Calgary 4 – Montreal 0
It was an afternoon to remember. The City of Calgary yet again put on a great show, a spectacle that met the mysticism associated with outdoor NHL events.
Before the puck even dropped it was the festivities that drove the show. Five for Fighting, Tokyo Police Club, Metric, Paul Brandt, were some of the music acts that appreciative fans had the chance to hear at McMahon Stadium (Metric was great).
Then, of course, there was the hockey…..
THe story surrounded two things: the ice and the weather.
The weather was fantastic to start with clear skies and little wind. It ended as a cool February evening and a 4-0 victory for the home team. THe ice, for the most part, held its own with only minor issues in the corners.
Calgary on the other hand sat in 10th place in the West Division going into the game. With a win they could leapfrog to 5th.
In order to make the playoffs your team also needs to produce on special teams.
Both teams started the game slow as expected. Early penalty trouble, however, gave Calgary the momentum.
A 5v3 PP mid-way through the first period was what the Flames needed to score their first goal. Rene Bourque and his 18th.
That was it until mid-way through the second where on the penalty kill Anton Babchuk took a great Curtis Glencross pass to put the home team up 2-0.
2 Minutes later the goals kept coming as Rene Bourque collected a bouncing puck breaking down the wing alone before he slid the puck home behind Carey Price for his second of the game.
The PP struck again in the third period as Iginla threw a pretty pass to Tanguay for his 16th.
Montreal had few chances after an early push, but when they did it was Miikka Kiprusoff who shut the door and collected the shutout on an EPIC night filled with great entertainment, music, Snow Birds, and of course a home team blowout.
Couldn’t have asked for a better evening.
Indeed, the Flames are becoming better from every perspective – two powerplay goals, a shorthanded , an even strength marker and a shut out – Yes, the team is excelling on all accounts.
– Bravo to Bourque on his two beauties
– Cheers to Babchuk for his brilliant short handed tally
– Applaud to terrific Tanguay for toping the icing on the cake
– Congratulations to Mikka for shutting the doors
– A big five for the blueliners who built the inpenetrable brick wall
Well done, Flames for the impressive and collaborative effort – for hitting the target and making great plays. It will be a night to be remembered. Die hard fans are proud to be Calgarians.
a fantastic game and a fantastic night. pretty cold mind you. i’ll be another 15 years before another game like this comes to the city so it was special to be a part of it!