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by Marc Ciampa
January 9th, 2002
TONIGHT'S GAME:
When the Calgary Flames (14-18-6-3; 5th Northwest Division) look across the
ice at their opponents tonight, they could be staring their future right in the
face. Imminent bankruptcy and mounting debts has put the league-leading Ottawa
Senators' (25-10-5-1; 1st Northeast Division) future in doubt despite having one
of the best young teams in the league has seen since the 1995 Nordiques headed
west.
The Flames have been on a roll lately with a 4-0-1 record under Darryl Sutter
and 5-1-1 overall in their last seven games but still have a long way to go
before they're back in the playoff race. A win tonight would help them move
within two points of 9th in the conference, but they would then still be seven
points back of the eight-place Colorado Avalanche.
All-time Calgary is 7-7-4-0 versus Ottawa, with a 5-3-1-0 record in the
Saddledome. They haven't defeated the Senators since a 2-1 victory on December
18, 1999.
KEYS TO SUCCESS:
- Keep
on a roll.
A 4-0-1 record with Darryl Sutter since his hiring has seen the team with a
lot more jump lately. They were lucky to leave Colorado with 2 points on
Tuesday, however. We’ve all heard the old adage that winning streaks end
and losing streaks begin with winning games you should have lost.
- Roman
Turek.
He’s become more than the team’s number one goaltender of late. He’s
become they’re only goaltender.
- Iginla,
Drury, Gelinas, Conroy… These four players need to be on the board for
the team to be successful. Lately they have been and it’s no coincidence
that the Flames have been moving up the Western Conference standings
recently.
BY THE NUMBERS:
Mike Fisher picked up where he left off after returning from a
knee injury last night in Vancouver. Despite Ottawa's loss, Fisher scored two
goals and was +3 on the night. The 22-year-old centre is having a strong season,
with 21 points in 37 games. He is three points off his career best mark… Peter
Schaefer is having a disappointing season with the Sens. At the midway point of
the season he has only four goals. In each of his previous two NHL campaigns,
Schaefer scored 16 goals… Sens defencemen Wade Redden (5g, 19a, 24pts) and
Zdeno Chara (3g, 18a, 21pts) have more points combined than all of Calgary's
blueliners put together. In fact, Ottawa has five defencemen with more points
than Flames leading defence scorer Toni Lydman… After 41 games, the Flames
have 37 points. In comparison to previous seasons: 2001-02 (46 points), 2000-01
(40), 1999-2000 (40), 1998-99 (29), 1997-98 (30), 1996-97 (33), 1995-96 (31),
1988-89 (60). Amazingly, 1995-96 was a playoff year despite having 6 fewer
points than they do right now. Even more amazingly, the 1988-89 total of 60
points, which would have them perched atop this season's standings, doesn't
include a point for overtime losses… In 22 seasons in Calgary the Flames have
been below .500 at the halfway mark eleven times.
ROSTER UPDATES:
Calgary: Mathias Johansson (concussion) could return to the lineup tonight. Steve
Begin (concussion) is still likely a few days away.Â
Ottawa: Sidelined due to injury is Curtis Leschyshyn (shoulder), Jody Hull (Back
spasms), and Martin Prusek (Groin).
WHO TO WATCH:
Calgary: Rob Niedermayer had a strong start to his tenure as a Flame under Darryl
Sutter Tuesday. If he can continue to be productive the team just might have
another offensive weapon in its arsenal. Stephane Yelle is fast becoming a
favourite of Coach Sutter. Likely tonight he will play in all key offensive and
defensive situations once again.
Ottawa: With
goaltender Martin Prusek on the shelf, Patrick Lalime will likely start again
tonight despite allowing 6 goals on 25 shots last night. His record in the
second game of back-to-back nights is 1-1-2 this season… With 27 goals in 40
games so far, Marian Hossa has arrived as a bona fide superstar in the NHL. His
previous career high is 32 which he will certainly eclipse by the end of the
month.
QUOTABLE:
 "It
would be very cheap (to live
with his family if he was
traded to Ottawa). I would
have to pay Canadian taxes,
though. Fifty percent of
nothing is still
nothing."—Rangers
forward Matthew Barnaby
after a reporter brought up
the possibility of him
playing for the bankrupt
Senators.
"We
thought we might get some of
them, but we probably got
more odd-man rushes in this
game than in any other game
this year. I don't know if
it just squirted by, or if
it was our guys on the
boards making the second
effort, but it turned out
great for us."—Flames
captain Craig Conroy on
their last game, versus
Colorado.
HEAD TO HEAD:
FLAMES LAST 10 GAMES vs. OTTAWA
NEXT MEETING:
The Flames and Sens don't meet again this season. |
