National Hockey League
teams are consistent in
only dressing two
goaltenders and four
centers on a nightly
basis.
So it stands to
reason when five of
these six players are in
the press box munching
pop corn, things on the
ice run a little less
than smooth.
Which was the case on
Saturday night when the
battling but beleaguered
Calgary Flames came up
empty against the
Vancouver Canucks,
dropping a four pointer
by a 3-1 score.
Predictably, Darryl
Sutter's crew didn't
mail this one in, once
again they were very
high on try, but just a
little light on the
fight, carrying the play
for the most part but
looking a little
frazzled in the finish
department.
Their captain, Jarome
Iginla, was especially
snake bitten, shooting
wide on one break away,
and then falling down
and sliding into the net
on a penalty shot.
One has to wonder how
this man ever managed to
win an Art Ross and
Rocket Richard Trophy,
he's just too tight to
finish big plays in big
games.
A real shame for a
hefty price tag of $7
million bones.
Unlike previous
chapters against
Vancouver at the
Saddledome, the Flames
came out hard and held
the game scoreless
through to the second
period. If not for great
goaltending from
Vancouver backup Alex
Auld and some frozen
hands around the cage
the Flames would have
been up a tick or two as
they out shot the
visitors by a 12-8
margin.
The second period was
a different story, with
the Canucks striking for
three goals on 13 shots
to put the game out of
reach.
The Flames tried to
rally in the third by
mounting some good
pressure in the Canuck
zone but couldn't solve
Auld two more times
after Chris Clark put
the team on the board
and gave the home side
life.
The game did feature
an interesting scrap to
kick things off when
frequent flyer Wade
Brookbank finally suited
up for the Canucks and
took on resident tough
guy Krzys Oliwa in a
first period tilt. It
didn't last long.
Brookbank fired his
first offering into
Oliwa's mush sending the
6'5" enforcer to
the ground.Â
To Oliwa's credit he
did come back for
seconds later in the
contest, but that fight
had little by way of
punches thrown.Â
The Flames are still
in a playoff spot, they
are still seven games
over .500 and they are
still in a very good
situation on the year,
but they have now lost
two games in a row in
regulation for the first
time since November 7th
and 9th, a trend that
has to stop.
The club now heads
out on the road with the
very same holes still
very evident in their
lineup. Steve Reinprecht
is close, and the Flames
have to hope that
getting their best
center back can help add
some finish to their
five on five and
powerplay lineup.
Things are just too
tight to be able to
afford a prolonged slide
of any kind, regardless
of the number of people
chomping on pop corn
row.
