After a devastating last minute loss to the team directly above them in the standings on Monday, the Flames try to regroup and reload on St. Patrick’s Day. A short one game road trip to Colorado is the task; hopefully there are some tasty lucky charms at the end of the game, in the form of an important two points.
On The Line
On the line, a key two points against a division rival. Each game this season between these two teams, Colorado has prevailed 3-2. In two of those games, the Flames jumped out to 2-0 leads, so nothing can be taken for granted at any point in the game to secure the 2 points. The Avalanche look to jump closer to division leading Vancouver, however they can’t afford to look too far downwards either in the standings, certainly not completely safe in the playoff picture themselves.
The Flow
The Flames take a page out of the Vancouver Canucks book from a couple games ago, and attack the Avalanche from the opening draw, with the 4th line drawing in to open the contest. Crash, bang hit. Repeat. An Ales Kotalik penalty doesn’t slow down the visitors, with Rene Bourque jumping on the Avalanche defence’s hot (Irish) potato, then beating Craig Anderson on the breakaway for his 4th shorthanded goal this year. The Flames continue the tactical bombardment, catching the home side again as the 4th line generates chances down low, the puck finding Eric Nystrom’s stick on a failed wrap around attempt, and it’s 2-0. Jamal Mayers then decides that beating the Avalanche on the scoreboard isn’t enough, and takes on Ryan Wilson, promptly sending the young man out of the game with a head injury after a knockout punch. Flames outshoot Colorado 11-9 after 1 period and look solid all over.
Second period shows continued solid Flames work, constantly buzzing around the Colorado net early. 6 minutes in, a powerplay goal as the Flames move the puck around smartly, and Mark Giordano’s shot is saved, with Rene Bourque on the doorstep to bang in his second. Flames confidence continues, Bourque narrowly missing his hat trick goal as the Flames continue to control puck possession. Late in the period, Colorado starts to come on, Toskala stops a breakaway, and later, a scramble around the Flames net appears to end up in Flames penalty. However, upon different camera angles, Vesa Toskala is found guilty of pulling the puck out of the net, and the Flames lead ends up being 2, going into the 3rd.
Flames have only lost a handful of games season after leading at 40 minutes, and with the Avalanche starting to come on in the latter stages of the 2nd, the heat was on, especially given the results of the last 4 games against Colorado this season. The Flames play a non-descript, largely disciplined period, outshooting the weary looking Avalanche. A Flames powerplay and a Flames PK in the 3rd both result in no goals, but the Flames looked in full control. The expected last minute surge from Colorado ends in a seeing-eye Milan Hejduk goal, but the Flames prevail 3-2, shots all even at 34 after 60 minutes.
Three Stars
1. Vesa Toskala: Many many yellow moons since Miikka Kiprusoff has been unhurt and not manning the net in a non-back to back game. But Toskala’s solid play, and the continued renewed confidence of the players ahead of him not distracted by a question mark in net, and the Flames look solid from the back end out tonight.
2. Rene Bourque: Two more goals and a solid defensive play to keep him from a 3rd goal in the second period. Say what you want about him, he’s an opportunist who can be relied on to finish the chances that he’s provided.
3. Eric Nystrom: Set the tone, scored the second goal, and a breakaway attempt in the second. Well deserved blue diamond for his effort.
Big Save
Craig Anderson stacked the pads on Jarome Iginla in the 3rd period. No purple horseshoes on this one, a top caliber NHL save and kept the Avalanche in the game at that point, by remaining two down instead of 3.
Big Hit
Jamal Mayers loaded up and let go with a right hand to put Ryan Wilson on the ground in the only brawl of the evening.
The Goat
Colorado Avalanche fans. Announced attendance of 12,770? Unless Denver is Belfast West and there is some un-miss-able Irish festivities taking away the attention of citizens of the city, shame on the fans not supporting their pleasantly surprising young team as they battle down the stretch in a season that was supposed to be a full rebuild.
Odds and Ends
Necessary effort and result from a determined Flames team tonight. There is still more than enough fight left in the club after Monday’s club over the head, even as some fans are starting to distance themselves from the team and its chances to make the post season. Cheap knee on knee hit, and Curtis Glencross did not return in the 3rd period. Penalty call on TJ Galiardi on his hit on Steve Staios is clear example of a refereeing brigade having recently gotten a “friendly” directive from NHL head office to be aware of situations which may include one player in a vulnerable position. Not a penalty, certainly after Staios regained his balance then simply lost an edge going into the corner. Flames are in a stretch of 9 games that are alternating 1 game home, 1 game road…never happened in Flames history. This writer’s pick for clutch the rest of the season? Nik Hagman. Point totals are meagre to this point, but playing with an edge, and being positionally sound, all over the ice, and has the hands and mind to put himself and others into good scoring positions, he’s going to bust out. Marcus Nilson 2004-esque playoff clutchness, but with more skill. Drew a call in the 3rd which helped kill 2 minutes, and on the ice as the 3rd period expired, he’s able to be thrown out in all situations. Although when the going gets tough at this point in the year, playing up to salary takes a back seat to just having all hands on deck night in and night out, but Ales Kotalik seems to have one hand and maybe a finger on deck, even with the already wearily muted fan expectations of him. 26 minutes for Jay Bouwmeester…real quiet minutes.
Next Up
Next up, the Flames jet back north for a game against San Jose. Most Flames fans will be beaten over the head between now and Friday with the reminders of the 9-1 game from mid-January which set many wheels in motion for the franchise’s trading makeover. Revenge is lower on the list of priorities for that game, 2 points again a suddenly inconsistent, 2nd game of a back to back, Sharks team, is the more important goal in that game. Sportsnet West carries the broadcast at 7pm MDT.
Lines (To Start):
Iginla – Stajan – Bourque
Hagman – Langkow – Kotalik
Dawes – Conroy – Moss
Glencross – Nystrom – Mayers
White – Regehr
Sarich – Giordano
Staios – Bouwmeester
