Laughing on the Inside? Flames vs. Wild Game Thread
by Robert Cleave on Mar 3, 2010 4:30 PM PST
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PrintMinnesota Wild at Calgary Flames, Mar 3, 2010 7:00 PM PST
The captain of the Flames had himself a nice couple of weeks. Played some with Crosby, won a gold medal, not a bad way to spend a fortnight on the west coast, was it? Reality, of course, resumes for Jarome Iginla tonight, where he looks to continue his efforts to meld with Niklas Hagman and the newly wealthy Matt Stajan. If the pre-Olympic pattern holds, he and his mates may well avoid Mikko Koivu in exchange for a set-to versus Havlat and Latendresse. With the change in personnel, Sutter has tried to ease off on the hard matches for number 12, so hopefully the Flames reap the reward of some extra offence.
That will likely leave Daymond Langkow, Christopher Higgins and Ales Kotalik to do some heavy lifting, and they might well be up to the task. For all the Sturm und Drang around the team over the last month, the one genuinely pleasant surprise has been the play of Higgins in a tough minutes role. I hope he sticks around past this spring, because he seems like a hard man to play against, and that's a commodity that any team needs.
Mikael Backlund has returned to the bigs, and he'll get some fairly sweet line mates in David Moss and Rene Bourque. If the Flames try to work the match-ups, he might see some time against Minny's bottom six. Now that Dustin Boyd is headed to the Music CIty, the team has handed him the ball to be the soft-minutes scoring center. We'll see.
Even with a team as deep as the Flames are up front, decisions about who will fill your bottom line shouldn't be that tough, and yet here we have a completely questionable choice for that spot. I have no objection to Glencross, of course, but why would Nigel Dawes sit for any reason? If the Flames only want him in a top-nine role, he should have been moved. As Kent noted in comments before the Boyd trade, if GlenX-Nystrom-Mayers lined up against Boyd-Conroy-Dawes, which line would be more likely to be productive? This fetish of having to have "toughness" at the expense of skill seems very odd to me, since the top nine forwards other than Backlund and maybe Stajan aren't overly soft.
The D, at least for tonight, will go as is, with Sarich moving down to the bottom pair alongside Adam Pardy at yesterday's practice. As I've mentioned before, I'm not at all comfortable with Ian White facing top comp. That may not hold once Steve Staios arrives to shuffle the rest of the deck, but for now, that's the choice.
Miikka Kiprusoff will start, and hopefully Matt Keetley enjoys his night in the bigs, because he'll be headed back to Abby by tomorrow. Like the boss, I would have preferred that Kipper got Saturday night off, but he's nothing if not a gamer, and I can't imagine that Friday's outing against the U.S. left him very happy. Good on him for wanting right back on the horse.
The Wild were pretty quiet this afternoon, adding no one and moving Eric Belanger for a second-rounder to the Capitals. That status-quo day means that they will be largely the same group that have handled Calgary on two occasions this season with minimal fuss. Mikko Koivu is still the main man for Minnesota, and while I wish no franchises other than the Habs, Oil and Wings any ill, I hope he's available as a UFA in the summer of '11. Not that the Flames will have any cap space at their current pace, but a guy can dream, right? Behind him is the Havlat-Latendresse duo that have given Calgary fits this season, and Kyle Brodziak played well when these clubs hooked up in St. Paul back in early January.
On the back end, the Wild added Cam Barker from the Hawks before the break, shipping out UFA to be Kim Johnsson. That's likely a net loss for this year, because Barker has a lot of learning to do before he can be counted on for a top-four role. Miikka Kiprusoff's Olympic back-up Niklas Backstrom will start in net for the Wild, with the Finn still searching for better form.
Game wise, I suspect that the players won't have been too disturbed by the team's effort this afternoon. No one from the obvious core was moved, so focus should be no issue. Even if they were a bit flustered by the normal deadline shenanigans, that stuff is done, and paying heed to the whippings they received from the Wild in the first two affairs would be wise. The Flames were out-classed in both games, with only Kipper's excellence getting them a point in the first match at the Dome. The new forward groups should be deep enough to do a better job of controlling possession, and Minny's D isn't that great. Whether that can turn into goals, is, as always, the question of the night. Game time is 8 MT on Sportsnet West. As I mentioned in the trade thread, with Kent elsewhere, combining the pre-game and game thread will likely be the new mode for the remainder of the year.
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Of all the things that should be painfully obvious to Butter, 28-3 going up against top level comp is first. You have JBO, who is one of the best defenders in the game, and you have the stud that is Mark “My number came from my 5 o’clock shadow” Giordano. Those should be the guys going up against the Toews’ and Crosby’s of the world, not Reggie, who is either fallen off a cliff or has had a nagging injury, and White, who I like, but lacks the physical presence to be a pure shut down defender.
Let’s hope for a win!
Go Flames Go
Goals? Where we're going, we don't need goals.
One tweak I wish would be made with the lines is Dawes in place of Moss, and Moss in place of Mayers or Nystrom.
Well the coach is an idiot so it ain’t happening.
I’m setting the Over/Under of number of games Mayers gets scratched for the remainder of this season at 1.5….. And I think I’ll take the under
by M F on Mar 3, 2010 5:09 PM PST up reply actions
If Dawes and Conroy dressed ahead of Mayers and Nystrom, I’d be content for the year, or at least as content as I’m capable of being:
Hagman-Stajan-Iginla
Higgins-Langkow-Bourque
Glencross-Conroy-Moss
Dawes-Backlund-Kotalik
Langkow gets the toughs, Stajan the seconds, and Backlund still has two competent wingers to slap the stiffs around. I’m on the record as wishing Backlund was continuing to learn his craft in the AHL, but if he’s going to be up, that set of line mates and soft minutes might allow him to be genuinely productive.
by Robert Cleave on Mar 3, 2010 5:10 PM PST up reply actions
Yeah that is 06 Sabres-esque. Roll them and enjoy the domination
by Rod Blogojevich on Mar 3, 2010 5:23 PM PST up reply actions
Robert, I think your lines are sweet, but are being too optimistic here; it will never happen hahah.
Imagine if the Flames had kept Jokinen, and instead flipped Boyd for Higgins:
Bourque-Langkow-Iginla
Higgins-Stajan-Hagman
Dawes-Jokinen-Moss
Glencross-Conroy-Nystrom
I guess I’m dreaming a bit too much at this point
by M F on Mar 3, 2010 5:28 PM PST up reply actions
The core we have isn’t bad they just have all underachieved and that’s the Flames problem. Saying that makes me feel better for some reason.
Hopefully Iggy, Kipper and Haggy will have good story’s to tell and they’ll motivate the current group for this final stretch run. If my memory serves me correctly Iginla played better coming out of the Olympics then he did before the break to help lead the Flames to a Division title.
A loss tonight and Canuck win will surely put the Division Title out of reach but I think the target for this team is 6th spot and a date with either the Canucks or Avalanche. That I think would give us the best chance at moving on.
So let’s go out and get the Wild tonight we are down 1-0-1 in this series with two in their barn and tonight plus a date in April here at the Dome.
Shit Happens.
I just heard Sutter say if he wouldn’t have been able to sign Stajan and Bourque to extensions this week, he was going to move them before the deadline. Take that for what it’s worth.
Sutter doesn’t usually throw nuggets like that out there – he’s more a master of no information or non-specific misinformation than something quite that specific. Makes me think he’s more truthful about than he usually is. Having said that: a) that’s really stupid, like he’s more worried about getting next year’s lineup set than this year; and b) can you imagine the consternation trading Bork would have caused in this corner of the blogosphere?
We might have tested the servers if he would have gone that route, but I have a sneaking suspicion that he might be trying to head off any criticism of an overpay. Just sayin’.
by Robert Cleave on Mar 3, 2010 6:51 PM PST up reply actions
You know, I’ve always been partial to Wysh at Yahoo, but he’s said some stuff the last few weeks which makes me really question his judgement. He scores the Staios trade as a “great one” for the Flames today:
On Wednesday, they made one of the best trades of the day in acquiring defenseman Steve Staios(notes) from the Edmonton Oilers for Aaron Johnson(notes) and a third-round pick. He’s signed through 2011 at a $2.7 cap hit. Hard-nosed, puck-moving and a great addition by the Flames. They also made a significant upgrade at backup goaltender with Vesa Toskala over Curtis McElhinney
Those assessments so far afield from reality, it makes me wonder if he’s wandered into full on facile, MSM analysis territory.
I don’t rate Wysh’s analysis. He’s a funny guy and he’s been friendly enough to most of his fellow internet types, but like I’ve said before, he’s an aspirational dude. There’s nothing he does that makes me think, “he gets it.” He’s just a hipper version of the average mainstreamer. That’s fine, and his choice. I just take him at that level and let it go.
by Robert Cleave on Mar 3, 2010 6:42 PM PST up reply actions
Interesting, also, was the assessment on TSN which (again, granted, is Peca/Keenan/McTavish) was raving about how good a move this was for the Flames. I’m a fan of the advanced analysis done on this site and others (obviously) but it makes me wonder why so many like this trade for the Flames.
Mike Rogers had the same opinion.
by Resolute on Mar 3, 2010 6:56 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
They also were ecstatic about the Jokinen deal one year today. Score one for Kent and the Bloggers on that one, big time. Seeing how that whole situation panned out, it made me realize how useful the advanced stats can be.
by M F on Mar 3, 2010 6:57 PM PST up reply actions
The positive stuff I’ve heard centers on how good a guy Staios is and how hard he works. That’s fine and all, but those things haven’t helped the Oilers the last couple of years, haven’t helped Staios perform individually this year and in no way grant value to his $2.7M cap hit going forward. His ability above and beyond, say, Pardy is probably negligible at best.
You’ll find that talking heads will always rave about experience or reputation of a player, but never really assess afterwards the degree to which that stuff actually effected the team in question.
honestly, and pardon my profanity, but i couldn’t give a rat’s ass if staios is a nice guy or the biggest asshole this side of kesler, and i’m sick and tired of hearing that comment about a mafackin TRADE. if my team is paying 2.7 million dollars for a 35 year old defenseman, i’d like to hear the pundits tell me he’s still a great skater, or is solid positionally, or is generally a very solid blueliner.
give me a jerk with skills any day of the week over a “nice guy” who is gonna make me want to jam sharp things into my eyes when i watch him play.
by walkinvisible on Mar 3, 2010 10:04 PM PST up reply actions
There’s two parts to this sort of thinking. First, my objection, which wasn’t voiced at any level in the MSM, was the cap situation that the Flames face for next year. It’s fair that Sutter may well be able to move those guys, but that’s still poor planning, IMO.
The second factor is what I might refer to as the “name brand” Issue. Steve Staios is relatively famous. The fact that he’s slid somewhat as a player might not be that widely understood, and some of the talking heads just may not see anything more than that famous name. He was very good, and kind of underrated about 4-5 years ago. Now, he’s not the same player, but his rep has caught up to where he was, if you catch my drift.
by Robert Cleave on Mar 3, 2010 7:02 PM PST up reply actions
And Kent is on the same track, clearly.
by Robert Cleave on Mar 3, 2010 7:03 PM PST up reply actions
I know from reading the Oil blogs that Staios used to be a very good defender for the Oil. Now this year they all hate him and I think part of that is the contract and part of that is the team being so bad and part of that is probably the fact that Staios lost a step. But if Staios can defend adequately in the 4-6 spot of the defensive depth chart then I like him just fine, as a player.
Obviously, I hate the contract, with passion and fire.
by R O on Mar 3, 2010 7:36 PM PST up reply actions
Ok, I just got in.
Tell me the truth…
did we trade McL for Toskala?
Boyd for a fucking fourth rounder?
AND pick up Steve Staios…who is challangeing for slowest defenseman ever?
please…tell me I’m dreaming.
well,…the goalies…who cares, they both suck and now we can make room for Irving or other.
Stream (Minny feed) for those looking: http://www.justin.tv/flameslive#r=a0RzDFg~
AHHHH back to real life. Lobardius and Simmer on a Wednesday night on Sportsnet. Does it get any better?
Isn’t Mayer’s considered a defensive specialist around the NHL? I think I might have heard that before, from the MSM.
by M F on Mar 3, 2010 7:24 PM PST up reply actions
He may have been at one time. He got destroyed in TOR this year though, mostly on the 4th line. He’s a pure tough guy these days, although perhaps more functional than, say, McG.
“defensive specialist”
Nice catch-all for bottom sixers that can’t really get the puck going north very often.
by Robert Cleave on Mar 3, 2010 7:27 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
rec’d haha
I guess Nystrom fits into that category.
by M F on Mar 3, 2010 7:28 PM PST up reply actions
I’d been meaning to tell you guys…and I shit you not…Loubardias was the play by play guy for men’s and women’s hockey on CNBC during the Olympics. I’m watching one of the games one night and I hear that voice and assumed my hockey viewing had been fried by watching sportsnet so all play by play guys sounded like him. But then at the intermission…there he is…Loubardias. It was so bad that even one of the commentators for another game was like who is this guy we have doing play by play on the late night games. Unbelievable.
"Where do you go from here, Dion?" "I go to Toronto."
Spreading that Calgary Flames, Montreal Expos, The U, and Orlando Magic love.
There is a consistent buzz, but typical for this dreadfully boring Wild team.
by Resolute on Mar 3, 2010 7:23 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
Backlund has forced two turnovers so far. Looks like a much better player than went to Abby.
by Resolute on Mar 3, 2010 7:21 PM PST via mobile reply actions
what happened to “we belong in this world together, what’s going on?”?
"Where do you go from here, Dion?" "I go to Toronto."
Spreading that Calgary Flames, Montreal Expos, The U, and Orlando Magic love.
My exact thought. I was wondering if it was because Koivu was stuck on the ice after an icing and Sutter put out the 4th to take advantage of the icing (why he always does this, I don’t know!). However, I realized there was a puck clear and I think Minny was smart enough to get Koivu out there against the Flames 4th when the tired guys came off.
Yeah, it’s strange. I don’t know why he even runs with a fourth line anyway, my thinking is that he should deploy three EV units and just sub in the fourth-liners here and there to give some of the main 9 forwards rest. Saves him from having to pull strings to shelter the fourth and he ends up giving those minutes to a line that can actually score.
by R O on Mar 3, 2010 7:49 PM PST up reply actions
Yeah why not get Iggy and co there? Get a fricking scoring chance or two.
Oh wait, now I know why: because the team that allows the least goals against wins the game.
by R O on Mar 3, 2010 7:51 PM PST up reply actions
Or they could dress a capable 4th line, and not have to worry about this sort of garbage
by M F on Mar 3, 2010 7:51 PM PST up reply actions
Seriously, we could dress a better 4th line for sure with who we have, but I think it’s still better than most 4th lines. The quality of the line isn’t the issue, it’s how they’re deployed by Sutter. He has too much of a crush on Mayers and Nystrom.
Plus he plays them waaaay too much. Look at how much EV icetime Nystrom gets, 11 minutes a game!
Assuming around 45 EV minutes a game, you could distribute it 14-14-14-3 without any drawback. Or split it up a bit, 15-15-12-3 if you like, but the point is the last line should see almost no icetime, just giving away chances otherwise.
by R O on Mar 3, 2010 7:56 PM PST up reply actions
Also, after watching the Olys and the amazing crowd noise and high level of play, coming back to this is a bit disappointing.
Kent: must be for Mayers’ faceoff ability!!!
You are forgetting Mayer’s intimidation factor as well.
by M F on Mar 3, 2010 7:36 PM PST up reply actions
I assume that was Sarich defending the 2 on 1? Only saw the replay, to his credit he didn’t try the Warrener. Maybe he should have though…
Yup, Sarich.
He should save the Warrener for special occasions only. Like the first game he plays with another team.
by Robert Cleave on Mar 3, 2010 7:43 PM PST up reply actions
The way this season is going, the Flames may well end up as the luckiest team in hockey next year to even it out. Backstrom hasn’t seen half the shots he has stopped and we just can’t big a friendly bounce.
by Resolute on Mar 3, 2010 7:44 PM PST via mobile reply actions
They were the luckiest team to start the season, unfortunately (aside from COL). This is the pay back for that I suspect.
We rebounded long past that in December.
This crap luck is why we simply can’t make stupid decisions like Bouwmeester did. Horrible goals like that simply throw wins and points away.
by Resolute on Mar 3, 2010 7:50 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
I thought the Flames F played really well but the Minnesota D went step for step and made it hard for them to get good looks at the net. They still got some glorious chances though.
But the Flames D are losing their man like an unlikeable woman.
Kent: Colorado’s needs payback too, frustrating to watch them above us in the standings. It would only really be fair if we could have stolen Wolski from them.
I worry even less about those guys now. Losing probably their best forward for Mueller….things can only fall apart faster now.
You’ve got a better shot at winning that 95 point bet you have with Jibblescibbits, if nothing else.
by Robert Cleave on Mar 3, 2010 7:48 PM PST up reply actions
They play a good road style game: get pelted with 50 shots a night and have their goalie bail them out.
by M F on Mar 3, 2010 7:49 PM PST up reply actions
As noted above, though, I didn’t think any Flame chance was ‘great’, and Minny had some dangerous ones.
Yup. The primary issue with scoring chances is the fact that I score them all equally – ie; a ten bell chance (break away) is “worth” the same as a 5 beller (shot from the slot). I suspect if we were weighting chances in that period, the Wild might pull ahead.
Might be handy but I think at some point the difference is negligible. Breakaways are pretty rare and in any case shots from the slot are basically unstoppable. Goalie makes the wrong guess, in the net it goes.
by R O on Mar 3, 2010 7:52 PM PST up reply actions
Yeah. I always wanted to check that Slava Duris dude’s counts in a few more games. He had the same ratio in the second Flame-Leaf game, but a much lower total. It made me wonder if he calls them tighter than you or I have.
by Robert Cleave on Mar 3, 2010 7:54 PM PST up reply actions
That’s amazing, I thought we would be outchanced. It was like that OTT game where we owned the puck but got outshot and outchanced.
by R O on Mar 3, 2010 7:49 PM PST up reply actions
Minnesota’s half dozen defensive zone turnovers helped our corsi. No finish, alas.
by Resolute on Mar 3, 2010 7:53 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
Yeah, their forwards weren’t that great, judging by how the puck was getting turend over just at the blue. Our turnovers, on the other hand, were in the scoring area sob
by R O on Mar 3, 2010 7:53 PM PST up reply actions
“We’ve turned over half the roster, now it’s up to the players and coaches”. Nice line, Daz. Even he must realize how absurd that sounds.
“Now go out there and make me look like a genius, dammit”.
by Robert Cleave on Mar 3, 2010 7:58 PM PST up reply actions
I wish I could understand this “leadership” stuff. I don’t understand what people who throw this around think it does. I mean…how is it that the Flames that is lacking in terms of cohesion or motivation that Steve Staios is going to walk into the dressing room and measurably change anything?
If he can lead them to putting more pucks in the net, that would be nice. Normally though, that’s connected with being a good player. Funny, that.
by Robert Cleave on Mar 3, 2010 8:03 PM PST up reply actions
Considering that Iggy won the Messier “Leadership” Award last year, you’d think the Flames are already pretty set in that category.
The Iggy being a leader line is getting old but when you dont surround a leader with winners…you dont win…its that simple.
"Where do you go from here, Dion?" "I go to Toronto."
Spreading that Calgary Flames, Montreal Expos, The U, and Orlando Magic love.
I value leadership, Kent. For instance, I’d like our team to lead the league in points, goal differential, shot differential, PP chances for rate, PK chances against rate…
by R O on Mar 3, 2010 8:03 PM PST up reply actions
Is Backlund going to be a permanent center from here on out?
"Where do you go from here, Dion?" "I go to Toronto."
Spreading that Calgary Flames, Montreal Expos, The U, and Orlando Magic love.
I really don’t understand how the great fans in Minny tolerate this garage night after night. They deserve a real hockey team some day.
by Resolute on Mar 3, 2010 8:09 PM PST via mobile reply actions
Pardy made a bit of a bad play on that. He was a bit over-aggressive moving to the middle.
by Robert Cleave on Mar 3, 2010 8:18 PM PST up reply actions
Four dominating shifts in a row and we can’t buy one fucking great chance, and then the heavens open up for Minnesota and they get a freebie. Ugh
by Resolute on Mar 3, 2010 8:17 PM PST via mobile reply actions
Kipper’s guessed wrong twice in a row now. His luck’s starting to run out. But boy do I feel stupid for suggesting we trade him.
Richard, if someone else used that argument on a half game sample size, you’d shit all over them.
by Robert Cleave on Mar 3, 2010 8:24 PM PST up reply actions
Yeah, fair enough. But damn, when the deadline came and went without even an indication of movement of our most-high-value-asset… and instead we got this garbage with Toskala and Backlund-over-Boyd and Staois… a man can only take so much….
by R O on Mar 3, 2010 8:26 PM PST up reply actions
You weren’t seriously expecting an indication of moving Kipper. You may want that, and you have reasonable reasons, but there was absolutely zero chance that was going to happen.
I wasn’t seriously expecting it in the same way I wasn’t seriously expecting Phaneuf to move. Once that happened I got my hopes up. Last time I will do that, this season at least.
by R O on Mar 3, 2010 8:28 PM PST up reply actions
I share the pain, but I’m just trying to keep my sanity at this point ;-)
by Robert Cleave on Mar 3, 2010 8:28 PM PST up reply actions
No movement clause dude. I honestly can’t believe you even expected any chatter. Not even Klessel would waste the time inventing a Kipper rumour.
by Resolute on Mar 3, 2010 8:38 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
No offence Ro, but blaming kipper for any of those goals is stupid.
by Resolute on Mar 3, 2010 8:25 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
I’m not blaming him at all. He’s been unlucky this game, that’s all.
But, I’ve contended that he was probably fairly lucky all year.
by R O on Mar 3, 2010 8:26 PM PST up reply actions
Well done White. You are the left defenceman. What the fuck are you doing pinching on the right side?
by Resolute on Mar 3, 2010 8:24 PM PST via mobile reply actions
I like Bourque, too, but if Chuck Fletcher offered Koivu straight up, that’s a no brainer, at least to me.
by Robert Cleave on Mar 3, 2010 8:31 PM PST up reply actions
And the refs are out to screw us again. Sigh
by Resolute on Mar 3, 2010 8:31 PM PST via mobile reply actions
This game has been so dreadfully boring I didn’t even count an infraction until Minny got away with a hold that led directly to the second goal.
by Resolute on Mar 3, 2010 8:35 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
CGY +23, +17 in the period. Normal, I guess. A bunch of cycling, some half chances, nothing in the end. Sigh.
EV shots 22-18 CGY, 13-7 in the period.
It’s all in the bottom half of the roster. I don’t know…maybe Sutter should start putting Iginla and company in a position to score more often?
Also, here’s a familiar stat: Blocked shots…Flames 14, Minny 2.
I was thinking about redoing that post on Corsi and blocked shot percentages, but I’m pretty sure that the first 50 games and the last 32 are going to look the same. The way things are going, I should have plenty of time in the summer for the post-mortem.
by Robert Cleave on Mar 3, 2010 8:47 PM PST up reply actions
Bouwmeester at -4. How the hell does that happen?
by Resolute on Mar 3, 2010 8:53 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
So when Sutter said he brought in Staios for veteran leadership, did he forget about Iginla, Langkow, Regehr, Sarich, Mayers, Conroy (if he plays again), and Hagman? How many god damned old guys do you need on a team before it’s got sufficient “leadership”?
PS I’m still talking about this because I gave up on the game after the end of the 2nd. :p
by SmellOfVictory on Mar 3, 2010 8:59 PM PST up reply actions
That icing is just so frustrating to watch. Stajan goes behind the net for the puck, is pressured by reverses nicely to White, and then it is iced. What kind of five man unit works like that?
The Wild are going to give linesman 66 a repetitive stress injury. His arm has gone up 50 times on their icings and offsides.
by Resolute on Mar 3, 2010 8:58 PM PST via mobile reply actions
So, let me get this straight…Sutter traded some 11M in cap space in Phaneuf and Jokinen, brought in 7 new forwards…and here we are with Iginla playing with Glencross while chasing in the third period.
Uh-huh.
this is the most awesomest comment in the history of comments.
by walkinvisible on Mar 4, 2010 9:08 AM PST up reply actions
Lol. Higgins stick breaks to take away a certain goal.
But i’ve been told luck does not exist…
by Resolute on Mar 3, 2010 9:04 PM PST via mobile reply actions
Get in the box Boogaard, you embarrassing piece of shit.
by Resolute on Mar 3, 2010 9:05 PM PST via mobile reply actions
He’s UFA after this year. I doubt they’ll re-up him.
by Robert Cleave on Mar 3, 2010 9:09 PM PST up reply actions
More exaggerated version of why Tootoo is in this league, and why Domi had the career he did: if you have no talent, be popular for your “grit”.
by Resolute on Mar 3, 2010 9:12 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
Ok, I’m done watching (for at least today). I’m not one to bail on the team…hell, I’ve cheered for them since ‘87 and I’ve (they’ve) been through a lot. But this team…this is ridiculous. Three two on ones end up in the net. Jarmoe is back like a nightmare. There is no jive in the Flames AT all. I am thinking, they believe they cannot win anymore. It’s depressing watching this level of disinterest.
They don’t think that they’ll ever score. They do have a preponderance of evidence supporting that, of course.
by Robert Cleave on Mar 3, 2010 9:14 PM PST up reply actions
They were playing great until the second goal, then they quit.
Meanwhile, Colorado looks like they are going to fluke their way to another win.
by Resolute on Mar 3, 2010 9:16 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
I swear to god that Cory Cross stole Bouwmeester’s jersey and is pretending to be #4 tonight.
by Resolute on Mar 3, 2010 9:14 PM PST via mobile reply actions
So Kent or Robert, do you reckon that Staois will draw in next to Regehr next game?
That would probably result in a White-Giordano 3rd-pairing (if that’s what you want to call it), and that’s actual a good thing in my mind in terms of match-ups.
Right, but then you have Staios playing with your shut-down defender. I think that pair would get hammered.
Pretty much. Parise against two of the slowest guys in the league. No thanks.
by Robert Cleave on Mar 3, 2010 9:22 PM PST up reply actions
Maybe both of them being a step slow will create some sort of D-pairing singularity and transform them into an unstoppable duo of reduced mobility.
by SmellOfVictory on Mar 3, 2010 9:23 PM PST up reply actions
I wish there was room to put that at the top of the blog. Bravo, SoV.
by Robert Cleave on Mar 3, 2010 9:24 PM PST up reply actions
If they actually play together, I would think it would be a must.
by Robert Cleave on Mar 3, 2010 9:26 PM PST up reply actions
On that initial post, I hope you weren’t getting the hint that I was suggesting that regehr-staios pairing. I was just speculating on what we will probably see on Friday.
by M F on Mar 3, 2010 10:03 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
No. I knew you just guessing what reaction the braintrust would have, not that you were actually advocating it. It’s a perfectly acceptable, cynical response to some of the moves we’ve witnessed.
by Robert Cleave on Mar 4, 2010 4:47 AM PST up reply actions
At least there will be lineup changes after this game with all the spare forwards. Who does everyone reckon will draw out?
Either next game or the game after (assuming a second loss) I would say BSutts brings back the Dawes-Langks-Bourque line, at least.
by SmellOfVictory on Mar 3, 2010 9:26 PM PST up reply actions
Is it too late to unofficially rename March to “November” and pray for the best?
by SmellOfVictory on Mar 3, 2010 9:31 PM PST up reply actions
Rough. Although the shots I saw from the Flames weren’t great, for the most part, whereas the Wild got a bunch of odd-man rushes. Quite frankly, the Flames defensive coverage sucked a lot of balls, in my opinion.
by SmellOfVictory on Mar 3, 2010 9:33 PM PST up reply actions
He was on for 2 EV shots in 16 minutes.
by Robert Cleave on Mar 3, 2010 9:33 PM PST up reply actions
The other thing to note is how far in the Corsi black the Backlund line was while not really creating chances. 23 EV attempts when the kid was out there, with only 3 SC. Hmm, and not in a good way.
by Robert Cleave on Mar 3, 2010 9:39 PM PST up reply actions
What can you do? The Sun will rise tomorrow and Jersey on Friday.
Kipper wasn’t very good at all tonight.
What you see is, What you get.
GO FLAMES GO!!!
If I thought Kipper was the bad guy tonight, I’d say so, but he had bugger-all to do with this one, IMO.
by Robert Cleave on Mar 3, 2010 9:34 PM PST up reply actions
Out of position on the Brunette goal I thought, I don’t know if I can fault him on the Koivu goal that was a rocket and I don’t think the best of the best could save that and fourth goal was a squeaker.
I shouldn’t say it was all him because usually it never is. I think we could fault this on fatigue and Backstrom was in Beast Mode. I’m not pissed but you’d think the whole team with two weeks off not just Iginla, Hagman and Kipper would rise to occasion, No player stepped up tonight.
What you see is, What you get.
GO FLAMES GO!!!
The System
Is anyone else sick a tired of hearing about “the system” ? We came out flat, we had some good pressure , we had a couple breakdowns. blah blah blah. The system sucks. One team in the NHL has less goals that the Flames. Either every player that has played here in recent memory is unable to score or “the system” does not allow them to.
My dog learned after running in to the patio door a few times he figured out it was the wrong way to get out side.
Brent “Almost as smart as DarrenZ’s dog” Sutter. Haha
by SmellOfVictory on Mar 3, 2010 10:15 PM PST up reply actions
If you can shrink that a bit
it might be catchy enough to stick for Butter.
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