The Calgary Flames did what the Calgary Stampeders couldn’t tonight–win. The Stampeders came off a frustrating loss (if you’re a fan) against the Roughriders to loose first place in the West Division. The Flames were looking to extend a win streak to three games with the visiting NY Rangers. A number of players are still trying to find their game within the Sutter system, something to be expected after 20 games, but more consistency would be appreciated by coaching staff and fans alike. Names like Glencross, Dawes, Iginla, and Jokinen were recently called out to perform. Tonight we had another chance to catch glimpses of brilliance from a few.
On the scoresheet the home team triumphed 3-1. On the shot sheet they were yet again out shoot by a wide margin of 33 – 22. This is problematic despite the loss because one of the key cogs of the apparent Sutter system is lower shot tallys and tighter defence. High shot counts mean the team still hasn’t bought entirely into the system (or they’ve bought in but can’t quite perform within it).
The captain seems to have found his game in November, shaking his usual slow start. Let’s hope he can recapture his form and go on a tear, Lord knows the team can use it. Let’s also hope that his play will somehow trickle down onto Jokinen who’s still MIA and struggling mightily. He’s neither dominant defensively, in the faceoff dot, or offensively. Hopefully he sees the light soon and begins to contribute.
Speaking of contributions, other than the captains game winner, Nigel Dawes spent the later portions of the game on the top line chipping in an assist for all three Flames goals. This is a welcomed improvement over his play two games ago against Dallas where he was weak defensively and struggling offensively. Hopefully the likes of Dawes can find a sweet spot to perform game in and game out. Again, consistency is the key, and currently the only player that hasn’t taken a night off through the first 20 games seems to be, surprisingly, Kiprusoff.
But, let’s revel in the two points, and be thankful that it wasn’t a loss or sports fans in this city would have been languishing around town all day Sunday due to two stinging losses. Although I would have taken a Flames loss and Stampeders win in this case…..
Notes: Next up Montreal on the start of a three game eastern road trip.
Just a note, Glencross was hitting a bit heavier tonight while he still tries to find his game. I thought his hit on Drury though was dirty.
I guess his hit could me deemed dirty. I’m not sure. I have watched the hit a few times now and for one thing it was behind the play. I definitely don’t like this sort of thing but it happens. Hockey is a tough sport and you need to keep your head up. As far as the game went, fairly well played. Not perfect by any means but a win is a win. Go Flames Go!!!
I apologize for the error in my previous post. Here, let me try again.
In my opinion, every Flame contributed in his own way….by scoring, assisting, hitting, blocking and crashing….. and I applaud each and every member of the team for their performance last night.. If I have to rant and rave it is for the following reasons:
– the two penalties called on David Moss. I didn’t see anything wrong with Moss did during the replay on the first one and the second was a blurry replay…
– Bourque got penalized immediately for cross-checking or interference, but the high stick on Conroy took as long as Conroy could make it to the bench…..
– Back to back penalties for the Flames seemed like the refs were going haywire again. Thankfully, the resilient Flames maintained the “No-care” attitude and continued with the game plan
– I don’t know how the ranking for the three stars works…. In my view, Nigel Dawes deserved to be the second star. Notwithstanding that the Flames were outshot by the Rangers by a large margin, the Rangers loss by two goals. If we are discussing hard work many Flames players worked equally hard – for example, Phaneuf, Regehr, Moss put in their best effort… Correct me if I am wrong on this one. In my view, the players from the losing team has to be the third star……
Best of luck on the road, Flames.. Keep on shining Captain!!!
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I apologize for the error in my previous post. Here, let me try again.
In my opinion, every Flame contributed in his own way….by scoring, assisting, hitting, blocking and crashing….. and I applaud each and every member of the team for their performance last night.. If I have to rant and rave it is for the following reasons:
– the two penalties called on David Moss. I didn’t see anything wrong with what Moss did during the replay on the first one and the second was a blurry replay that didn’t determine anything
– Bourque got penalized immediately for cross-checking or interference, but the high stick on Conroy took as long as Conroy could make it to the bench…..
– The refs seemed to be going haywire again by calling back to back penalties against Flames. Thankfully, the resilient Flames maintained the “No-care” attitude and continued with their game plan.
– I don’t know how the ranking for the three stars works…. In my view, Nigel Dawes deserved to be the second star even though the Flames were outshot by the Rangers by 32-22 count. Nevertheless, it was the Rangers who lost by two goals. If we are discussing hard work many Flames players worked equally hard – for example, Phaneuf, Regehr, Moss put in a considerable effort … Correct me if I am wrong on this one. In my view, if anyone has to be chosen from the opponent losing team, he should be rated as the third star……
Back to business, wishing the Flames best of luck on the road . Keep on shining Captain!!!
And thanks to Brent Sutter for his talented coaching skills!