Uh oh …
Amazing how fast a six game win streak can turn sour with a bounce here or a bounce there as the Flames drop their second in a row, this time by a 4-2 margin to the Phoenix Coyotes.
All in all it was the Flames that carried the play, but in the end it was Ilya Bryzgalov that outplyed Miikka Kiprussoff in turning back the Flames. For Mike Keenan another wasted game where Curtis McElhinney should have started (I would have started him in Anaheim) but now he’s stuck with the team in a two game skid.
And the beat goes on …
On The Line
Finding your way to the top of the conference requires a few great streaks but very few prolonged skids. The Flames have turned around a tough start with a beefy run, but now they need to quell the tied and nix a losing streak at one.
The Flow
An odd period that featured the Flames as the dominant club despite being tied on the scoreboard through the first 15 minutes or so. A bounce here or there would have seen a a 3-0 Calgary lead, but in the end it was Dustin Boyd who found the net late to give the Flames a ties score through 20.
The Yotes scored the only two in the second with former Canuck Ed Jovanovski finding a hole through Kiprusoff and former Flame Steve Reinprecht sifting another through his former teammate.
The third had the visitors sitting on a lead, and keeping it simple, but the Flames were unable to find the continuity and consistency to force the issue and narrow the score.
Three Stars
- Shane Doan: Mr. Coyote is all that and then some with a goal and an assist and all around physical play.
- Ilya Bryzgalov: Wasn’t forced to make a lot of high impact saves, but was better than his counterpart in collecting the win.
- David Moss: Two assists to lead the Flames in points and push the offensive envelope. Maybe getting ripped by Theoren Fleury in a Herald column is motivation enough.
Big Save
An easy one to pick … early in the third with the Flames down two Wayne Primeau and Rene Bourque burst in on a two on zip with the veteran Primeau pushing the puck forward to Bourque who failed to lift the puck over a stretched out Bryzgalov.
Big Hit
Shane Doan. Not sure which teammate he laid out, but man what a hit on the blueline between two unsuspecting Coyotes.
The Goat
Miika Kiprusoff. He’s been solid in the last seven games there is no doubt but tonight he was average in a game that the Flames gave up only 20 odd shots. Three of the four goals against were suspect.
Mr. Clutch
Shane Doan … This writer always saw this guy as a second line forward on a team without a first line option but clearly he’s a better player than I gave him credit for.
Odds and Ends
Have to love that fight from Eric Nystrom. He looked down. Three straight shots to the upper body rocked him back but he stayed on his feet to stay game until the end. …. Games like this happen. The Yotes probably had six chances to score and found the net four times and probably should have lost the game. Shake it off….. Why doesn’t Todd Bertuzzi see the points? Getting him away from Jarome Iginla is probably a good idea, but he’s still looking pass to the slot to a fault. Points are open there gap tooth! … Moss with two points, Boyd with a goal, and Glencross looking solid night in and night out. Where prey tell does Matthew Lombardi fiti into this line up? Craig Conroy has struggled in some games, so maybe there is the scratch, but certainly Boyd to the fourth line and Nystrom out is not the solution.
Next Up
The Predators invade the Saddledome on Thursday night, another late start this time 7:30pm.
Lines (To Start):
Bourque – Conroy – Iginla
Cammalleri – Langkow – Bertuzzi
Glencross – Boyd – Moss
Prust – Primeau – Nystrom
Phaneuf – Vandermeer
Regehr – Sarich
Aucoin – Giordano
