All the buzz this morning was about the marvelous performance of Sam Gagner tying Wayne Gretzky with 8 points in a single game, while this is a good hockey story in and of itself, the question posed to the Flames players after the morning skate was one of importance, as that incredible performance came against the Flames opposition tonight, the Chicago Blackhawks.
There is never a more dangerous team than one that has most recently become the face of humility, so the Flames had to be prepared for a team that was extremely upset with their performance the night before, fresh in their minds and looking for someone to take all that frustration out on. As we all know, the best way to get over a tough loss is to go out and take advantage of some poor soul to try and make us feel better.. Was that a poor choice of words?
On The Line
Get used to hearing this Flames fans: to make the playoffs, this was a must win game for the Flames. For the Blackhawks, this game was all about finding some way of retribution for the debacle of the previous night.
The Flow
Chicago came out of the gate looking just like the team that we all expected to see. They were aggressive, quick, and had several good chances in front of the Flames net. But once the first couple of minutes passed, the Hawks turned into something different, a team that was sloppy, trying to make the easy play, and downright playing lazy. This game could have been broken open, but the Flames were having very little in terms of puck luck throughout most of the night. This was perhaps exemplified by the first goal of the game, that seemingly only one person recognized as having gone in, the goal scorer (our Olli hope) Jokinen. The crowd leapt in anticipation of the goal, but it was in and out of the net so quickly that everyone seemed to just assume that it missed the net, but not Jokinen, who immediately started celebrating, then turned in shock as no one joined him. Eventually catching the attention of the referee, the play was called, and since apparently no one questions Olli Jokinen, the goal was counted. Dean Lombardi was then called up to ensure that the proper amount of Coloumbs had been measured, and the clock was adjusted to the time of the goal. The Flames held that one goal lead until the late moments of the first when Brent Seabrook scored off of a slick pass from Patrick Kane.
The second period was much of the same as the first, with the puck apparently stuck in the neutral zone as the Blackhawks attempted stretch passes, which the Flames broke up, but then the Flames would put themselves offside and someone would have to turn back, resulting in a turn over. It went on like this until Tom Kostolopolous (as Steve Strachan would say) received a nasty stick in the face giving the Flames a four minute power play to work with. Ray Emery was looking every bit the hero of the game when he stoned Jarome Iginla on a point blank one timer that was right in Iginla’s wheelhouse, but just into the second minor, Jay Bouwmeester picked up a Mikael Backlund rebound and used Blair Jones as a screen to put the Flames back on top.
The third period once again saw the Blackhawks take the play to the Flames for the first five minutes or so, but the Flames started to generate more and more chances until Alex Tanguay threaded an unbelievable pass to Jarome Iginla who was slinking directly behind Duncan Keith. Iginla took the pass, drove to the net, froze Emery and slid the puck into the empty side of the net to put the Flames in a commanding lead. From then on it was all Calgary, including several big chances from newly signed and brought up forward Krys Kolanos, playing his first NHL game in over three years. The Blackhawks mounted a late charge with the net empty, but came up short giving the home town team the win in each of the four games played between these two teams.
Three Stars
1. Olli Jokinen: An inspired performance from the big centre. He had a goal and four shots, and was dangerous all night.
2. Jarome Iginla: A goal and an assist, his goal of the absolute highlight reel variety.
3. Miikka Kiprusoff: Had a big performance in net for the Flames, visibly frustrating the Blackhawks when they got close to scoring.
Big Save
Easily the biggest save of the night had to go to Ray Emery with his save on Iginla’s one timer. From my vantage point in the rink, it was seemingly impossible that a goaltender could have stopped that shot.
Big Hit
While a physical game, the biggest missing piece for the Flames has been the hitting game. There was little to no big hits tonight.
The Goat
It’s difficult to pick out someone as the goat tonight. Were the Flames fantastic, no, they were good, and they played how the had to, but they could have been fantastic on the scoresheet if not for a little more finish on several plays, but in general, outside of the opening moments of each period, the Blackhawks were slightly less than adequate at the game of hockey.
Mr. Clutch
Going to have to give this one to TJ Brodie with his presence of mind to get his stick behind Kiprusoff to steal what could have been a goal from Bryan Bickell late in the third.
Odds and Ends
Just so we’re clear, the Olli hope thing is the work of fellow scribe Jason Parkin, always one for creative nicknaming (The Hale Storm).
Probably a result of the back to back games for the Hawks, but this was a bit of a snoozer for long periods of time. It was almost embarrassing to watch these two teams fumble the puck and turn it over to each other over and over again in the neutral zone. I think we’ve come to expect more from the Blackhawks, and with the current mish mash of a roster the Flames are sporting these days, it’s not altogether surprising to see the Flames having puck troubles.
But alas, this was finally a game where the offensive floodgates opened! In the first period alone, the Flames had several chances where the puck slid through the crease, one that fooled Tim Jackman for a moment, until Jokinen showed him how to properly be the only guy on the ice celebrating a goal.
This part is a take it for what it’s worth section: something needs to be done about Steve Strachan. I’ll admit to being a harsh critic of the guy, I am not a fan of his. But tonight, I think the only way to describe him was embarrassing. In the first intermission while giving away a trip to Phoenix to see the Flames take on the “team from Phoenix” he stumbled through the entire contest. Following that up with a complete bungling of Tom Kostopolous’ name, and this isn’t an isolated incident. These may be harsh words for the entertainment team at the Saddledome, but I can’t be the only person who thought this was just awful to sit through.
Next Up
The Flames travel to California to start a roadtrip in Anaheim against the Ducks on Monday night. Game time is 8 PM MT. Catch all the action on Sportsnet West and Sportsnet 960: The Fan.
Lines:
Tanguay – Jokinen – Iginla
Cammalleri – Jones – Kolanos
Comeau – Backlund – Bouma
Jackman – Stajan – Kostopoulos
Butler – Bouwmeester
Giordano – Hannan
Brodie – Sarich
Kiprusoff
