it up. Shots were 9-8 in favour of the Avs in what was, Measure For Measure, an evenly played frame.
The second started rather slowly, but quickly turned into a Comedy of Errors. About 5 minutes in, Engelland got caught for an over-the-glass delay of game penalty. On the PP, the Avs coughed it up to Bouma in the neutral zone, who sent Jooris in on a 3 on 1. Jooris fed Giordano for a beautiful short-handed goal. Just 30 seconds later, Freddie Hamilton dumped it into the Avs corner and Bouma went after it. The two Avs defenders looked like they were maybe going for the soccer-style off-sides call (?) and just turned away from the play. Bouma fed Hamilton who was alone in front and he buried it for yet another shorty! Then just a few minutes later, Barrie wristed a harmless shot from the half wall that hit Giordano and deflected past Ortio. The shots in act two were 13-5 in favour of the Flames.
As for the third, it was a case of Love’s Labours Lost. What started as a comedy, turned into tragedy. And a repeat performance. After a lengthy scramble in the Flames’ crease, Soderberg banged in a loose puck to tie the game. The remainder of the period saw nothing of consequence. So it went to OT, where the Flames were dominant, controlling the play for the first 3 minutes but couldn’t provide the death blow. After a non-call on a pretty blatant hook by Comeau on Brodie at one end, Ortio was called for tripping Iginla. Nothing came of the PP though and it went to a shootout. In the SO, the Flames did nothing, but Boedker, with a nice move, stabbed them in the heart.
The Flames probably deserved a better fate (again), but let’s give the devil his due. For men at some time are masters of their fates: The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings.
Three Stars
1. Mikkel Boedker : assisted the Avs first goal, skated well all night, and got the SO winner.
2. Lance Bouma : Assisted on both short-handed goals, and sacrificed himself – as we have come to expect.
3. TJ Brodie : Was +3, got an assist, logged over 29 minutes, and just did a bunch of TJ Brodie things. And he was particularly awesome killing the penalty in OT.
Big Save
Varlamov on Monahan in OT, to preserve the opportunity to win it.
The Goat
Could have been Ortio for getting the penalty in OT, but they dodged that bullet. So I’ll go with Ortio for giving up the SO goal? Or Colborne for Wideman-ing his SO attempt?
Mr. Clutch
Thought about picking Varlamov, who is undefeated in the SO this year, but since the Flames never actually tested him, I’ll go with Boedker for potting the game winner.
Odds and Ends
With his assist tonight, Brodie is 19th in points for defensemen, and 9th in points per game. Amazingly, he has only 7 PP points. And excluding the PP, he trails only Erik Karlsson in PPG.
With his shorty, Giordano now has 19 goals on the season. That is the most of his career, and ties his previous best point total of 48 (from last season). The goal also ties his with Oliver Ekman-Larsson for 2nd among defenseman. They trail only Brent Burns, who has 26 (and is he even really a defenseman?).
Jokipakka had an assist and was +2. He now has as many apples in 9 games with Calgary as he had in 40 games with Dallas (though he also had 2 goals there).
The Flames potted two short-handed goals in 30 seconds during a PK in the second period. They were the 6th and 7th shorties of the season, and the 5th in 3 games! What is the fastest two short-handed goals in NHL history you ask? Four seconds! And that bit of magic came from Calgary against the baby Avs of Quebec, in 1989. Thanks to the Altitude broadcast crew for that one.
It has been a tough year for Lance Bouma. Due in part to injuries, he just hasn’t gotten much going. But after just 2 points in his first 27 games, he now has 5 in his last 8 games, and 3 in his last 3. And he isn’t just getting on the scoreboard, he’s starting to look like the player we saw last season again.
Next Up
The Flames embark on a three game road trip, starting in Montreal on Sunday. Game time 5pm on Sportsnet.
Lines:
Johnny Gaudreau – Sean Monahan – Micheal Ferland
Joe Colborne – Mikael Backlund – Michael Frolik
Lance Bouma – Freddie Hamilton – Garnet Hathaway
Brandon Bollig – Matt Stajan – Josh Jooris
TJ Brodie – Dougie Hamilton
Mark Giordano – Deryk Engelland
Jyrki Jokipakka – Jakub Nakladal
Joni Ortio
