There is good and bad in almost every outcome.
From a Calgary standpoint you have a solid road effort, and a game that probably should have been won. An optimist would say they’ve already established their playoff mojo and will move on and be the team they should be from this point on. A pessimist will bemoan a classic missed opportunity to gain a split in Chicago and put the team well on their way to a first round victory.
A realist would clearly see a 3-2 overtime win for the Blackhawks can only help a young team looking to find their playoff legs against a more veteran Calgary crew that just might not seem as scary anymore.
And that’s bad. All bad.
On The Line
Well it’s playoff time, so this area is somewhat redundant. But for a road team that was injury ravished and backed into the playoffs? This game is huge. Get that game one and go for gravy with a split guaranteed in game two.
The Flow
About as good a start as start as you could hope for for the Flames with a solid first shift from the top line commencing with a quick cross check off the opening draw. Chicago had some puck time in the Flames zone but not with shots as the Flames boxed out well, and cleared the zone. A lot of aggression from the guys in red. First continues with some marginal chances for the Flames, and some good solid work down low. A physical game early, which can’t hurt but fall into the Flames game plan. The Flames take teh lead when a great shift if capped off when David Moss finds a loose puck on a centering attempt by Curtis Glencross.
The second was all Calgary to start, as they quickly shook off the end of the four minute advantage failure and went to work in the Hawk end. Some great saves kept the game at 1-0. The Hawks started find their legs at mid period and then took it to Calgary for the middle portion of the period, scoring when Cam Barker picked up a rebound off a Nystrom block and wired one short side (may have hit Eriksson). The Flames recovered on a key Iginla led shift to push the Flames back into it with some late chances. All tied up after two.
The third starts with playoff virgin Mike Cammalleri taking an inexplicable minor on Martin Havlat putting some early pressure on Calgary. A good kill by Calgary lead to a scoring chance for the Flames Cammalleri when he came out of the box. As often is the case, the player looking to redeem himself does when Cammalleri takes a Daymond Langkow pass and roofs it on Khabibulin to put Calgary up again. Then the Flames start to sit on it … way too early. Not what you want to see. And as you expect the Hawks’ Havlat finds a rebound in the midst of four white jerseys and tied things up with just over five minutes left. Some chances both ways to close the third, probably edge Hawks to close out the third.
Can you have flow in a 14 second overtime period? A Jordan Leopold cough up and boom … game over. Series lead for the Hawks.
Three Stars
1. Martin Havlat: An odd game for the skilled Hawk winger. In the face of a few Flames players, and in the twine for two playoff goals to pace his club.
2. Nikolai Khabibulin: The first 30 minutes was pretty much all Calgary, and if the “wall” wasn’t a wall this game could have been over early.
3. Mike Cammalleri: In his first NHL playoff game the pint sized pepper pot had a goal, and goon shot and a boatload of intensity.
Big Save
With a one goal defecit and the Flames pushing hard, Khabibulin had a great pad save on a Curtis Glencross chance early in the second period. A goal there and … well you know.
Big Hit
Keying on skill players with physical play, especially early in a series always seems to play out by the end of the set. Rene Bourque found Patrick Kane early in the second as they young Hawk star crossed the Calgary blueline, sending him folded into the boards.
The Goat
Yikes hate to say it again, but the Calgary powerplay. Ouch for four, and all of them coming with the Flames up 1-0 and looking to put the game away in a game they eventually lost.
Mr. Clutch
I’ll give this one to Kiprusoff, despite the loss. He wasn’t Khabibulin, but he was the Flames 2nd best player on the night and solid in all aspects.
Odds and Ends
Some quick proof than Mike Keenan and myself are different animals. Not only is Peters on the side lines on that fourth line, but so too is Dustin Boyd as both Andre Roy and Jamie Lundmark make the grade. More skill in Lundmark, and more brawl in Roy, but neither player will allow that fourth line to be a forecheck line or a line safe in their own zone. Mistake in my books. … TSN was stating Cory Sarich as a go before the game, so he must be close despite the late scratch. … With Sarich and Regehr out the Flames have two exposed defense pairings with the AHL clad Eriksson and rookie Adam Pardy. Both pairings did well to keep it simple in the first period. Kiprusoff puts the puck over the boards on a gaff but the Hawks get nothing done as Calgary picks up their first kill of the 09 playoffs. A late four man advantage would have been damaging to the Flames given their terrible powerplay, but the buzzer takes momentum to the next period with a 1-0 Calgary lead. … I’m as hard on Iginla as anyone, but he was key in the second in leading a solid late 2nd period shift giving the Flames back some momentum heading into the third. … Bottom line for me? I’d have taken a tie game going to the third period in game one in Chicago. Flames have played an excellent road game. … Why does Martin Havlat think he’s a tough guy in game one of a playoff series matched up against a team that probably has 15 players that could clean his clock? Crazy. … The man isn’t wearing teal, but Brian Campbell must be sensing deja vu seeing Calgary players run him into the boards at every opportunity. And as Calgary fans know, he won’t be back. … Great to see the Flames top nine forwards back again, all three lines had moments, though line number one was probably the weakest. Jokinen had moments but was edged by Cammalleri for getting things done. … I though Craig Conroy had an off night, weak on his skates, weak in his own zone. … Todd Bertuzzi looked pretty good given how poorly he played down the stretch. … Still don’t understand how Martin Havlant was able to tie the game when his rebound was sitting between not one, not two, not three, but four Calgary players. That can’t happen. … Did I mention that Keenan had the fourth line all wrong? Fix it Mike. I’ll forgive you.
Next Up
I think they play Chicago again, yeah … pretty sure Chicago. Saturday night on TSN at 7pm Calgary time.
Lines (To Start):
Bourque – Jokinen – Iginla
Cammalleri – Langkow – Bertuzzi
Glencross – Conroy – Moss
Nystrom – Lundmark – Roy
Leopold – Phaneuf
Eriksson – Aucon
Vandermeer – Pardy
