Flames/Stars Postgame

As mentioned, I only listened to (part) of the game last night, so my comments are based almost wholly on what I can gather from the stats…

First, I'm glad the team won. I'm glad they held the Stars to just a goal against and I'm glad Kipper managed another decent game.

Overall, though…color me unimpressed. Keenan might be pleased, but, considering the quality of the opponent, a lot of the results from last night are not good enough in my opinion. Consider:

– Flames didn't score a PP goal for the 5th straight game. Yeah.

– Calgary's two "top" lines got their asses handed to them at ES in terms of possession. Cumuatively they were -31 on the night. It's one thing to do that against Detroit…but the Dallas Stars lacking Richards, Morrow, Modano, Robidas and Zubov? Shouldn't happen. Even on the road. 

On that note, all indications are Keenan's Super Line isn't working. Moreso, Jokinen is turning into a total bust centering Iginla. He now has 1 assist and is -2 in the last 5 games. He's also managed just 11 shots on net over that time as well. Considering his linemates, career shot average and amount of ice time (especially on the PP), those are some pretty telling results.

(As an aside, Lombardi has a 5 game point streak in PHX centering Upshall and Prucha. He now has as many points as Jokinen since the trade. And a better +/- figure, playing on a worse team with far inferior linemates).

– Flames were outshot 10-1 in the final period. I know teams tend to play to the score when ahead and often fall into a defensive shell – but I don't have to like it. One shot in a period in a game you have lots of reasons to win versus a theoretically inferior opponent is not acceptable.

– Back to the PP. It's awful. It's not just that the results aren't there – the team isn't doing things that lead to results. They managed two shots on net with 2 PP chances last night. Dallas managed 6 in 3 PP's in contrast (again, lacking half of their PP regulars). Something has to change, because this isn't anything new. After the ugly 7 game roadtrip, I mentioned the Flames were losing the special teams battles more often than not (by results and shot volume). Not much has changed since then.

by Kent Wilson