Just a couple of
nights after a nail
biting win over the
Minnesota Wild - a game
that took 59 minutes and
38 seconds to salt away
- the Calgary Flames
entertained their fans
and made short order of
the Pittsburgh Penguins
with a 6-1 victory.
Beating up on the
Penguins ordinarily
wouldn't be much of a
story in itself - the
Penguins sit 30th
overall in a 30 team
league - but for a
Calgary team missing
five regulars it was
somewhat unexpected.
|
| Green |
Yelle |
Iginla |
| Gelinas |
McAmmond |
Donovan |
| Saprykin |
Lombardi |
Clark |
| Oliwa |
Morgan |
Kobasew |
| Regehr |
Leopold |
| Gauthier |
Warrener |
| Montador |
Ference |
|
Unexpected in that
the win came in a game
without their number one
goaltender, leading
defenceman in terms of
minutes per night, their
two best centers, and
their face off leader.
Also unexpected in
that it did come over a
weak and beatable hockey
team, a game that the
Flames have always
mailed in in season's
past, somehow looking
past a night such as
this or resting on their
recent laurels.
But that was before
Darryl Sutter came to
town.
The
game marked a change to
the red hot Calgary
speed line, with the
injured Craig Conroy
taking to the sidelines
and replaced by fellow
speedster Dean McAmmond.
The
line didn't miss a beat.
Shean
Donovan, as everyone in
Calgary must know by
know, has scored six
goals in his last five
games, but put a giant
cherry on top of his
weekly sundae scoring
three more time and
adding an assist. That's
11 on the season for a
guy that has a career
high of 12, and nine in
his last six games.
Unbelievable.
His
linemates didn't have a
bad night either. Martin
Gelinas continued his
hot hand by adding three
assists, giving him
seven points in the last
four games. While Dean
McAmmond chipped in with
two assists.
Calgary
received singles from
Jordan Leopold, Stephane
Yelle and Oleg Saprykin
- Milan Kraft replied
for the Penguins.
Surprisingly,
Jarome Iginla had his
goal and point streak
snapped at four, as the
captain failed to hit
the board despite the
number of pucks to sail
into Pittsburgh nets.
The
victory pushes the
Flames to five games
over .500, gives them
points in 10 straight
games and send them to
Minnesota for a game on
Tuesday riding a four
game win streak.
The
biggest advantage games
like Sunday night
provide, however, is a
cushion, as the club
can't expect to roll
along without a hiccup
with so many regulars
out of the lineup.
These
are heady times for the
seven times bridesmade
Flames as they use the
victory to vault into a
tie for 5th place in the
West with the Los
Angeles Kings.
