They said Calgary
couldn’t match the
skill of the Wings.
They said the Flames
would be sapped dry of
energy after their
vigorous seven game
affair against
Vancouver.
They said the
outlandish advantage
held by Detroit in
playoff experience would
be a decisive factor.
They said Calgary had
to stay out of the
penalty box against the
number one ranked power
play in the league.
They said the Flames
couldn’t fall behind
against the deadly
Wings, a veteran team
that knows how to close
out a win after it gains
a lead.
"They" were
essentially right about
much of the above last
night in Detroit . . . .
. . but the
never-say-die Flames won
the game anyway,
stealing the opening
game of their Western
Conference semi-final
2-1 in overtime after
the Wings dominated most
of the contest but
couldn’t get the
offence they needed to
seal the deal.
It was a stunning
result for the visitors,
Marcus Nilson with his
first of the playoffs at
2:39 of overtime, the
late season acquisition
from Florida converting
a Martin Gelinas pass
and finding the top
corner with a nifty one
timer and giving Calgary
an improbable 1-0 series
lead over the heavily
favoured Wings.
"I was screaming
for it," said
Nilson on FAN960 of the
play. "I was wide
open. It was probably
luck but it was nice to
see it go in."
Calgary now claims
home ice advantage in
the series.
"It’s a good
feeling," Nilson
added. "But it’s
only one game. We can
feel good about it
tonight but then we have
to think about the next
game tomorrow."
The contest marked
the third consecutive
overtime for Calgary and
was the fourth win in
five games on the road
for the Flames so far in
this young playoff year.
This game had none of
the swirling, back and
forth, high octane
excitement of the
Calgary/Vancouver
series, Detroit largely
setting the tone
throughout, tying the
Flames up and content to
employ their striking
counterattack game which
resulted in a
significant territorial
advantage, Calgary saved
only by the excellent
netminding of Vezina
Trophy candidate Miikka
Kiprusoff.
Every inch of ice was
contested in methodical
fashion, the Flames
either still feeling the
effects of their
recently concluded
beating of Vancouver or
the Wings refusing to
allow them the skating
game they prefer.
Detroit dominated the
opening 40 minutes and
were finally successful
in solving Kiprusoff,
Robert Lang cutting to
the slot with a Flame
draped on his back, the
6’2", 220 lb
centre firing a no-look
shot against the seam,
catching the corner with
the Calgary netminder
sliding the wrong way at
6:14 of the second.
With the shots
favouring Detroit 21-9
late in the second,
Robyn Regehr threaded a
blue line slapper
through a gaggle of
bodies and caught
Detroit starter Curtis
Joseph on his knees, the
puck going into the net
over his shoulder on the
short side at 17:57.
The goal broke Joseph’s
shutout streak going
back into the first
round series with
Nashville at 118:35 and
seemed to signal a sea
change in the Flames,
the latter in a game
they probably shouldn’t
have been but now eyeing
an unlikely prize.
As the period ended
it became apparent the
shots and territory
division may have been
lopsided, but the
chances to score weren’t
necessarily rated the
same way.
A fair analysis of
this game might leave us
with the observation the
Flames recovered from
stiff legs in the first,
looked better in the
second then played with
the Wings stride for
stride the rest of the
way.
"Halfway through
the game, I thought we
took over and started to
play Flames
hockey," analyzed
Nilson.
Jarome Iginla
continued with his
superb play, a leftover
from the Vancouver
series, banging the
crossbar on a
three-on-one break in
the second period and
having two other
excellent chances,
bursting through the
middle of the ice and
forcing Joseph to make
outstanding stops.
At the other end,
Kiprusoff was called
upon to be solid and
occasionally
spectacular, the Wings
passing forcing the
Flames netminder
east/west on numerous
occasions while
straightforward but
screened bombs through
traffic from Mathieu
Schneider and Nik
Lidstrom were also a
handful.
In the end, Kiprusoff
would finish with 28
saves, not an unusually
heavy night of work for
him in terms of a shot
count and a good omen
for the Flames who are
virtually unbeatable
when limiting the
opposition to 25 or
fewer shots.
Calgary now has home
ice advantage.
Detroit was zero for
six on the power play
while Calgary was zero
for three.
Next up is game two
on Saturday afternoon.
