Calgary 3 Minnesota 2 (0T)
Sometimes, the bounces just don’t go your way…
And when that happens we usually shrug and hope for a night where Calgary’s puck luck makes up for lost time. That’s what we got tonight, as Calgary hung in with a decidedly hot-and-cold Minnesota Wild, only to steal two points with a fortuitous bounce off the left knee of Michael Cammalleri, leaving his dance partner Brent Burns dazed and confused as the teams skated off the ice.
On The Line
Calgary’s recent slide is nothing to be alarmed over–they’re picking up points, maintaining their lead over the also-rans of the Northwest, and resting up for the playoffs. But their play of late, even in games that they won, didn’t exactly inspire confidence. Now, without the injured Daymond Langkow, the Flames get an opportunity to test their mettle against a mediocre but pesky Minnesota team, as well as a chance to regain an 8-point cushion over Vancouver, who crushed the Ottawa Senators earlier this evening.
The Flow
Calgary came out with jump–for a change. They dominated the Wild early, getting the first four shots on goal and the first goal, notched by Rene Bourque on a broken play off the stick of Andrew Brunette. A weird bounce–but a weirder coincidence, as both of those players would later leave the game with injuries. Calgary seemed to want the puck a little more, and as they sent long, crisp passes through the neutral zone to evade Minnesota’s trap, the Wild seemed content to recover the puck and ice it to slow down the flow of the game.
In the second, things at first appeared much the same–and then it happened. Minnesota was called for a minor penalty, as Michael Cammalleri was sent sprawling face-first into the boards. Calgary’s power play is a real momentum-builder of late–for the other team, that is. Tonight was no different, as the Flames gave up a shorthanded goal while Rene Bourque lay injured on the ice in the Minnesota end, and for a time the tide seemed to turn. For the next ten minutes, the Flames were outchanced, outscored and outworked, as the boys in white seemed to be reeling from the simultaneous loss of their lead and their… swede. (Bork!) However, against the flow of play, Dustin Boyd looked down to find the puck on his tape and lofted it over a prone Nicklas Backstrom, and the Flames slunk off to the dressing room lucky to be in it at all, let alone tied with one period to play.
Mike Keenan must have said something to that effect during the break, because the Flames came out with a great deal more focus in the third. Their lone third-period power-play was not quite the momentum-killer that their hapless man-advantage in the second had been, though it was nearly as bad. The difference was that Calgary kept hanging onto the puck, even if they mostly did it in the neutral zone. I’ve never seen a team want the puck less than the Wild, who seemed content to rope-a-dope their way into overtime, mustering just one meager shot on goal in the third period to Calgary’s six.
Overtime was… a little odd. Calgary looked disorganized at first–is it me or do the Flames look a little lost 4 on 4? The puck was starting to bounce a little more, the defence weren’t clear on their assignments, and Minnesota got two quick shots on goal, threatening to finally take control of the game. However, a turnover and a breakaway from Adrian Aucoin earned the Flames a faceoff in deep, and after that it was just a question of fate. In the end, Todd Bertuzzi pulled the puck back to the point where Aucoin, no doubt with the raspy voice of his pee-wee coach in his head yelling “get it on net” flung the puck at the net where it bounced off the knee of Cammalleri and past a stunned Backstrom. That would be Calgary’s only shot on goal in the extra frame.
Three Stars
- Miikka Kiprusoff: Jaw-dropping stick-saves on doughy wingers aside, the play of Miikka Kiprusoff in recent weeks has been something else. Steady, solid, consistent–and above all, good when he needs to be good. That describes his play tonight to a T. He may not have made the highlight reels, but he controlled the play in his zone, deflected pucks to the corner, controlled rebounds and reacted quickly when he had to.
- Kim Jonsson: Well, he did get an assist on the shorthanded Fritsche goal. More importantly he was steady in his own zone and moved the puck well, something that can’t be said for many on the Minnesota D-corps tonight.
- Adrian Aucoin: A good night for the CP whipping boy. He came close to ending the overtime once, beating Backstrom on the low glove side but ringing the puck off the post. And it was Aucoin’s point-shot that led to the winning goal.
Big Save
There were relatively few shots and relatively few scoring chances tonight, but one save that stands out is Miikka Kiprusoff flashing the leather on a wide-open Anti Miettinen, who sent the puck back across the goalmouth while sliding unmolested through the slot. When Kiprusoff’s on his game, he makes those saves look easy, but it’s far from a routine save–and it came at a critical juncture of the first, with the Flames up 1-0 on Bourque’s early tally.
Big Hit
There were many hits to choose from tonight: Clutterbuck’s bone-rattling thump on Giordano in the third? Brent Burns dumping David Moss earlier in that same frame? Just for laughs, I was tempted to choose Clutterbuck and Bourque combining to clobber the linesman, or Kim Jonsson’s “excuse-me” bodycheck on one of the referees. However, for combined forcefulness and efficacy, I chose Phaneuf’s open-ice dumping of Stephane Veilleux as the Minnesota forward attempted to find a lane to the front of the net. Those are the kinds of hits that win games, by discouraging opposing forwards from skating into the scoring areas of the ice.
The Goat
How many games in a row is this? I have to go with the powerplay. I don’t even hope for a goal any more–I just pray that the Flames don’t give up all the momentum in the game–or, god forbid, a shorthanded goal. Calgary needs to figure this thing out, and fast. Start scoring powerplay goals. Stop giving up shorties. Start outworking your opponents with the man-advantage. It’s overdue, and in the words of Oscar Rogers, it’s time to fix it.
Mr. Clutch
In this weird game, it was hard to find a single player or a single play that stood out as exceptional. However, the honour here goes to David Moss, who sacrificed the body to block a power-play shot from Brent Burns, to thwart the only real momentum that Minnesota mustered in the third.
Odds and Ends
I’ve always been a fan of Daymond Langkow–but even I was surprised at how much the Flames seemed to miss him tonight. Without Langkow, the ship is a little bit rudderless–he’s the player the coaches turn to for a shift after a goal, or to ride out wild swings in momentum such as we saw in this game. Hopefully he’s back soon… If there was any doubt that +/- is a misleading stat, it should be settled by this little tidbit: Minnesota’s leader in +/- is (drum roll please)… Derek Boogaard? That’s just downright weird… I made Adrian Aucoin a star tonight, but I should admit that I also almost made him a goat. You just don’t ice the puck with seven seconds to go in a tie game. Not smart. He made up for it by effectively killing off the remaining time without giving up a chance on net… Rene Bourque’s injury looked serious, which is very bad news for the Flames. He’s a key part of this team, and having a career year. Does he really have the same number of goals as Iginla? Here’s hoping he can be back in time for the postseason… Does Mike Keenan try to make our jobs hard in the Game Takes Division at Calgary Puck? How in heck am I supposed to report on lines when he has the blender going in the first period, and for both forward lines and defensive pairings? Oh well–I did my best. And with Langkow, and Bourque both out, Keenan can hardly be blamed for looking for a few new combinations along the way. However, we saw some weird stuff tonight: Nystrom playing center? Prust being double-shifted on lines 3 and 4? Cammalleri taking offensive-zone faceoffs? Nystrom taking draws as well? This team needs Langkow back, and–dare I say it–needs a little more depth down the middle if Primeau is out for the long term… Now that I’ve written this thing, I note that TSN.ca is crediting the winner to Adrian Aucoin, which would mean the puck went off Burns, and not Cammalleri. I like my version better; I’m sticking with it.
Next Up
The Flames roll into Rexall to face the Oilers on Hockey Night in Canada. Game time is 8:00, on CBC and the Fan960.
Lines (Near as I could Tell):
Bourque – Conroy – Iginla
Bertuzzi – Lombardi – Cammalleri
Glencross – Boyd- Moss
Prust – Nystrom – Vandermeer
Phaneuf – Giordano
Sarich – Pardy/Regehr
Aucoin – Pardy/Regehr
