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Phantom
Call Nixes Win
Flames
Continue to Give Canucks
FitsÂ
December
15th, 2002
Rick Charlton
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AP Photo |
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On the Road
Again: Lydman and the Coach-less Flames continue to play their
best hockey away from Calgary.
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After
all the turmoil, the
heartbreak, we find the
problem has actually
been a very simple one.
Calgary
has been playing in the
wrong rink.
While
the Flames have been
absolutely miserable at
the Saddledome this
year, tormenting their
sensationally faithful
fans with a lamentable
2-9-4 record, they
remain undefeated at The
Garage in Vancouver, now
2-0-1 after a 3-3 tie
last night.
Separated
by 17 points in the
standings, a veritable
light year with only a
third of the season
gone, it seems odd
indeed the Canucks
should struggle on home
ice against the
floundering Flames.
Or
that the Flames should
be a respectable one
game under .500 on the
road but horrendous in
their home whites.
But
the result could have
been so much better for
the hard-working Flames
if not for a
controversial penalty
call that yielded a late
Vancouver power play
goal.
A
struggle near the
Vancouver blueline saw
Canucks Trevor Linden
wacked across the face
by an errant stick, that
of teammate Trent Klatt.
But the referees on duty
saw a different story
and penalized Calgary's
Steve Begin who had
roughed Klatt and caused
the stick of the
Vancouver forward to
take out his own player.
With
one second remaining in
the ensuing Vancouver
powerplay, Sami Salo
rocketed a point shot
through a bunch of
bodies and past Calgary
starter Roman Turek at
15:09 to secure the tie.
Vancouver
may have had the best
opportunity to win it
from there but Todd
Bertuzzi went fruit loop
with a minute left in
overtime, on a breakaway
but deciding to attempt
a pass to teammate
Markus Naslund rather
than shoot.
The
star of the night might
have been diminutive
Flames forward Scott
Nichol, a quintessential
fourth liner breaking
out of a season long
scoring drought with a
goal and two assists,
bringing his season
total to four points.
The
tie leaves the Flames
8-15-5-3 on the season,
good for 24 points and
nine points in arrears
of the eighth and final
playoff spot in the
NHL's Western
Conference.
Al
MacNeil is now 2-2-2 as
Calgary's interim coach
with no replacement in
sight.
Markus
Naslund opened scoring
from behind a Brendan
Morrison screen on a
Vancouver powerplay only
3:25 in, accelerating
off the side boards and
whistling a hard wrister
over Turek's shoulder.
But
Calgary tied the game at
14:10 when Nichol executed
a nifty
backhand pass to Bob
Boughner, the burly
defenceman surprising
the Canucks by pinching
in from the right point
and finding a wide open
net from the crease
area.
Vancouver
recovered the lead
quickly, however, when
Bertuzzi, sprung lose by
Naslund, bore down on
Turek and flummoxed the
Flames netminder with a
brilliant top shelf
backhand shot at 16:52.
Nichol
tied the game at 11:59
of the second while the
teams were playing four
on four, blowing by a
Vancouver defender,
driving the net and
sliding a shot that
barely crawled through
the pads of Skudra.
Craig
Conroy then put the
Flames up 3-2 at 4:34 of
the third, his ninth of
the year coming from the
crease area as he
corralled and rifled a
nifty behind the net
Martin Gelinas pass over
Skudra's shoulder.
But
the Begin penalty
resulted in Salo's point
shot rocket eluding
Turek at 15:09,
resulting in a 3-3
deadlock.
Canucks
entered the game two for
17 on the powerplay in
three games against the
Flames this year were
two for four on the
night. Calgary was zero
for five with the man
advantage.
Both
Turek and Skudra made 30
saves.
It
was only the third time
in 17 games the Flames
had scored more than two
goals. But the second
time in the last three.
Next
up is Nashville on
Tuesday night, The
Battle of the Basement
in the Western
Conference, the Flames
only one point ahead of
the Predators.
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