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It’s not playoff time but you wouldn’t know it by the way these two teams hate each other. Calgary looked to take a sweep in their brief road-trip with another win over the Canucks. It would be a tall order for Calgary but the team has been playing their best hockey in the past two weeks.


The game started with towel waving rabid fans looking for early blood. They would get their wish two minutes in when long after a line change Iginla and Mitchell dropped their gloves at center ice for a long bout that saw ripped sweaters and lots of punches. The entire line got involved and all in all 6 players were sent to the box.

Not long after the broo-ha-ha the second line did their dipsy doodling and managed to sustain some good downlow pressure. A funky backhand pass from Huselius set Langkow up for a one timer that went top corner. 1-0 Flames.

The second period began with little fanfare, however, things got heated fast. The entire game was a nice pace (something we never see in the Battle of Alberta these days). Calgary would actually find themselves short-handed early on. It must be something in the flames water bottles cause the penalty didn’t matter.

Langkow broke down the wing for a 2v1 with Conroy. He drew two defenders to him and sent a puck through the defenders legs and onto the waiting stick of Conroy who had the easy tap in. 2-0 Flames. Not 2 minutes after that goal Calgary would record another just after a powerplay ended. Iginla managed to get a shot off from the slot that didn’t beat Luongo, but the rebound was sent straight to Huselius who potted the third Flames goal of the night.

Vancouver came close a couple of times to getting on the scoreboard but the post and Kiprusoff kept them off. If Calgary continues this kind of play they’ll be a-OK come playoff time. The period would close with Hamrlik getting a penalty for closing his hand on the puck and then another two minutes for slamming the gate closed (thank Micky McGeough for that one.)

Third period rolled down with more of the same, but Vancouver looking for the first goal. To make a very long story short, the play went back and forth with Vancouver pressing until ten minutes left in the game when things got interesting.

Phantom Calls Nearly Cost Flames Game

Mick McGeough (however you spell his name, I don’t really care) thought he’d give Vancouver some great opportunities to tie the game by calling some phantom penalties. The first against Lombardi was for a so-called trip that Sedin rolled and fell to the ice on. It was funny penalties started mounting when nothing was called earlier, kind of like a playoff game which was nice.

The parade continued as Tanguay was called for a trip for what looked like a slewfoot on Bieska but replays clearly show Tanguay never touched him with his leg, just a nice dive. Ah well, luckily Vancouver scored on only one of there powerplays all night.

Nonetheless, with one goal to tie it with 5 minutes left in the game things got tense. Vancouver pressed hard for the tying goal and came close with 10 seconds left but couldn’t capitalize as Kiprusoff closed the door. That’s a sweep folks, the first of the season for the Flames on the road. We are now two points from 7th spot, not that it really matters since spots 1,2, and 4 will be taken by great teams, so unless we catch Vancouver it doesn’t really matter where we end up.

Notes: Phanuef missed his second straight with the flu.

In the second game in three nights against the same opponent ahead of them in the standings, both away games to boot, the Flames were looking for more against the Wild. Another win would give them 92 points and only 6 points behind the closest team with a game against San Jose and a game in hand against Minnesota.

The fate of the Flames playoffs is really in their hands. So how would they fare in their second road game against the Wild? Let me give you an idea of what went down in the….


Well wouldn’t you know, not even one minute into the game Calgary drew first blood. On an innocent shot that was going wide from Stuart, Langkow made a pretty tip to put the visiting squad up by one. Not to be outdone, on the very next shift the top line actually did top line things by scoring; Iginla with a nice roofter through a screen.

Backstrom’s night, the Wild goalie, would end there, not even a minute and a half into the game. An impressive start for a squad that looked out of place Tuesday. The Wild would make things closer with a PP goal to draw within one, but the Flames would reply with PP goal of their own.

Langkow and Huselius worked down low to get Iginla the puck on his off wing. The captain had the entire net wide open and potted his second of the game with less than a minute left in the period.


The Flames would hang on during the second as the teams went into the third after the scoreless midframe.

Iginla Records First Hat-trick of the Season

Well it was a long time coming, but I really think Conroy, who assisted on the play, played a better game and thus Iginla had a better game. Iggy potted his third mid-way through the third off a nice passing play between all three forwards.

The Wild would make it briefly interesting scoring on a 4 minute PP advantage after Ritchie tried to exact some revenge on a Yelle hit. That would be as close as they would get though. The Flames could have scored even more goals but Tanguay has an allergy of passing on clear 2-1 breaks. Weird. The Flames head to Vancouver to try to improve on their road trip which as largely been a success. Another Wild loss and a Flames win would mean the Flames move to within two points of 6th!

Notes: Phaneuf was out sick and Zyuzin came in. He played very well. The third line was dominant down low all night. Lombardi spent time on the bottom line after being given a chance on the RW with Langkow.

In order for Calgary to move out of the ‘basement’ of playoff team they have to–gasp–win hockey games. With back-to-back games against Minnesota, Calgary would have a chance to draw to within three points of the top place team in the NW division with two wins.


So how would Calgary fair against one of the hottest teams in the NHL? Well not so well. The old Flames showed up, getting a slow start, forwards too board to help on defense, defensemen running around nonstop. Fans could only shake their heads all game as Minnesota literally skated circles around Calgary all game.

But wait, how did it end up being 0-0 after two periods (first period goal by Parrish disallowed)? Only one player decided to show up tonight, literally one player, and that was Kiprusoff. It’s nice to see him pick up his game, it’s a disgrace that the coach can’t prepare the team to play hard, honest, and gritty hockey. There were moments in the second where Calgary cycled down low, but in reality, players were asleep.

For example: Conroy, totally asleep, useless again upfront, losing battles defensively. Iginla, asleep, no defensive coverage, and is continually getting beat game in and out by rookie defencemen. When was the last time this guy scored? He’s either not interested in leading this team or injured. The entire 4th line was asleep. The entire six D men were asleep. How can Minnesota literally control the puck for two minutes repeatedly in the Flames zone? What an embarrassment.


The third period was a bit better. The Flames actually exchanged momentum with the Wild. The majority of shots, however, for Calgary came from the point. Speaking of shots, Jarome and Conroy had zero all night. Why the team can’t play third periods for three periods is beyond me, they’d win more games that’s for sure.

Midway through the third Huselius inadvertently clipped Burns with a high-stick which gave Minnesota the two minute powerplay. Calgary would kill another chance, but of course, you can’t win yourself if you can’t score.

The Flames would get a chance late in the third period with their second powerplay of the night. The second best PK in the league showed Calgary why they are a second rate team…. Well mind you, if PP effectiveness was the judge then both teams would be second rate. Calgary wouldn’t score and the Wild would increase their dominance with the added momentum.

How would this game end? Not soon enough for Calgary, but it was still 0-0 late into the third. To Calgary a tie doesn’t really help, especially if the Wild get two. Things would be wild late in the third. End-to-end action would go back and forth, Huselius missed an open net, Kipper made a huge save in the other direction.

With only 6 total shots between the teams (in true boring Wild fashion) Calgary would get a late PP with 1.5 minutes left in the game. How would Calgary fair? The top line centered by Langkow would hit the ice with Tanguay on the point. Huselius would dangle and dangle and Langkow would get a shot off but Backstrom was equal to the task.

Overtime would ensure, with Calgary getting a brief chance with the man advantage. Calgary would have glorious chances but couldn’t hit the net. They could have stole two points in a game they didn’t deserve to be in but couldn’t pull it off in OT.

Off to a shoot out again. Remembering the last time these teams went, the Wild wanted to exact revenge in the SO and Kipper wanted to improve on his recent SO success.

Calgary got one point, and now they went off for two in the SO. The order would follow like so:

Tanguay SCORES! Top Corner.
Demitra X - Save Kipper

Jarome SCORES! Five Hole.
Rolston (will he slap it?) KIPPER SAVES!

Calgary would hand the Wild their first loss in nine. Kipper was the reason why this game wasn’t VERY VERY VERY embarrassing. The battle of the goalies falls to Kipper. Rematch Thursday. That one is on TV, head to the bar for that one, it’s going to be a doozy.

Chicago is one of those teams that Calgary has had some difficulty finding two points against. Despite being locked in the basement of the Western division, the Chicago Blackhawks have Calgary's number this season. For two periods one thought if history would repeat itself and leave the Flames without much needed points.

The first period was the most eventful with three goals being scored, two of them by Chicago. Early on in the first Huselius scored short side on the Bulin Wall. However, it was Chicago that came out on top, scoring two goals to take the lead.

The second period saw the teams trade penalties. Once again, 5v5 Calgary dominated, but with penalty trouble they were lucky to be playing against the lowly 'Hawks. Things could have been worse but after 40 minutes the score would remain unchanged.

Particularly non-existent was the top line yet again. Conroy is old and slow and iginla is still caught on the outside looking in. You wondered if the rookie defencemen assigned to the top line would get the upper hand, and they did. Calgary's top line was useless against a bunch of rookies. Luckily the other lines took up the slack.

The third period would prove to Calgary's best. Something must have been said in the dressing room, something like, "we need two points". On the first shift the checking line managed to maintain pressure and get the puck back to Phanuef for the bomb. He unloaded and Yelle managed to get the tip for the tying goal.

5 minutes later Dion would unleash a bomb that hit 'Bulin square in the face. He would be fine, but the ensuing faceoff, Hamrlik took advantage of a dazed goalie and score shortside again. 3-2 Flames. Things were tight at the end with the goalie pulled, but Calgary would hang on for the come from behind win. That leaves the team with 90 points, seven games to go, 2 against Minny, 2 against Colorado, six points behind the next placed team in the division, and seven points ahead of Colorado.

Notes: Lombardi played on the 4th lie and deserved to stay there causing two goals with weak D.

Unlikely Hero Gets Flames Two Points

It was the second game in three nights for the Flames, and the competition wasn’t getting easier. Finishing off Detroit in style on Tuesday, tonight would see the team face-off against Nashville, a squad they just can’t seem to beat.

The first period saw a similar fore-checking battle Calgary re-established in the Detroit game. Mind you, it would be a special teams showdown that would take center stage. Arnott scored on the PP for Nashville, which is potent, particularly against Calgary. Later, Tanguay replied for the Flames. Amonte at the end of the first managed to hit the post (in fact, Hale early in the game did the same) but both stayed out.

Off to the second period where the play moved back and forth fast. I enjoyed watching Calgary’s D slam Nashville forwards all night. Shifty Kariya managed to allude many, the same could not be said for Foresberg.

Some tense moments were traded as Nashville had plenty of powerplay opportunities. But it would be the Predators that would need luck as Calgary rank even more shots off the post. About four all together in the night off the post.

Hamshius and Iginla had something going throughout the second period, but in good Trashville style he didn’t want to drop the gloves. Later he’s get an Iginla elbow straight in the chops and you couldn’t help but laugh.

It looked like the period would end in a draw, but with 20 seconds left and the Flames notoriously shutting it down early, Nashville managed to put on serious later pressure. Arnott almost put Nashville ahead but Kiprusoff made his best save of the night.

The third period would be a tense one, but with the ice still fresh it was Nashville capitalizing on a broken play. Forsberg who was quiet all night made a nifty backhand pass to put the Preds up 2-1.

Calgary poured on the pressure with 15 minutes to go that made for an exciting final frame. Just when you thought Nashville would get all the luck, all the posts, and all the penalties, the Flames catch a break off a deflection. Iginla took a shot and it bounced off two Nashville players and straight to Conroy who potted his 10th. Tie game, and with 3 minutes left, overtime.

Warrener the Scoring Machine

Overtime was exciting mostly because the crowd was back into the game. Calgary surprisingly kept the play going, (controlling the play for most of the game) and had many chances in the OT period.

Half way through the teams would line up in the Nashville zone. Calgary won the draw (they have been doing better in this area lately) and Tanguay took control of the puck. Warrener was lined up as the RW but faked going back to the point which left him wide open in front. Tanguay spotted the wide open Warrener and sent him a crisp pass the he managed to deflect. The puck barely trickled past the line as the crowd issued a sigh of relief in the form of an enormous cheer. 3-2 Flames and two points for their race to catch Minnesota who did win.

The Flames are picking a good time to put things together. Lately they have been beating good teams, and doing it well. If they can build on this, then a lengthly playoff run is definitley a possibility.

Notes: The lineup did not change from Detroit. Yelle was hobbled a few times but stayed in the game. Hale continued some good play in the defensive zone and Ritchie stay in with Moss out hurt. It seems to work with Amonte as RW on the second line, but man, what does that guy need to score?

Most of the team got the message: this is playoff hockey. Calgary wasted little time asserting their dominant forcheck early in the first, the kind of hockey we’ve come to know and love. Hard hitting play kept the puck in the Detroit zone for most of the first two periods.

Special teams even cashed in with Langkow scoring his 30th on the PP. Later in the second, Huselius would get his 31st on the PP as well. The only breakdown was early in the second when Stuart was caught laying someone out in the offensive zone and Conroy was undressed by Datsuyk for the Detroit goal.

For a change there was hard worked capped by some special teams play. Calgary wasn’t called for a penalty in the first two but Detroit had four. I guess you create your own chances through hardwork. What a concept; even the face off dot was doing good.

I wonder if Iginla is injured. He had moments down low and in front of the net, but largely, the guy was on the perimeter all night, wasn’t driving to the net, was non-existent on D, and couldn’t hit hard. (But Playfair did have him out in the last minute.)

The third period would see some bum clenchers. Only one penalty for the Flames but it PK had its close calls! Clearly, tonight, the Flames offered one of their best efforts all around for 3 months. A great game, but take care of Nashville.

Notes: Zyuzin did not play, Godard sat a well, Moss was out.

The Flames lost again. 8th place is all they can muster now for sure. Which means a quick 4-0 out for them in the playoffs. Iginla played 25 minutes an managed a huge 2 shots. Shows what kind of game we’re playing. That is all.