Ah, the battle of Alberta. While it would be nice to say that a game between the Flames and the Oilers is always the blood and guts, fire in the eyes, never say die trench warfare of the past, the truth of it is that the “battle” has been pretty one-sides in recent times. OK, who am I trying to kid here? It has been a slaughter. The Flames have beaten the Oilers 17 of the last 20 times the two teams have played, many of them in convincing fashion. In some ways that’s probably more a reflection of how stunningly horrible the Oilers have been for the past few years than it is a credit to the skill of the Flames, but I still love it. Most people who have been fans of the Flames for longer than a decade will remember the bitter, simmering hatred that existed between these two clubs in the 80s and 90s…..and many of us still feel it. Regardless of how pathetic they are, a victory over the Oilers will always have a little extra sweetness to it. As the Flames finish off a 3 game road trip with a visit to their mullet-topped, sweatpant-sporting neighbors to the north, tonight would provide an excellent chance to continue the recent strong play the club has shown and gain a little confidence before the season slips into the all-star break.
On The Line
After taking 3 of a possible 4 very hard-fought points from their swing through California, the Flames have an opportunity to gain another two points and finish their modest road trip with a bang. Every little bit counts as the western conference playoff race begins to tighten up, and this season’s rash of injuries has this team fighting an uphill battle to get there. A win tonight could move the Flames within striking distance of the number 8 berth, and give the team the assurance it needs to continue playing with confidence despite the absence of several key players.
The Flow
The Flames came out somewhat tentatively as they adapted to their new-look lineups, but didn’t play badly as they weathered a few early Oilers chances. The game was chippy right from the drop of the puck, and Calgary was awarded an early power play when Colton Teubert got a little enthusiastic with his stick just under 5 minutes in. The Flames power play was a little disjointed but still managed to generate a couple of excellent chances for Stempniak and Blair Jones, but Khabibulin somehow managed to keep the puck out of the net. His luck wouldn’t last long though. Just as time expired on the Teubert penalty, Mark Giordano threaded a long cross-ice pass to Mikael Backlund, who made no mistake firing the puck into a wide open net. 1-0 Calgary. The Flames completely took over at that point, turning in a couple of dominant shifts that hemmed the Oilers in their own zone for the better part of 3 minutes. The Oilers did finally manage to get away on a partial 2 on 1, but Jay Bouwmeester was there to break it up and send the puck the other way. It ended up on the stick of Blake Comeau, who ripped a heavy slap shot that squeezed its way through Khabibulin and into the back of the Edmonton net for a 2-0 Flames lead. Although another power play opportunity (when Ryan Jones was called for hooking) didn’t bear any fruit, the Flames managed to finish the period on a high note when Comeau fed Bouwmeester as he was streaking into the Oilers zone, where he made a nifty drop pass to Lee Stempniak, who unleashed a high shot that eluded Khabulin’s glove hand to put the boys in red & white up by 3 heading into the first intermission.
Tom Renney must have been stripping the paint off the walls in the Edmonton locker room during the break, because not only were the Oilers late getting back to the ice but they looked as though they were trying to show a little more emotion as the second period got underway. Mikael Backlund was called for hooking 1:23 in, but the Flames were excellent on the PK and any momentum the Oilers might have thought they had gained quickly went up in smoke. The teams traded chances at times during the period, but the better ones belonged to the team wearing the flaming C. Olli Jokinen came inches away from making it a 4 goal game when he rang a sharp wraparound attempt off the post. Cammalleri blazed into the Edmonton zone like a bullet and got completely behind the defense, but couldn’t get a shot away and ended up losing the puck into traffic. Taylor Hall impressively dangled his way to the Calgary cage, but couldn’t convert. With just over 30 seconds left and the Flames finishing a line change, Stempniak found himself at the Edmonton blueline and elected to continue into the zone all alone, lobbing a soft shot towards the net that Khabibulin should have seen coming 3 miles away. Somehow, it found its way past the beleaguered Edmonton goaltender, giving Stempniak his second goal of the night and putting the Flames up 4-0 as the period ended.
The Oilers needed to try something to shake things up, so Devan Dubnyk replaced the “Bulin Wall” in net the start the 3rd period. The two teams enjoyed some good end to end action for the first 4 minutes or so, with the Flames holding a slight territorial advantage. It would be the Oilers’ turn to capitalize, however, when Andy Sutton hammered a hard shot past Miikka Kiprusoff to break the shutout bid and get his team on the board for the first time. The Flames would get it right back though, after Darcy Hordichuk laid a cheap shot on Cory Sarich that knocked the Flame defender sprawling into Kiprusoff and resulted in an Edmonton penalty for goaltender interference. 32 seconds later, Jay Bouwmeester deflected a Jarome Iginla bomb that bounced off the post and then was unceremoniously kicked into the yawning cage by a hapless Devan Dubnyk. 5-1 for the good guys. The frustration started to show up as the Oilers tried to retaliate any way they could: physically. The Flames, however, weren’t about to take that lying down and handled anything the Oilers threw their way. Anything, that is, until a Ryan Smyth deflection beat Kiprusoff to make the score 5-2 and give the Edmonton squad some unfounded hope. Tom Renney, ever the optimist, pulled Dubnyk with over 2:30 left – obviously thinking his team still had a chance to draw even. The strategy backfired when Olli Jokinen stole the puck and gave up a shot at the empty net to feed Lee Stempniak for his second career hat trick. That’s the way it would end; with a 6-2 Calgary victory on the scoreboard and two well deserved points for the Flames.
Three Stars
- Lee Stempniak: Lead the Flames to victory with a hat trick and an assist, and was still very solid defensively. His best game as a Flame, and hopefully a glimpse of things to come.
- Blake Comeau: A goal and two assists from a guy who is skating hard and doing a lot of the right things right now.
- Olli Jokinen: Started out the night on the second line, then jumped to the first as the game went on. The guy has become a standout defensive player, excelling in all situation. Had the most minutes of any Calgary forward, provided a pair of assists to the cause, and unselfishly gave up an easy goal when he set up Stempniak’s hat trick late in the 3rd. Olli Jokinen has become a very big part of this Flames team.
Big Save
Kiprusoff didn’t have to be spectacular, but he was solid when needed. Of note was a quick pad save on Darcy Hordichuk as Edmonton tried to push back in the third, snuffing out any momentum the Oilers might have gained.
Big Hit
Hard to pick out any especially notable hits in this one, although the whole game was played with a decidedly gritty tempo. The Oilers actually threw some pretty big hits out there – about the only thing they did well in this game. The Calgary squad responded well though; not shying away from taking the body and making sure that the Oilers felt it every time they went into the corners. Chris Butler actually threw a body check – twice. At first I was worried that might be one of the seven signs of the apocalypse, but Harold Camping has assured me via e-mail that this is not the case. You can sleep easy tonight, kids.
The Goat
The only goats in this one were wearing ugly blue and orange jerseys. Nikolai Khabibulin’s horns looked especially long tonight, especially on the Flames’ 4th goal. The Oilers really don’t have a chance at winning many games with goaltending like that. (not that I think that’s a bad thing….)
Mr. Clutch
Jay Bouwmeester. Calgary’s oft-maligned 6.8 million dollar man has been playing incredibly well over the past few games, and lo and behold the points are starting to come too. Finished the game with a goal and two assists, and logged over 23 minutes of rock-solid ice time. Don’t look now, but #4 is starting to play like a guy who could be a difference-maker down the stretch.
Odds and Ends
Poor Taylor Hall. After a skate to his unprotected head during warmup left him looking like Frankenstein after a tussle with Mike Tyson, the Oilers rushed him back into circulation just in time for the team to get absolutely run over by their chief rivals. The HNIC cameras caught him questioning coach Tom Renney’s decision to pull the goaltender with so much time remaining, which will undoubtedly spark a media firestorm in a city that has to be very disappointed with the performance of it’s team of supposed young superstars……It’s been a long time since the Flames’ power play has moved the puck this well. So far that hasn’t translated into many more goals, but the way things are going you can’t help but believe that the breakthrough isn’t that far off……I’m glad Cammalleri is back with the Flames, but already Iginla is looking for that pass way too often. The two of them had great chemistry during Cammalleri’s first stint in Calgary, with Iggy’s playmaking helping Cammalleri to a record season. Unfortunately, it hasn’t quite gelled yet this time around, and tonight Iginla squandered at least two very good chances trying to force the pass to Cammalleri when he should have taken the shot……How many shots did the Oilers put high and wide tonight? Honestly, it’s like the whole team just attended a shooting clinic with Dion Phaneuf. Plenty of velocity; nowhere near the net……You really have to wonder, where does CBC find their commentators? Jay FISTER? OK then……
Next Up
Back home to the ‘dome for a Tuesday night rendezvous with the San Jose Sharks: the last game before the all-star break and a 5 days of much-anticipated rest. Game time is 7 pm Mountain.
Lines (To Start):
Cammalleri – Backlund – Iginla
Comeau – Jokinen – Stempniak
Morrison – Jones – Kostopoulos
Jackman – Stajan – Bouma
Butler – Bouwmeester
Giordano – Hannan
Brodie – Sarich
Kiprusoff
