Getting the bounces

The Flames are in Detroit tonight for a game against the Red Wings after a tough loss in Montreal last night. Which was made even tougher for me, given that I was watching the game with a Habs fan…

When the Flames played the Red Wings a couple weeks ago, I thought that they played a pretty solid game, even carrying the play at times against one of the more solid teams in the league. The final 5-2 score of the game didn’t really reflect what was happening on the ice that night…

The same could easily be said for last night’s 4-1 loss to the Canadiens. At points in the game Calgary easily looked like the better team on the ice, but then they would get into penalty trouble and les Habitants would take over the momentum. Between a hot goaltender in Halak, and some bad bounces for the Flames, they lost by three goals again in a game that they were not overpowered in…

Which means that one of these days they’re going to get the bounces, right? It’s a rule of nature, isn’t it? You can only have bad luck for so long…

Having games on back to back nights in cities that are over 800 km apart (over 500 miles) has got to be rough, not to mention going from playing one of the top teams in the league to playing one of the top teams in the league. And there’s the question of whether Kiprusoff will be between the pipes for a second game less than 24 hour of finishing his last one, or if Keenan will opt to go with McElhinney, who didn’t exactly shine in his last outing…

I’m not expecting a lot tonight (kind of like how I haven’t expected a lot from Bertuzzi this season), but if the boys play like they’ve been playing the last few weeks, and they finally start getting the bounces, they could actually pull of the upset…

That being said, I still think the Red Wings take this one 4-2…

HD or not HD?

That is the question.

Whether tis nobler to suffer through the hard to watch Flames broadcast on Sportsnet in something below regular definition, or to take advantage of a Blues broadcast in HD on Fox Sports Midwest...

Actually, there is no question...

Sportsnet West has HD, I've seen it. And if they had tonight's game in HD I'd choose that broadcast over the brilliantly clear one that I'm watching right now. Maybe...

As has been mentioned numerous times by WI (hmmm, actually looking for a recent reference, but can't seem to find one), the Flames team on Sportsnet just seems to be a little less than par. John Kelly and Bernie Federko in the press box? Okay, why not. Its always nice to hear people that aren't Charlie Simmer, John Garrett, or Roger Millions. Sure Kelly seems a little lacking in his hockey knowledge, but how is that any different from Millions?

The funny thing is that I'm relatively new to the Calgary broadcast team, only starting to watch games with regularity last season. I guess in some aspects I wasn't missing out...

But this is just one of the few bonuses I get from living outside of the broadcast zone. I'd much rather the chance to watch with fellow Flames fans, like is happening in Calgary tonight, even if they do have to suffer through the Flames broadcast team and don't get commercials for the casino with the world's loosest slots (don't read that too fast or you might get the wrong idea)...

Busy, busy busy...

So its been a while since I last posted (again), but I have been keeping up with the goings on of the blog world, as well as catching as much hockey as I can. Sometimes your schedule just gets too full and you end up being home only one night a week (if that), and you just want to sit around and not think while watching the players skate around on the screen in front of you...

The last two months have been like that for me. I've been watching the games, pleasantly surprised by the play of this team as of late. They are applying a lot of pressure on the opposition and seem to be outplaying most teams, even if the scoreboard doesn't represent it. I thought they played extremely well against the Red Wings a couple weeks ago and the loss was a hard one. The 5-2 final score was not indicative of how the Flames played...

You can see the farm boys, especially Moss and Boyd, are playing well, and I was even impressed by the play of Pardy the other night. Its beginning to appear that Keenan finally has the team running the way it should after almost a season and a half...

I'm even impressed by Conroy and Primeau's play in the face-off circle(s). Its nice to see Lombardi finally getting to centre the top line after missing a month. The new guys that came in (Cammalleri, Bourque, and Glencross) are all contributing in their respective roles, and I'd even say that Bourque is doing much better than I expected him to coming into the season...

I'm going to be gone for the latter half of this month (away from the internet and even farther away from all Flames games), but I felt I should at least touch base...

The Flames are exciting to watch again, even when they lose. Prairie hockey is back in Cowtown...

Out of the gate

Strong starts?

So I was thinking about how we're always hearing about how strong the Flames have been in the first period this season, and I figured I'd take a quick look at the numbers. Not all the numbers mind you, just the shots and goals for the first five games of the season, by period. Just to get an idea as to how strong their first periods are, compared to later in the game...

Game 1: 6-0 loss to Vancouver

Period		1		2		3
Shots		9-5		10-7		6-11
Goals		0-1		0-2		0-3

Game 2: 5-4 OT loss to Vancouver

Period		1		2		3		OT
Shots		11-7		9-18		7-6		2-3
Goals		3-1		1-2		0-1		0-1

Game 3: 5-4 win over Colorado

Period	1	2	3
Shots	12-10	15-5	8-14
Goals	3-2	0-1	2-1

Game 4: 4-3 loss to Edmonton

Period	1	2	3
Shots	8-15	9-12	12-8
Goals	1-1	1-3	1-0

Game 5: 3-2 loss to Edmonton

Period	1	2	3
Shots	17-3	6-14	10-10
Goals	2-0	0-3	0-0

Total after 5 games: 1-3-1

Period	1	2	3	OT
Shots	57-40	49-59	43-49	2-3
Goals	9-5	2-11	3-5	0-1

Its too bad we couldn't just call the games after the first 20 minutes, since then the Flames record would be a very respectable 3-1-1...

As has been stated in numerous posts (but not in any of mine), Keenan can't seem to leave well enough alone and appears to like to switch things up between periods. I know you have to be able to make in game adjustments, but when what you are doing is working, it should be the other team that makes the changes. Keenan's attempts at pre-emptive line changes isn't throwing the other teams off, it looks like its just making it easier for them...

Back to back battle! Again!

Once more unto the breach!

Canucks last week, and now the greasers in a back to back this weekend? I guess they want to get the divisional races heated up a little early in the season. It can't really get any worse than what happened last weekend, can it?

My hate-on for the Oilers has grown again these last couple of years, what with them becoming somewhat respectable again... Wait, that's not the right word... I can't bring myself to actually respect them... How about the Oilers have become somewhat competent again... much better...

Anyway, the Flames host the kids from up North at the Saddledome tonight, and then take Highway 2 to the Rexall Centre tomorrow for the second game...

At least I'm assuming they'll take Highway 2. But it might be a nice time of year to take the long road through the parks... Which reminds me... The Tim Horton's in Hinton doesn't offer hot chocolate... Which I find kind of weird, since its just outside Jasper and you would think that if some parents were taking their kids through the parks in the colder months, they would like to have a hot liquid option for them to drink... Because I'm assuming kids in Alberta don't drink coffee, do they? Maybe that's why prairie kids are such gritty hockey players... And they probably drink it black, straight up... I'm sure that the Tim Horton's in Vulcan probably only serves black coffee, no double doubles allowed (do they have a Timmy's in Vulcan?)... Or maybe I'm just overthinking this...

Regardless, I will not be around to catch either game, as I'll be Oktoberfesting it up in Kitchener-Waterloo... In fact, I'll probably be three sheets to the wind (five or six actually), by the time the puck even drops on either night...

I would think of recording the games on my PVR (which was so lucky a couple of years ago), but I'm sure my brother would be more than a little skeptical of me taping an early season hockey game, regardless of who is playing in it... Although he did record the start of the Habs-Bruins game a couple nights ago, while muttering something about 100 years and Patrick Roy's jersey... I don't know, I wasn't really paying attention...

I know I should probably go to a bar and watch the game instead of a big fest-hall, but Oktoberfest only happens once a year! Its not like its a date that I can put off for a day or two...

Here's hoping the boys win tonight at least, as otherwise there is apparently a decent chance that Mike Keenan could be fired just four games into the season...

Don't worry about it... yet...

Where is Sean Connery when you need him?

It seems that at the beginning of every season lately the Flames are floundering around looking like they are still playing preseason games. I've gotten so used to the boys losing for a good section of the first month of the season, that I thought I'd look and see just how bad they have been in the previous five seasons...

Now most of you have probably realized by now that stats based articles are not my forte (which is kind of funny to me when I think of how many stats courses I took in university). So I kept this one simple...

I just took the October records for the Flames and compared it to the rest of the season for the years 2002 to 2007. I also did a quick check to see how they started out the month in each year by showing the first four games...

October 2002: 3-3-2-0
Rest of 2002/03: 26-33-11-4

October 2003: 4-4-0-1
Rest of 2003/04: 38-26-7-2

October 2005: 4-7-0-2
Rest of 2005/06: 42-18-0-2

October 2006: 3-6-0-1
Rest of 2006/07: 40-23-0-4

October 2007: 6-3-0-3
Rest of 2007/08: 36-27-0-4

As you can see, last year was the first time that the Flames had a positive record in the month of October since Sutter and Kiprusoff came to town. But if a loss was a loss regardless, they only broke even. And obviously the 2002 season doesn't really fit in since it was when the Flames were still horrible, but I threw it in anyway...

But even last year's anomaly fits in when you only look at the first four games, you can see that they usually start very poorly (with a loss, in fact)...

2002: L, L, W, T
2003: L, W, W, L
2005: L, W, L, L
2006: L, W, L, W
2007: L, L, L, W
2008: L, L, W, ?

I fully realize that I am selecting my data to corroberate my hypothesis (since they won 3 of the previous 5 fifth games and tied another), but that wouldn't change where I'm going with this anyway...

At least I think I'm going somewhere with it...

Basically, relax, cause its only October. Not much of a revelation, I realize, but I was curious about the numbers, and I'm sure that some of you may have been too...

Yeah, it'd be nice to get a good jump out of the gate, but that wouldn't be the Calgary Flames' style...

And you have no idea how much of a pain in the ass it was to create that mock movie poster...

Update: it looks like the boys picked up their first W of the season tonight over the Avalanche...

Update 2: it also looks like Leanne beat me to the punch... which is probably one reason why I shouldn't have spent the better part of last night working on that damn poster...

Hockey's Back! (And so am I)...

Easing my way back into it...

Hey, do I have any readers left?

Yeah, I apparently took the summer off, as well as a good portion of the spring and the first few weeks of fall...

Been kinda busy and I just wasn't feeling it, you know? But with the start of the first Calgary game of the season, I'm refreshed and back on the boat (in the chair, whichever)...

I had a few posts all drafted up and ready to go, one on guys that I can't stand, which I will probably edit and post later on. I had a post on the Festival Cup here in Toronto at the beginning of September that I only had to add my photographs to. There was a significant Flames presence there, so I may just post it with its backdate and if you are really bored at some point you can read through it (I may post it tomorrow, if I remember)...

Actually, as I type this the Flames are down 5-0 with only 7:30 left in the third period. The boys are not looking sharp tonight. They had a pretty good first, but couldn't solve Luongo and the F@%^ing Canucks built on a couple of quick goals to start the second. Have I mentioned how much I can't stand the Canucks? I have? Oh, nevermind then...

There are a bunch of things I should really get around to voicing my opinion on, which I probably will, when the topic comes up again...

But in the meantime, welcome back! And let's just hope the Saturday night game in Calgary goes a lot better...

Update: 6-0 final... ugh...

Postgame - 2008 Festival Cup

Hockey's Back! kinda...

Yeah, I know I've been gone for a while (well, the whole summer and a good portion of the spring actually), but now that I've been to a hockey game at an NHL rink I can officially say that the hockey season has started...

Last night my brother and I attended the Festival Cup at the ACC. I know it wasn't an NHL game, but there were NHLers playing in it, so that's good enough for me (especially since there were some Calgary Flames, current and former, on the rosters). Besides, the game was set up to raise money for Right to Play, and there were even some NHL caliber plays...

As an added bonus, the teams were also decked out in the old Flames jersey template...

Team #1 (White Jerseys)

Coach: Karen Percy-Lowe

Captain: Doug Gilmour (Toronto Maple Leafs)

Players: Sean Avery (Dallas Stars), Jim Balsillie (Blackberry), Cameron Bancroft (Hockeyville, Little House), Tom Bernard (President, Sony Pictures Classics), Mike Cammalleri (Calgary Flames), Andrew Cogliano (Edmonton Oilers), Jim Cuddy (Blue Rodeo), Mike Green (Washington Capitals), Curtis Joseph (Toronto Maple Leafs), Jason Reitman (Thank You For Smoking, Juno), Robyn Regehr (Calgary Flames), Tim Robbins (Mystic River, The Shawshank Redemption), Graeme Roustan (Bauer), Craig Simpson (Edmonton Oilers, Hockey Night in Canada), Jason Spezza (Ottawa Senators), Jason Thompson (General Hospital), Scott Thornton (NHL Free Agent), Wojtek Wolski (Colorado Avalanche)

Team #2 (Red Jerseys)

Coach: Kevin Lowe

Captain: Mats Sundin

Players: Luc Robitaille (Los Angles Kings), Jennifer Botterill (Canadian Women’ National Team), Tim Connolly (Buffalo Sabres), Mark DeCarlo (Raising Helen), Kris Draper (Detroit Red Wings), Andrew Ference (Boston Bruins), Oren Koules (Saw, Two and A Half Men), Nick Kypreos (New York Rangers, Rogers Sportsnet), Lochlyn Munro (Smallville, CSI, Dead Man on Campus), Gary Roberts (Tampa Bay Lightning), Derek Roy (Buffalo Sabres), Joey Scoleri (Hollywood Records), Sami Jo Small (Canadian Women’s National Team), Matt Stajan (Toronto Maple Leafs), D.B. Sweeney (The Cutting Edge, Jericho), Joe Thornton (San Jose Sharks), Jeremy Williams (Toronto Maple Leafs)

Just from a quick glance at the rosters I knew I'd be cheering for the white team, especially given the presence of Lowe behind the red bench...

Now obviously this is a charity game, so there was plenty of hijinx (including Tim Robbins wearing an Obama 08 jersey for the second period), but some of the celebrities actually had some skills. Now some of the Canadian ones you would naturally expect to be competent, like Cameron Bancroft and Lochlyn Munro, who both had dreams of playing in the NHL until they got injured in their teens, but other guys like Tim Robbins I would have never expected to be as good as he is. Of course, there were also a few guys out there that really shouldn't have been, like Scoleri and Reitman. I think my mom can skate better than they can...

This wasn't really a game so much as it was an organized scrimmage. Sure there were referees and they were keeping score and all, but there was a serious lacking when it came to defensive zone play, not to mention actually following the rules...

During a Tim Robbins penalty shot, the refs moved the net from behind Sami Jo Small and he just shot the puck in the dead centre of the net, as it was in the corner of the rink...

You could actually tell the Tim Robbins was really the centre of attention for the night, as he also beat the crap out of Nick Kypreos...

And Sean Avery was being Sean Avery, which is probably why he switched jerseys with Jason Reitman for the third period, since he felt that he was being unfairly tragetted by the officials...

Obviously with this game being at the ACC, they had to find a way to make fun of the Senators and get the crowd into it. Which they succeeded in doing by using the 'kiss cam' and a guy in a Sens jersey, with a girlfriend that obviously had no interest in being seen with him...

But perhaps the funniest and most notable occurence of the evening involved new Flame Mike Cammalleri. Throughout the third period the crowd was repeatedly reminded that in the event of a tie, the game would go to a shootout. With the scored tied 8-8 with less than a minute left, that seemed to be inevitable. Then Cammalleri came down the ice and potted one with about 13 seconds left, and as the spotlight shone on him, you could tell he knew he wasn't supposed to do that. Which was even more obvious when Bill McCreary waved the goal off, even though everyone KNEW it went it. But the best part of it all was the Cheshire Cat Grin on Cammalleri's face...

Oh, and not that it really matters, but the White team won...

San Jose at Calgary: Game 4 preview

Very Superstitious

This is a common thing in sports, especially in the playoffs, and most especially in the Stanley Cup playoffs...

 

I'm a little bit superstitious myself, as I stopped shaving after the series began last Wednesday night, and I don't plan on shaving my beard off until the Flames are out (of course, I'm not sure how that will go over at the weddings I'm to attend in late May and early June, but I'll take that risk)...

 

Of course, I can't let it run roughshod, as a beard should be maintained on occassion, so I figure that everytime the Flames lose a game, I'll give it a little trim so as not to turn into Jake Plummer. Yes, I realize that a number of hockey fans won't recognize this reference because he is the former quarterback of the Denver Broncos but he was reknowned for bringing the neckbeard back in vogue. Actually, that's not true, as a neck beard hasn't been considered stylish since the Dark Ages (probably because they couldn't see them?)...

 

Which brought to mind a number of other things that Flames bloggers have done over the last year or two that have absolutely no effect on the actual game itself (but somehow give us a little piece of mind). From me recording all of last years games on my PVR and watching them later, to WIs various jersey issues, to HGs pizza, and so on and so on, we just can't seem to stop...

 

But then it stops working (not that it really worked in the first place), so do we stop? No, we just start doing something else, which is the funny part. Since I watched the first game and have absolutely no recollection of the second game (I was really drunk downtown and didn't get home until after 3:00, so I assume that I watched the game, but I don't remember the game even starting, let alone finishing), I figure that I need to watch the game live for the boys to win (which is ironic when you think of last year), so I watched the third game and we won. Looking for a repeat tonight...

 

I was actually reading an article about player superstitions earlier, but you can't compare a fan's superstition to that of a player, as the player's might actually do something to affect the game. If talking to his goalposts calmed Patrick Roy down, and relacing his skates before every game helped Ray Bourque clear his head, then who am I to argue...

 

And I don't expect to stop doing it anytime soon, especially since I need to keep my beard in case I get called up for game 5...

First round preview

Better late than never...

Everybody else has put their playoff picks for the first round already (and many for the eventual Stanley Cup champions), so I figured I had better post mine before its waaaay too late (but don't worry, even though the playoffs actually started last night, the results do not affect my original picks)...



Western Conference


(1) Detroit Red Wings vs. (8) Nashville Predators


This is probably the easiest matchup to predict of them all, although it does contain a few question marks. Do the Predators start Mason or Ellis in net? Is Hasek healthy enough to make it through a round without giving over the net to Osgoode? Will Nashville still be in the playoffs when David Legwand is ready to return to the ice? Can you imagine how many more people would be excited right now if the team was in Hamilton or Kitchener-Waterloo?


With the way that the Red Wings dominated the NHL this season, you can't help but pick them to run rough shod all over the Predators...


Detroit Red Wings over the Nashville Prey in 5 games (I'm thinking that Nashville will steal one somehow)...



(2) San Jose Sharks vs. (7) Calgary Flames

As Matt over at the Battle of Alberta has pointed out, the Flames are a pretty decent team when they aren't down a man or two (or up one in some cases). Since the playoffs tend to make the refs put their whistle away a little more (as they should), I think this actually bodes well for their chances. Sure they aren't exactly a high scoring powerhouse and for the most part may have played above their talent level for a few stretches this season, but there are a few players who still haven't turned it up to 11, and seem to be heading that way (I'm looking at you Kipper and Lombardi). They started the season off poorly, but have been looking ready as of late. Not to mention that the young guns of Nystrom, Hale, and Boyd look like they are finally getting the NHL game speed figured out (to my eyes anyway), so they shouldn't be nearly as easy to play against as they were to start the season (or even a few months ago)...

Everyone is talking about how the Sharks are a shoe-in to win the Western Conference since they dominated the last quarter of the season to pull within throwing distance of the Red Wings, but I'm not convinced of that in the least. Sure they played well, but who were they playing? They had an 18-0-2 stretch (they lost their last two games away after they'd clinched their playoff seeding), where they only won 2 games by more than 2 goals (4-1 over the Blues and 5-2 over the Kings), and 10 of those 18 wins were only by one goal. Their two overtime losses were to non-playoff teams, and 4 of those wins were against Eastern Conference teams who play a style that they won't see until the finals, if they can get there. I think these guys are more over-rated going into the playoffs than Brad Richards (he's making that much money because of what exactly?)...

I'd also take Mike Keenans playoff experience (I don't care how long ago it was) and general hockey knowledge over Ron Wilson's any day...

Calgary Flames over the San Jose Guppies in 6 games...

(3) Minnesota Wild vs. (6) Colorado Avalanche

I don't suppose that both of these teams could lose this one, eh? No? Well, I had to ask...

I can honestly say that I'm not cheering for either team in this one, as I steered pretty much clear of it in the playoff pools that I am in, mostly due to how close the series will be (which can most easily be seen by last night's game going to overtime). Colorado has more flash and star power, but no backend. Theodore has been almost lights out for the last month or so, but Backstrom has been consistently good all season. The Wild play a game that would bore a turtle, but they know how to control the game when they have the lead. Which is why I have to pick the Avalanche, as they seem to get all the bounces and I don't really see where Minnesota can protect a lead it can't get in the first place. But it'll be down to the wire...

Colorado Avalanche win over the Minnesota Tame in 7 games (come on, you knew it was coming)...

(4) Anaheim Ducks vs. (5) Dallas Stars

Gee, Todd Bertuzzi versus Mike Ribiero... I wonder which guy I'd rather cheer for...

Each of these teams actually has a special place in my hockey memories, the Ducks for screwing over the Oilers in the whole Chris Pronger debacle, and the Stars for owning the greasers for so many playoff series in the late 90's and early 00's (I don't what else to refer to that time frame as)...

This year though, I have no particularly warm feelings for either team, as one annoys the hell out of me and the other one bores the hell out of me. But a simple look at the team stats points out the glaring difficulty that Dallas has for scoring goals and J-S Giguere isn't going to make that any easier...

Anaheim MIGHTY Ducks send the Dallas Twinkles packing in 5 games (the name may have changed, but it just doesn't sound right)...

Eastern Conference


(1) Montreal Canadiens vs. (8) Boston Bruins

Alright, so apparently Boston has had a major problem with Les Habitants for the last year and and a half, which obviously leads me to think that that 'performance' will continue...

When I look at the Bruins lineup, regardless of all of the ex-Flames on it, I just don't see anything to make me think that Boston has what it takes to beat a powerful Montreal team that has been lighting it up for the last half of the season. They just don't have any fire power...

Montreal wins in 6

(2) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (7) Ottawa Senators

As much as I respect what the Senators have done in the last five years (the series against the Leafs excepted), they just don't have the same team that made it to the Stanley Cup finals last season. They seem to have lost a fair bit of grit, which means that I don't think they have what it takes to beat a young, spirited team in the first round...

Pittsburgh in 6

(3) Washington Capitals vs. (6) Philadelphia Flyers

As much as I'm still not a believer in Ovechkin just yet, Huet has played phenomenally since he was acquired from the Habs, and the rise of Mike Green has been a huge boost to this young roster as well. As gritty as the Flyers are, I just think that the Capitals are destined to make it to the second round at the least...

Washington in 7

(4) New Jersey Devils vs. (5) New York Rangers

I'm not sure exactly what to say about this series, other than that the Rangers got 15 out of a possible 16 points in the series this season, so as much as I love Brodeur, I just know that the team from Manhattan seems to own the boys from across the Hudson...

Rangers in 6

Pengrowth Saddledome vs Rexall Centre

This will have to do...

After attending games in Calgary and then Edmonton on back-to-back nights a couple of weeks ago (both against the Blues), I'd originally intended on writing up a blog entry on each game. Especially since each game had a record breaking goal in it. On the Monday night in Calgary, Jarome Iginla scored his 365th goal as a Flame, to take the club lead ahead of Theoron Fleury. On the Tuesday night in Edmonton, Andrew Cogliano became the first player in NHL history to score an overtime goal in three consecutive games. There is no telling the next time that the Flames will have a player breaking the club goal lead (both because of Iginla's lengthy career left ahead of him, and the fact that there doesn't appear to be anyone in the system right now to challenge him for it), so that was a big milestone to be at. When it comes to Cogliano's record, it requires a lot of chance just to have back-to-back-to-back overtime games, let alone have one player score the decider in all of them. That record may never be broken...

But I've been so ridiciulously busy since then with hockey of my own (tournaments and league play and pickup), that I just haven't had the time and/ or energy to sit down and get it done. Now with it being so long ago, I've decided to just merge the two and compare the experiences in the same post...

Location

I know that this is a big point of contention for the boys up North, especially with all of the talk going on right now over the building of a new arena complex in the city core. If any of you have been over the the Battle of Alberta blog in the last year and a half, you've more than likely seen Grabia's coverage of every nuance of the proposal...

But I'm just going to cover my experiences with what is in place right now...

The Saddledome is located just southeast of the downtown core, and is just a few minutes walk from the c-train (Calgary's rapid transit system). There is the infamous connection to the Red Mile, which is just down 17th (albeit, it is a little ways down 17th from the Saddledome with a fairly 'interesting' area inbetween them). The fact that it is on the Calgary Stampede grounds means that there is ample parking on well-maintained lots while the Stampede is not in use. Given that a very significant portion of the population take advantage of the transit system and also the bars on 17th, there didn't seem to be any traffic issues before or after the game...

The Rexall Centre is located to the northeast of Edmonton, well removed from the city core. The parking areas were not overly well maintained and walking to the arena required being consistently at the mercy of the elements, as there was no coverage. As well, the arena itself is situated in such a way so that anyone going to the game only had a few apporaches to the building due to the necessity of crossing major roadways, which led to large crowds moving slowly together across bridges and such. And don't even get me started on how long it takes to get out of the parking lots after the game...

Advantage: Saddledome (and that doesn't even take into consideration the view of Calgary when you are leaving the arena)...

Pregame, intermissions and postgame

Before the Calgary game, when the team was on the ice doing there warmups, Dion Phanuef kept on coming in on the net from different angles and at different speeds and put it just inside the top right corner of the net on every shot. I'm putting this down because it seemd that no matter how far out he was from the net at the time he took the shot, he was able to put it exactly where he wanted to. I was reminded of this after seeing his goal in the Vancouver game last night, where he picked the top left corner as he was streaking in on Luongo...

There wasn't a whole lot different between the Calgary and Edmonton pregames, beyond the flames in Calgary, and the use of a big oil derrick in the entry of the Oiler players. And speaking of which, they could really stand to light it up a little better. They have a great prop, but it would definitely benefit from a little more in the way of pyrotechnics or at least better lighting...

In terms of what happened on the ice during the intermissions, there isn't a whole lot to write home about (the typical Timbit hockey stuff), beyond the irony of Edmonton having shootout competitions for their first one. When I saw this I just about busted a gut...

Off the ice however, my brother and I were a little stunned when we walked into the concourses in Edmonton. Usually whenever I go to an NHL game, people do the same thing between periods. They use the bathroom and then go get a beer and/ or something to eat and then bring it back to their seat. But Edmonton reminded us a lot of a small town rink. There they don't head right back to their seats, but instead they hang around in the concourse, or even sit at tables provided and talk with other fans until the next period starts. It was weird...

In terms of postgame stuff, both teams did the usual three stars thing and then everyone left...

Advantage: Rexall (the intermission thing was odd, but in a good way)...

During play

We actually had seats in nearly identical spots for both games (even down to being on the aisle both times), so our vantage points didn't vary. During the game in Calgary I had a kid that looked to be about 6'2" sitting in front of me and leaning forward the whole time. This was a little annoying, so I was pleasantly surprised when we got to Edmonton and noticed that they had notices up on the screens to keep your back pressed to your seat when play was going. And for the most part, everyone did...

There was a lot said during the playoffs a couple of years ago about how loud the Oiler crowd is during a game. When you walk into the Rexall Centre, you can certainly see why. The arena is tiny and is actually well built for amplifying sound. That being said, I thought that the Calgary game was more consistently noisey (in a good way). Granted, whenever they flashed 'I can't hear you!' at Rexall, the place suddenly got deafening... for about 5 seconds...

There also seemed to be problems with the out of town scoreboards in Edmonton, as they seemed to freeze on the score for the Anaheim-Phoenix game for the majority of the night. There was nearly a full slate of games that day, but it was hard to follow what was going on outside of the arena. I realize that we were there to see the Oiler game, but you still should be able to follow other games going on that night...

Advantage: Draw (Rexall impressed me with the seat thing, but I was equally unimpressed with the oft-advertised 'noise' and the non-functioning out of town scoreboard)...


Intangibles

On the way into the Flames game we picked up a program for $5. On the way into the game at Rexall, they handed one to both my brother and I, and after asking how much, we were told they were free. Imagine that, giving out a free keepsake that would help you follow the game better. Colour me impressed...

I realize that Rexall is a very old building in NHL terms, but I think I saw more concrete there than at the LeFarge plants west of Calgary. This seems to keep with the small town rink feel that I commented on before, but it killed the excitement a little. I want to be impressed when I walk through a storied building, no bored...

On the way to our seats in the Saddledome, they were giving out 4X7 hockey cards of Dion Phaneuf to the kids and apparently to the attractive girls as well. Which was kind of cool and made me wish I had brought along an attractive girl instead of my brother (but only for a second, as I like hanging out and watching hockey with my brother). But it was all good afterwards, as some people didn't feel the need to keep them (for shame!), so I managed to pick up a couple of them...

I realize that this doesn't really fit in anywhere, but it was also cool that the Flames had Theoron Fleury in the building that night to congratulate Iggy on his 365th goal on the big screen...

Last season (or maybe it was early this season), I remember WI talking about pocket dawgs on her blog and figured that whenever I made it out to a game in Calgary I would have to have one. Having now partaken in the odd cuisine, I was impressed. You think its just a hot dog, but they somehow taste better. And the burgers on sale outside the rink after the game were also very good...

Advantage: Saddledome

Final Tally

The Saddledome takes it! You didn't honestly think that I would let Edmonton win, did you? But I will concede that it did go into overtime and give them a point...

I'm sure I'm forgetting a number of things, in which case somebody will have to remind me and I may have to do some editing...

Postgame - Lethbridge

Stupid Rules...

On our continuing travels around Alberta, my brother and I got tickets to the Hitmen game on Sunday which pitted them against the second best team in their division, the Lethbridge Hurricanes (Calgary is obviously the top team in the division)...

Before I really get into the game, which I will, I'd just like to set the scene a little bit, by telling you that we were sitting five rows behind the players benches, at centre ice (so we were actually right behind the 'professional' photographers). Oh, and I have a pretty decent camera of my own...

The first thing that I noticed heading into the game was the overabundance of children, which makes a fair bit of sense when you think about it in terms of the price of the tickets and that many of them are probably too young to know the real difference between a WHL game and an NHL game. There was also a large number of Lethbridge fans (it seemed like half the city was there, as one group of them took up the better part of one of the sections), which meant for a loud game no matter which team did anything...

The first period was a bit of back and forth, with Lethbridge opening up the scoring only to have Calgary tie it up shortly thereafter. Then the Hurricanes scored again late in the first, only to have the Hitmen knot it up before the end of the frame...

The second period continued the pattern of back and forth play, with neither team really looking like it was owning the other, although if I had to give the edge to one team, it would probably be the Hitmen. That is, until a massive defensive breakdown right before the second intermission, when the Calgary blueline was nowhere to be seen as a Lethbridge player skated in alone and gave the Hurricanes their third lead of the game heading into the final frame...


Which is where I take a brief sidestep from the game itself. Throughout the first two periods I had been predominantly using my telephoto lense, since my regular lens doesn't give a whole lot of an advantage over a regular digital camera. At the beginning of the second intermission the usher for my section came up to me and asked how many millimetres my camera was, which I thought was a little odd, but I was in a pretty good mood, so I told him, '300'. To which he responded 'How many?', followed by 'Can I see it?'. At which point I probably should have said no, as I'm not overly fond of people I don't know touching my camera, but I handed it over to him after which he told me 'You'll have to come with me...'

Over the course of the walk to Guest Services, he told me that there is a restriction on lens size due to some licensing fees for professional photographers. Apparently the RCMP tours the arena as well, and if they had caught me I could have been arrested. For using my camera. In a public place. To take pictures of hockey players. Seriuosly...

Apparently they are worried about people taking shots during the games and selling the photos. They have obviously never seen any of my pictures. Nor have they ever tried to take pictures through the glass...

When we finally got to guest services, which was on the opposite side of the rink (with the usher carrying my camera the whole time, which Im still a little ticked about), the nice people hanging out there (all 7 or 8 of them), seemed to be impressed with the size of my, uhm, lens. After finding out that I also had a regular 18-70mm lens, Carla, the nice young woman in charge, told me that I didn't have to check my lens for the remainder of the game as long as I promised to not use it anymore. And if my usher had a problem with that, he could take it up with her (apparently Guest Services people are better at dealing with people than ushers, although I know that he was just doing his job...

This was the first time I'd ever heard of this though, as I walked in with my camera bag on, and nobody checked it. I've been to numerous Jays and Argo games with no problems. I even went to a Hamilton Bulldogs game last week with no issue. I'm actually thinking it may have had something to do with being behind that one tiny photographer guy and him noticing my camera and pointing it out to the usher. Must have small-man syndrome as I think my camera was bigger (actually his was probably worth about 5 times as much as mine, especially judging by how much he cowered everytime the play came anywhere near him)...

Luckily I didn't end up missing any of the game, as that all took place in a span of about 10 minutes...

The third period started of simlar to the end of the second. No team really controlling the play, until the Hitmen defence disappears again leading to a 4-2 lead for the visitors and some very vocal Lethbridge fans. In an effort to tie the game late, the home team pulled their goaltender, leading to a 6 on 5 advantage which potted a goal with just under a minute left. Unfortunately, and despite some good chances, the Hitmen couldn't tie the game and Lethbridge walked away after gaining a little ground on the divisional leader...

And since I am typing this in the car on the way up to Edmonton to catch the Oiler game tonight, I'm wondering something. Am I the bigger geek for blogging about a hockey game on a laptop while riding in a car, or is it my brother who actually checked the odometer accuracy on a rental car and reacted like it was going to be close every time he passed one of the markers?

Oh yeah, so to those of you thinking of taking pictures at a hockey game, try to stay at 200 mm or less (that's lens size... get your mind out of the gutter)...

Postgame - Nashville

At least my surroundings were good...

As some of you may know, I'm currently in Alberta to take in a little hockey while on my vacation (and I'm ever so happy not to be in Ontario right now). And since this is a hockey vacation, I may throw a little extra stuff out there that isn't completely hockey related and you probably don't really care about...

On Friday night my brother and I went to Flames Central where we met up with WI, MG, Rob and Leanne to watch the boys lose to the Nashville Predators. We really aren't good luck for the boys when we gather in large groups, but unless we decide to start getting together for Oiler or Canucks games, I don't really see a way around this (maybe we'll just have to wait until they wrap up the division and the games don't mean as much). Unfortunately, Rob had to jet before the game even started to take care of famiilial obligations, and Leanne missed the start, but it was good to get together to meet some more members of the Flames blogosphere and have a few pints (which were a little pricey, but apparently not nearly as expensive as they used to be). And I'd have to recommend the Club sandwich, which was pretty good, as were the fries that came along with it...

The atmosphere was pretty good, as it seemed like pretty much everyone in the place was a pretty solid hockey fan, even if the ones that got up on stage during the intermissions knew less about the Flames than my Habs-loving brother. And it was pretty neat seeing a huge room full of Flames fans booing the Oilers in the early game...

The Flames game itself wasn't overly inspiring, as the boys looked slow again, which may be why I have a difficult time remembering everything (of course, it may also be due to the fact that I'm typing this out a few days later)...

Semi-Live Blogging Trade Deadline Day

Crap, I'm stuck watching the Sportsnet coverage for a second year...

Alright, so apparently I had a little trouble getting back into blogging after my vacation (not to mention that the last few weeks have been very busy). But I'm back now and I'm dedicated to posting on a consistent basis (at least until my next vacation, which is to Alberta in about two weeks). I figure that blogging the trade deadline (despite having no expectations of the Flames doing anything) would be as good a spot to start as any...

Oh, and I can't get the TSN broadcast, so I'm stuck watching Sportsnet here at work again this year. And unlike Onrait, I actually have another job to do, so updates may be far between at times...

4:10 - Alright it looks like most of the deals are done. Time for me to check out what everyone else has written...

4:00 - G Jean-Sebastien Aubin from Los Angeles to Anaheim for a 7th round pick in 200? - Depth move, from the looks of things. I'm actually curious as to which team cleared the most roster space today though, as it looks like Los Angeles made a bit of a push to catch Tampa and Columbus...

3:57 - D Marc-Andre Bergeron from Long Island to Anaheim for a 3rd round draft pick in 200? - Like Brad Stuart, this is his second deadline deal in a row. That's gotta suck, I wonder if he's even going to unpack this time...

3:55 - LW Chad Kilger from Toronto to Florida for a 3rd round draft pick in 200? - I liked him when he was in Montreal... and that's about all that I have to say on that...

3:50 - G Al Montoya and LW Marcel Hossa from New York to Phoenix for G David LeNeveu, RW Fredrik Sjostrom, C Josh Gratton, and a conditional draft pick - A number of young players in this one, but nothing that really stands out. Neither of these teams looks to be a real playoff contender, so it looks like Phoenix is trying to get a couple of good young guys, while the Rangers look to be adding a little depth...

3:32 - I love listening to the Canucks broadcasters argue about how unhappy the Vancouver fans must be that they didn't really do anything... Between that and Matt Cooke leaving town, I'm almost ecstatic...

3:29 - D Christian Backman from St Louis to New York for a 4th round pick in 2008 - Another good young player I won't be able to watch when I'm in Alberta next month. Yaaayyyy...

3:24 - D Brad Stuart from Los Angeles to Detroit for a 2nd round pick and a 4th round pick - Stuart gets traded at the deadline for the second year in a row. I hope he's just as unproductive in Motown as he was in Calgary last year...

3:22 - LW Chris Simon from Long Island to Minnesota for a 6th round draft pick - I wonder how many games Simon will actually hit the ice for...

3:13 - Oh yeah, and the deadline passed at 3:00, but as everyone knows, deals could keep coming in for the next few hours... Oh, and apparently (there that word is again) Adam Foote is getting on a private jet right now to head to Calgary to try to make tonight's game... crap...

3:02 - RW Marian Hossa and LW Pascal Dupuis from Atlanta to Pittsburgh for LW Colby Armstrong, C Erik Christensen, prospect Angelo Esposito and a 1st round draft pick in 200? - Wow, the Penguins gave up a lot of youth, but it looks like they are most definitely making a push for the cup this year. I'm very curious as to how the boys over at PensBlog will react to this one...

2:45 - D Hal Gill from Toronto to Pittsburgh for a draft pick in 200? - The Leafs lose another defenceman. I think the only way the Leaf blueline gets better today is if McCabe gets traded away too...

2:39 - LW Kristian Huselius and RW Bill Guerin have been traded for LW Scott Hartnell and RW Miroslav Satan - Oh wait, that just happened to me in my money pool and its still pending the commissioner's approval...

2:25 - Apparently the Thrashers have traded Hossa to the Penguins... I didn't even know they were in the hunt for a player... of course, I've lost my feed yet again, so I'm pretty much just guessing at this point...

2:14 - Okay, if you aren't going to listen to the broadcast from early on, don't everybody try to jump on at once. All the people in Alberta on their lunch break seem to have decided to overload TSN and Sportsnet at the same time and I've lost my feeds. Actually, my Sportsnet feed goes in and out every couple of minutes, which may be even worse, as I catch snippets but not enough to know what they are actually talking about...

1:58 - John Garrett just referred to the abundance of 3 point games by calling it the Nobody Hardly Loses league... clever...

1:44 - LW Matt Cooke from Vancouver to Washington for LW Matt Pettinger - I'm so sad to hear that one of the players that I despise is not only leaving the Northwest division, but the entire conference. However will I survive... And I love it when they talk about Canucks' players getting hurt...

1:42 - D Rob Davison from Long Island to San Jose for a 7th round pick in 200? - Oooooooooooh...

1:17 - C Sergei Fedorov from Columbus to Washington for D Ted Ruth (Notre Dame) - Now I'm starting to wonder if Columbus and Tampa have a competition going to see who can clear more of their roster by the end of the day...

1:09 - Looks like I lucked out this year and Eklund is no longer with Sportsnet. Sweet!

1:03 - D Adam Foote from Columbus to Colorado for a conditional 1st round pick in '08 or '09, and a 4th round pick - Apparently (and yes, that is one of my favourite words) the Blue Jackets have decided to dismantle after losing out on the Brad Richards 'who wants an overpayed star' sweepstakes and send their captain to a team that is currently only one point up on them in the standings. Wow, talk about giving up. Fortunately, I think its damn near impossible for Colorado to get their new players into the lineup before tonight's game in Calgary...

12:57 - RW Martin Lapointe from Chicago to Ottawa for a 6th round pick in 200? - Looks like the Sens are looking to add a little grit for nothing. You can't really argue with picking up depth before the playoffs...

12:52 - The people at Sportsnet just won't let the Tanguay thing go. Christine Campbell on their broadcast was trying to make a big point out of him not being on the ice for the Flames for the morning skate (she's in Toronto so she probably doesn't follow the Western Conference), but Gord Stellick just pointed out, to those that don't pay attention, that Tanguay took a high stick in the last game...

12:39 - D Ruslan Salei from Tampa to Colorado for D Karlis Skrastins and a 3rd round pick in 200? - Wow, quite the fire sale in Central Florida in the last 24 hours. 'We have too much payroll to be playing this poorly! Everything must go!'... Well, everything that's overpriced anyway...

12:37 - LW Tuomo Ruutu from Chicago to Carolina for LW Andrew Ladd - A whole lot of IR time in this trade. Ruttu was a highly covetted player coming into the league, but hasn't really had a chance to live up to the hype. Andrew Ladd is a player I've heard of...

12:21 - I gotta grab some lunch, I'll be back in 10 or so...

11:55 - G Cristobal Huet from Montreal to Washington for a 2nd round pick in 2009 - Huh, I didn't see this coming. And why did the Habs get so little back? I realize that Carey Price could be the next big goaltender in Montreal, but I don't think this is the right move heading into the playoffs. It looks like Gainey is clearing some space to potentially pickup Hossa, but that is a bold move to put the playoffs on a very young goaltender. Although I may just be a little upset since I have Huet in one of my hockey pools (but he should get more starts and there is word that the Capitals may be making a push for the playoffs - mind you, I have very little faith in that thing they refer to as their defence)...

11:47 - C Brad Richards and G Johan Holmqvist from Tampa to Dallas for G Mike Smith, F Jussi Jokinen, and C Jeff Halpern - This isn't good for the rest of the Western Conference either, but it keeps the overpriced Richards away from Vancouver, so I'm good with it (well, relatively). Oh, and there is talk of Smith being the new starting goaltender in Tampa, which I will believe when I see it...

11:39 - D Brian Campbell from Buffalo to San Jose for F Steve Bernier and a 1st round draft pick - Looks like a solid pickup for the Sharks, who were lacking a puck moving blueliner. Which is a bad thing for the rest of the Western conference... BOOOO!

11:38 - RW Wade Belak from Toronto to Florida for a 5th round draft pick in 200? - as I said before, who cares...

11:34 - Rumours of Brian Campbell going to San Jose...

11:29 - Talk of Wade Belak going to the Panthers, but I don't see either of these teams in the playoffs, so who cares. Oh, and apparently Brad Larson was wearing Hossa's helmet on the ice in Montreal to make a half-hearted attempt at fooling the media...

11:15 - Apparently Atlanta has taken the ice in Montreal for their warmup before their game tonight and Hossa is not out there with the rest of his team...

11:12 - Sportsnet is talking about Columbus getting Brad Richards from Tampa, which would be interesting, as I have often thought that Richards is overpayed down there and his exorbitant contract isn't coming off the books anytime soon. I think they'd be better off getting St Louis...

11:05 - No sign of Eklund yet (Yay!)

10:35 - D Bryce Salvadorfrom St Louis to New Jersey for F Cam Janssen - New Jersey gets some defensive depth and only gives up a guy that's coming off injury and has scored one goal in his short career. I actually thought that St Louis would be more of a threat in the NHL this season, and I wish they were, as I have tickets for them in both Calgary and Edmonton next month. Of course, maybe Janssen will fight Godard...

Trades completed before today (in the last few weeks, and only ones that may actually mean something)...

• LW Vaclav Prospal from Tampa to Philadelphia for Alexandre Picard and a conditional draft pick - It looks like Philly is really, really serious about making a run for it and wanted to get their trades done early. With rumours abounding of Bryan McCabe going to Long Island, the Islanders just may be in the mood to help them get there...
• D Jim Vandermeer from Philadelphia to Calgary for a 2009 3rd round pick - I guess that Vandermeer was expendable to the Flyers with the acquisition of Modry, so they send him to the Flames for practically nothing where he can get some solid playing time (preferably in the place of Eriksson and Warrener)...
• LW Cory Stillman and D Mike Commodore from Carolina to Ottawa for RW Patrick Eaves and D Joe Corvo - Some solid recent playoff experience going to Ottawa in exchange for another young forward and an experienced defenceman. I don't think this will mean a whole lot in the grand scheme of things, as I don't think it really changes the dynamics of either team...
• D Jaroslav Modry from Los Angeles to Philadelphia for a 2008 3rd round pick - Philly is just out of the 8th playoff spot in the East and is looking at making a run for it. Although these trades always confuse me a little, since you would think that LA wants them to fail at that so as to get a higher draft position. Not that 3rd rounders are that highly coveted in the first place...
• Oh yeah, and some Forsberg guy is going back to the Avalanche. But this is a TRADE blog, so who cares (I actually do care a little, but I figure he'll be injured by the end of next month anyway - groin and/or ankle, you heard it here first)...

Round up

Chiming in...

I didn't really post during the Christmas break, as I was watching too much hockey. But there are a number of things on my mind, including stuff that has happened recently, that I wanted to at least mention...

Canada wins the Spengler Cup!

This year's version of the Spengler Cup had a somewhat special significance for Calgary Flames fans, as both Mark Giordano and Andrei Taratukhin were playing, albeit for different teams. Team Canada beat Taratukhin's Ufa Salavat Yulaev squad in the final 2-1. The official Spengler Cup site is a bit of a pain to get through, but from what I could discern from the scoresheets (which weren't complete, especially for Ufa's 6-1 win), both Flames prospects (?) got 2 assists in five games. From the lineup sheets I was also able to figure out that Giordano was in the first pairing for Team Canada and Taratukhin was playing on the third line. Which actually makes sense when you look back at how Andrei wasn't really putting points up on the board when I found his stats a couple of months ago. I may have to look up their respective Russian league stats again in the next month or so...

Curtis Joseph shines on the international stage!

Another story to come out of the Spengler was the play of Curtis Joseph, who everyone knows was looking to use it as a showcase for a potential NHL job. The Russian squad in particular was a very good test for Joseph, especially given the abundance of NHL talent on the squad. Which leads to current stories in the mainstream media about Cujo's interest in playing for the Calgary Flames or San Jose Sharks...

I think that at this point in his career, Joseph is more interested in finally getting that evasive Stanley Cup ring (finally winning international gold being good and all, but really...), than he is in finding a starter's job. When you are already this far into the NHL regular season, the only teams that are really looking for a new starting goalie (if there are any), are probably either so far out of the playoff race that they'd be better off just trying out some young talent between the pipes, or they are looking for somebody to take over for an injured netminder. So I'm not of the mindset that he wants to be a starter...

That he wants to go to a legitimate competitor leaves me to believe that he is willing to accept a backup role where he will get limited starts (especially since the two keepers that he's interested in backing both play the very large majority of games in a season). He would obviously just be a rental and would only be around for half the season, probably at an affordable price...

In my opinion, I think the Flames could really benefit from this, as Curtis McElhinney obviously isn't ready for the big leagues yet (and isn't going to get any better warming a bench spot). Plus, the way the Miikka Kiprusoff is playing right now, I think he could benefit from a little healthy competition from a player that is obviously of NHL calibre (which Curtis is not). I love having the Kippper in net, but I can't help but think that he's a little off right now and could use some help. And I don't think having an AHL goalie backing me up would provide me the motivation to take a couple of games off to fix myself...

Canada wins gold at the World Juniors... again!

Congratulations to the Canadian junior team for winning gold again! There were no Flames prospects on the Canadian squad, but we did get to see an impressive performance from last June's Flames first rounder Michael Backlund for the Swedish team. You could tell that Darryl Sutter was extremely impressed with the youngster's performance...

Team Ontario wins the under-17 tournament!

While I realize that a bunch of young kids that aren't even eligible to be drafted until 2009 is of little interest to most of you, the Ontario team beat the American squad in the final game to win gold. This game did hold some interest for me though, as there was a young kid from Haliburton named Michael Duchene playing for team Ontario, and playing quite well. My hometown isn't exactly known as a hockey factory, as we have only had 3 players get drafted to the big leagues (Ron Stackhouse, Bernie Nicholls, and a kid I know that was taken by the Ducks in the 7th round a few years ago), so this is big news back home. Not to mention that we have another kid that is draft eligible this off-season and expected to go in the first round (Cody Hodgson), that I once helped babysit. Hodgson will be playing in the upcoming prospects game. Both Duchene and Hodgson play for the Brampton Battalion in the OHL...

Flames play as of late less than stellar...

Despite not posting for an extended stretch, I did manage to catch pretty much every Calgary game in the last two weeks. I think teams have really been noticing the tendency for our defencemen to pinch in a lot (I noticed it a number of times last night, and I'm sure every other team has noticed it as well). I think you can probably attribute at least one out of every eight goals against the Flames have come from guys being left alone behind a defenceman, which could explain the team's tendency to give up shorties. That and things like Mike Sillinger's breakaway goal last night as well. The defence has been missing coverages like crazy lately...

I've also decided that I should probably stop my habit of calling out opposing teams' players, as it seems to bite us in the ass all the time. Damn you Trent Hunter!

Gameday - Islanders

Friday, January 11, 2007

7:00 p.m. MST

Pengrowth Saddledome

Long Island @ Calgary

Sportsnet West, FSN-NY

• The New York Islanders roll into Calgary tonight for the first time since January 15, 2002. Yes, you read that correctly, the Islanders are 4 days shy of not being in Cowtown in 6 years. Of course, if the Edmonton game on Monday is any indication, there's a chance they might not show up tonight either...
• The Islanders have 3 points in their last 4 games, all from extra time losses. Unfortunately, their most recent 3 games have been against divisional rivals (Colorado, Edmonton, and Vancouver)...
• Calgary had a five game winning streak snapped by the Coyotes on Tuesday night in the Saddledome, but this may be just the right team to face to start another one before heading out on the road for a 3 game stint...
• Bill Guerin leads the Islanders in goals with 15, which wouldn't have been as surprising if this game took place 5 years ago. And you can say ditto for team assists (20) and points (33) leader Mike Comrie, but then again he does have a pop starlet to impress. Former rookie sensation Trent Hunter seems to have found a way to extend his sophomore slump into his fourth season...
• With stunning offence like that, its no wonder that Rick Dipietro was the only one from the fishsticks to make the All Star game (which I plan on posting about tomorrow at some point). Although he did rightfully merit his selection, as he is playing extremely well. Just not Roberto Luongo well (way to go Mike!)...

You could say that the Islanders have much more balanced scoring than the Flames do (since the point differential between the 1st and 8th forward is only 2 points per player), but that would imply that they actually have scoring. Their +/- leader is Blake Comeau with a +4, and that's because he's only played in 11 games (although he did get 4 points, which puts him right up there with the team's ppg leaders). These guys appear to be the Toronto Blue Jays of the NHL, where the only reason that they win games is because of standout performances by their stoppers (I'm comparing goalies to pitchers in this equation, for those of you that I may have lost there), including wins by Dubielewicz while Dipietro was injured a couple weeks ago. Wade Dubielewicz!!!

If there was one game all season that Kipper should most definitely be able to get a shutout in (hell, Mathieu Garon did), its this one!

I pick the Flames to win this one 5-0, giving Kipper the long overdue shutout and topping the goal output from the Oilers. Flames goals by Iginla x2, Huselius, Lombardi, and Smith (dude's putting my last name to shame, even I would have had at least one goal after 34 games)...

Gameday - Coyotes

Tuesday, January 8, 2007

7:00 p.m. MST

Pengrowth Saddledome

Phoenix @ Calgary

Sportsnet West, FSN-A

• Calgary returns home on a tear tonight to face the Phoenix Coyotes, who are in the midst of a 6 game road trip. The Flames has won their last 5 games since the loss in Vancouver two weeks ago. Unfortunately for Calgary, tonight's opponent is also on a bit of a tear, having won their last 4.


• The Flames are 12-1-4 since the beginning of December and have climbed back from a 10-13-3 start to take over first in the Northwest division (albeit with a couple of games in hand on the Canucks).


• Phoenix is on an 8-2-1 streak since early December, and have pulled themselves out of the Western Conference basement (now solely occupied by the LA Kings) and are within four points of a playoff spot (and if you made all losses into losses, they would still be 2 games above .500 and would be just out of the playoffs with numerous games in hand on most of the teams ahead of them).


• Radim Vrbata leads the Coyotes in goals with 24, while Shane Doan tops the scoresheet in assists (23) and points (34).

If the Flames weren't playing so well right now, I'd be a bit more concerned about a hot team coming into the Saddledome, especially one that I'd typically underestimate like the Coyotes. Not that I'm willing to take them that lightly right now, especially with Mueller providing a youthful spark, which the Flames have had trouble dealing with in the not too distant past...

As well as Ilya Bryzgalov has played as of late for the Desert Dogs, I still think Kipper will dominate this matchup. I mean, he has to return to his old form at some point this season, right? Right?

Flames finally get the shutout win (yes, I will keep saying this until it happens) 3-0, with goals from Iginla and Lombardi x2...