Flames vs. Devils Game Thread
by Robert Cleave on Mar 5, 2010 3:42 PM PST
263 comments
New Jersey Devils at Calgary Flames, Mar 5, 2010 6:00 PM PST
Sounds like the lines are getting a bit of a shake-up, with Iginla, Stajan and Bourque slated to start together. I'm at the point where expecting Jarome Iginla to carry the team seems almost unfair. I don't doubt that his line mates haven't been the best, but he's just not that guy anymore. Now, the last time I whaled on him, he scored 2 goals versus the Ducks, so there's certainly a bit of reverse psychology at work here ;-), but his performance against the Wild was so uninspiring that memories of his nice Olympics faded tout de suite. If Bourque alone can't make a go of things, I suspect R O's long-stated wish of Langkow and Iggy may be on the menu in short order.
Daymond Langkow will likely work with Moss and Higgins, the latter of whom must have pissed some higher power off mightily at some point in the recent past. That snapped stick play on Wednesday drove domebeers' BFF Peter Loubardias to a level of spluttering ineloquence that was entirely appropriate in the circumstances, and Higgins' baleful post-game reaction spoke volumes about the effect of confidence on players, even at the NHL level. If there was ever a guy who could use a break, it's him, and he really deserves it on the merits since arriving in Calgary.
Mikael Backlund, in the Sun's best estimation, will get Hagman and Kotalik. If they play against the lower orders of the Devil roster, they might be OK, because Hagman is certainly a better player than that sort of competition as a rule. That will apparently leave Glencross, Nystrom and Mayers as the fourth group. I'll say this again for posterity; if Dawes and Conroy are healthy, Nystrom and Mayers should be in suits. I don't give a rat's ass if Nigel Dawes isn't a prototypical "4th liner". He's still useful, and if he were given soft minutes with Glencross, those two could likely make some hay.
The defence has received the expected shake-up in the wake of Steve Staios' arrival. He'll operate with Jay Bouwmeester, while Sarich and Regehr resume their partnership. Those last two gents don't skate or move the puck well enough to play together, IMO, and leaving White and Giordano as a pair will make for an interesting evening of potential riverboat gambling. I'm not sure those duos survive the night.
Miikka Kiprusoff will start again, undoubtedly hoping that his team decides to a) score a goal or three, and b) not leave various Devil forwards alone in the slot. I haven't the foggiest idea when Vesa Toskala will grace us with his presence in the net, but if the Flames are really worried about fatiguing their bell cow, Sunday afternoon in Minnesota might be a spot for the new number two to receive an airing.
The Devils, like Calgary, chose to make a major line-up modification in early February, adding Ilya Kovalchuk to the line-up. He's certainly a skilled player, but his history is that he's a guy prone to being one-way traffic. Even with the acquisition of the Russian sniper, the main source of concern for any team is Zach Parise. The diminutive one is amongst the game's most lethal offensive players, taking advantage of good starting position to badly out-shoot and out-score his opposition. From the looks of things at Behind the Net, Jacques Lemaire sticks guys like Jay Pandolfo and Rob Niedermayer with a fair bit of defensive zone grunt work in order to occasionally ease the way for his big guns. The Devils certainly miss Paul Martin on the back end, with the defender still on the shelf with a fractured forearm, and the newly acquired Martin Skoula isn't exactly a high end replacement. Martin Brodeur will get the nod in goal, fresh off a 3 goal in 20 shot outing against San Jose. If we're lucky, maybe we'll see that double-pad stack he pulled out against Brian Rafalski once again ;-)
Of course, the Flames would likely shoot the puck off someone's shinpads if that scenario presented itself, so I'm not filled with a great deal of confidence at the moment. The formula for a win is pretty clearly scoring first, because we've all seen the despair that sets in once the other side moves in front, and after the second goal Wednesday, my immediate thought was "insurmountable lead". As I mentioned in the open, the Flames are on the bad side of the odds to make the post-season at the moment, and if they have a hope to get there, the push has to begin tonight.
Game time is 7 MT on Sportsnet West.
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A Lemaire Coached team VS a Sutter Coached team… I better brew the coffee now or go get some Red Bull.
You could say these two teams play a Run n’ Gun offense, but when you see the smiles plastered on the faces of the Flames as you glance at the bench, the only term that does them justice is the Fun n’ Gun. Risky pinches from the blueline, aggressive forechecking, stylish playmaking, these Flames have it all, and to top it off, they love coming into work every day!
/braces for a game less exciting than that 2-0 loss to Nashville in mid January
by Rod Blogojevich on Mar 5, 2010 3:59 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
make no mistake about it: the flames are gonna get DESTROYED tonight. personally, there’s nothing that makes me want to see the backside of sutters more than the following:
a) dawes and pardy in the pressbox while mayers and sarich/staios take the ice
b) gio playing on the third pairing while staios draws in with jaybouw
personally, i’m of the opinion at this point that nothing could be more beneficial for the team (in the long run) than a total tanking of the 09/10 season.
sutter(s) dismissal countdown: day 2
They won’t get destroyed but they will lose good thing is it will be in OT.
Devils 3
Flames 2
NJ: Zajac, Pandolfo, Parise
CGY: Hagman, Bourque
What you see is, What you get.
GO FLAMES GO!!!
Whattt??? No 9-8 thriller?
1-0 devils. An early goal by a depth defenseman and then a perfectly executed shell for the next 55 minutes.
by Rod Blogojevich on Mar 5, 2010 4:05 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
awww….. you guys are far too kind. think about it, seriously:
jaybouw/STAIOS and regehr/SARICH vs. kovalchuk/elias/zubrus and zajac/parise/langenbruner ? gimme a break. miikka’s not THAT good.
by walkinvisible on Mar 5, 2010 4:13 PM PST up reply actions
I don’t know much about Darryl Sutter, but I can tell you that the majority of us Devil fans weren’t necessarily heartbroken to see the back of him last summer. After two consecutive first round playoff losses, Lou was probably half a season away from firing him anyway.
Honestly, that is revisionist history bullshit. Devils fans were right PISSED to lose Brent as coach, and the reaction, which is easily available in archives, is impossible to ignore.
by Resolute on Mar 5, 2010 5:52 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
Well this Devils fan sure as hell wasn’t pissed when Sutter split. He was doing nothing for the team where it mattered the most, and it had been a while since Lou had fired a coach, so Sutter was almost due. It was either resign or, inevitably, get fired.
By the way, I also called the hiring of Jaques Lemaire to fill the vacancy Sutter left behind him, which is quite a considerable upgrade, considering the fact the Lemaire has more Stanley Cup rings than fingers to wear them on as opposed to being a rookie coach with only junior league experience to his name.
you don’t know much about darryl but you’re happy to see the last of brent ? yeah. that’s what you meant. :P
by walkinvisible on Mar 5, 2010 4:16 PM PST up reply actions
honest mistake. they both look cranky as all getout, have sons whos names start with B (brandon/brett) and are on the downward slide of favour with flames fans….
by walkinvisible on Mar 5, 2010 4:17 PM PST up reply actions
Yeah, what is up with the whole second generation of Sutters first names must start with the letter B thing? It’s kind of dumb. Do they want them all to have the same initials? And be as boring as hell?
I think it’s because the Sutter family has a penchant for B.S. =D
by SmellOfVictory on Mar 5, 2010 4:24 PM PST up reply actions
at least brett looks like his mom… well, i presume he does, since he doesn’t look like a sutter.
by walkinvisible on Mar 5, 2010 4:36 PM PST up reply actions
again, i swore i wouldn’t post this but it’s just so amazing. plus, he didn’t follow the general rule of photographs: if you don’t want pix posted on the internet, don’t take the pix.
by walkinvisible on Mar 5, 2010 5:01 PM PST up reply actions
I love how your irration hate clouds your judgment, WI.
by Resolute on Mar 5, 2010 5:47 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
you may not be wrong, but i’m curious what exactly i said above that shows clouded judgement…. ps: “irritation hate” is bang-on what happens to my demeanour. just ask my dad. at the game the other night, i was blasting kotalik from the first shift and my pops was like “let him play for a minute, kay ?”
by walkinvisible on Mar 5, 2010 5:51 PM PST up reply actions
Just your desire to see the team fail so you can say you were right. You may well be proven right in the end, but i’ve found many Flames fans are completely unwilling to give a move a chance.
by Resolute on Mar 5, 2010 5:56 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
i want the team to fail to illicit change. mikeH calls it the “rock bottom theory.” if we make the playoffs, sutter stays. if we get blown out for the rest of the year, sutter(s) gone. capiche ?
by walkinvisible on Mar 5, 2010 6:08 PM PST up reply actions
Oh, I get the theory. I just find it counterproductive. Seems to me that wishing for success is far more usefull.
by Resolute on Mar 5, 2010 6:15 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
i guess i just don’t believe that we’ll garner any amount of REAL success with this lineup, and i think that daz has been given long enough to make it so…. that’s all i’m sayin’.
by walkinvisible on Mar 5, 2010 6:18 PM PST up reply actions
I think the entire Flames roster could use a little dash of confidence. Someone should pull a Bugs Bunny from Space Jam on them.
bury a loonie in the ice under the C ? or, like, a hundred dollar coin ?
by walkinvisible on Mar 5, 2010 4:15 PM PST up reply actions
Maybe just hop them up on meth. Not sure anything less drastic would work.
by SmellOfVictory on Mar 5, 2010 4:23 PM PST up reply actions
Sweater watching is fun some times. I’ve noticed that there really is no such thing as a Devils fan. Just a Brodeur fan.
by Resolute on Mar 5, 2010 5:49 PM PST via mobile reply actions
i wrote about this over at mine in the comments today —-i saw a backlund the other night and i’ve never even seen a giordano. i realize they’re out there but i’ve never SEEN one.
by walkinvisible on Mar 5, 2010 5:51 PM PST up reply actions
I’m due for a new jersey next year. Gio is definitely a front runner.
by Resolute on Mar 5, 2010 5:58 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
Full name of course. :) its easier to short cut some names on my blackberry.
by Resolute on Mar 5, 2010 6:10 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
so sarich is saddling gio, then ? awesome.
by walkinvisible on Mar 5, 2010 6:19 PM PST up reply actions
Staios got a shot through to the net. I like him already!
by Resolute on Mar 5, 2010 6:12 PM PST via mobile reply actions
Nice staios eliminating the russian from the game
by Rod Blogojevich on Mar 5, 2010 6:21 PM PST via mobile reply actions
Jamal looking like a stud out there on the PK.
by Rod Blogojevich on Mar 5, 2010 6:24 PM PST via mobile reply actions
-1. but in saying that, i gotta say that jaybouw looks like shit too.
by walkinvisible on Mar 5, 2010 6:29 PM PST up reply actions
Fucking hell Bork. Try to stay with your man.
by Resolute on Mar 5, 2010 6:29 PM PST via mobile reply actions
And here we go with the usual officiating. Calling us to the letter notong after the devils got away with the same infraction.
by Resolute on Mar 5, 2010 6:31 PM PST via mobile reply actions
well, we look better than we did on wednesday. but i still think we’ll get destroyed on the scoreboard.
The Devils don’t destroy anybody, so no worries there.
Brodeur is going tp get the easies shutout of his life if idiots like Stajan keep passing up glorious shooting opportunities to try and force a pass.
by Resolute on Mar 5, 2010 6:42 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
that attempts stat does not surprise me.
by walkinvisible on Mar 5, 2010 6:44 PM PST up reply actions
That is stunning.
Or what we’ve seen repeatedly for the last several months, take your pick.
by Robert Cleave on Mar 5, 2010 6:48 PM PST up reply actions
Watching the Flames on the big TV, the Hawks online.
Hawks score 5 goals in the first period! Is that even allowed?
This might be the one time I’m happy to be living out of market. Instead of watching the Devils in Calgary, I got to see Lu give up five to the ’Hawks in the first and then get pulled in his first post-Olympic start as Chicago leads by four.
Wait, what? wi fraternizing with the enemy? Traitor!
Burn the witch!
Go Flames Go
Goals? Where we're going, we don't need goals.
by Justin Azevedo on Mar 5, 2010 6:52 PM PST up reply actions
I was under the impression you called Luongo “hawt” for smashing his stick.
Go Flames Go
Goals? Where we're going, we don't need goals.
by Justin Azevedo on Mar 5, 2010 6:57 PM PST up reply actions
i’m calling a superfrustrated luongo “hawt.” not the dude himself.
by walkinvisible on Mar 5, 2010 6:59 PM PST up reply actions
Well, then I’ll put out the torches. And I just realized that “smashing his stick” could be taken a completely different way.
Go Flames Go
Goals? Where we're going, we don't need goals.
by Justin Azevedo on Mar 5, 2010 7:01 PM PST up reply actions
I caught the first period in a pub, and I loved how all the people who had never watched hockey before the Team Canada game against the Russians screamed Lu every time he touched the puck, even if it was just seconds before it hit the back of the net :D
this is, obviously, awesome…. i watched the quarter and semi at the anza club. that place is so amazing.
by walkinvisible on Mar 5, 2010 6:54 PM PST up reply actions
The only thing I didn’t like about the Olympic experience was having to cheer for Luongo. I did, though, because I wanted the gold more than I wanted to see him fail. I am so happy to be back to grinning gleefully and bouncing in my seat whenever someone scores against him. Hating the Canucks is more fun than love the Flames at the moment.
seriously…. higgins did all the work on that one. good thing we have no money left to sign him cause we gave it all to staios.
by walkinvisible on Mar 5, 2010 7:00 PM PST up reply actions
Because no other moves are possible?
by Resolute on Mar 5, 2010 7:02 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
you’re right. we’ll probably trade someone i like more to make room.
by walkinvisible on Mar 5, 2010 7:05 PM PST up reply actions
Does Daz actually want to keep Higgins? If he does, why has he not been signed to a sub-2 million contract over the next couple years? Daz went out of his way to sign Stajan and Bork, why not Higgins? Is it because he isn’t viewed as having much “impact”?
Go Flames Go
Goals? Where we're going, we don't need goals.
by Justin Azevedo on Mar 5, 2010 7:06 PM PST up reply actions
i would guess he’s working on it. i would also guess that the trade was jokinen for higgins and we had to take kotalik. that’s the only way it makes sense…. of course, who needs sutter to make sense ?!?!
by walkinvisible on Mar 5, 2010 7:07 PM PST up reply actions
Seriously, if they sign Higgins now for 2-3 years, what the hell else can they do with this roster. It’s one thing to lock up the ‘98 Wings for 2-3 years, but I"m not sure that’s the best strategy with this roster!
Unlike many of the other guys Daz has brought on, though, Higgins may well turn out to be a positive addition.
Go Flames Go
Goals? Where we're going, we don't need goals.
by Justin Azevedo on Mar 5, 2010 7:15 PM PST up reply actions
this is my point, though. we’ve locked up all the wrong dudes. kotalik ? staios ? come ON !!!
by walkinvisible on Mar 5, 2010 7:16 PM PST up reply actions
If we were the Maple Leafs, (wait, we are.) Burke would have buried about 9 million dollars in salary in the AHL by now. Assuming he was dumb enough to make those trades in the first place, aha.
Go Flames Go
Goals? Where we're going, we don't need goals.
by Justin Azevedo on Mar 5, 2010 7:19 PM PST up reply actions
Burke would have buried about 9 million dollars in salary in the AHL
Or traded it to Calgary. Err….
by Robert Cleave on Mar 5, 2010 7:20 PM PST up reply actions
haha
Go Flames Go
Goals? Where we're going, we don't need goals.
by Justin Azevedo on Mar 5, 2010 7:20 PM PST up reply actions
He’s making more than that now. He and his agent may not be quite ready to accept that he’s cheap labour.
by Robert Cleave on Mar 5, 2010 7:08 PM PST up reply actions
Good point. But he sure as hell won’t be getting a raise.
Go Flames Go
Goals? Where we're going, we don't need goals.
by Justin Azevedo on Mar 5, 2010 7:12 PM PST up reply actions
Fucking rigged NHL. Ignore the fucking New Jersey trip, but this rookie jackass catches our infraction. Ugh
by Resolute on Mar 5, 2010 7:05 PM PST via mobile reply actions
That’s a penalty on Staios, which is fine. How did the trip 5 seconds previous escape scrutiny? Just asking.
i think if you fall yourself while tripping someone, it’s even stevens. no ?
by walkinvisible on Mar 5, 2010 7:09 PM PST up reply actions
Uh, two goals? Who is this juggernaut?
by Robert Cleave on Mar 5, 2010 7:06 PM PST reply actions 1 recs
So we get two goals against the NJD, one of the premier teams in the league, but can’t muster any against a 13th place team?
Go Flames Go
Goals? Where we're going, we don't need goals.
It’s a good thing for Marty B. that he hasn’t seen many shots, because he looks like he’s still in Olympic mode.
yeah, he looks really shaky on his feet. Is he becoming past his prime, because that’s not just Olympic mode, he looked like that in the playoffs last year too.
That’s kinda where he was coming in to Vancouver as well. Honestly, though, goalies. Who really knows?
by Robert Cleave on Mar 5, 2010 7:13 PM PST up reply actions
mikeH says “well we haven’t had a too many men call, so toskala must be working the door alright” :)
That makes the 800K or whatever he’s getting until the end of the year worth it. Resign him now ;-)
by Robert Cleave on Mar 5, 2010 7:12 PM PST up reply actions
“One of the premier door-openers in the league”
Go Flames Go
Goals? Where we're going, we don't need goals.
by Justin Azevedo on Mar 5, 2010 7:13 PM PST up reply actions
“And he’ll hold your starter’s smokes for no extra charge”
by maimster on Mar 5, 2010 7:14 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
rec’d
Go Flames Go
Goals? Where we're going, we don't need goals.
by Justin Azevedo on Mar 5, 2010 7:15 PM PST up reply actions
Which is fine, as long as it’s meant literally. Unfortunately, with Toskala it’s usually the figurative “opened the door for the other team to score four” meaning…
Giving up four is no biggie with this powerhouse offence.
by Robert Cleave on Mar 5, 2010 7:15 PM PST up reply actions
Man, he does not like inexperienced D, does he? If that’s his reason, that shows he can’t fathom signing a younger (cheaper) D for the 3rd pair. Does he forget what the D looked like back in the ’04 playoffs?
Too be fair, all of our younger D is out for the season. Abbotsford has just been decimated.
by Resolute on Mar 5, 2010 7:33 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
Fair enough, but even in 04, the Dors were minor leaguers pressed into emergency duty.
by Resolute on Mar 5, 2010 7:48 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
Hell of a period so far. Amazing what a little puck luck can do for a team’s confidence.
by Resolute on Mar 5, 2010 7:20 PM PST via mobile reply actions
Balderdash. There’s no luck involved in hockey.
by Robert Cleave on Mar 5, 2010 7:22 PM PST up reply actions
See, what happened there, they hopped over the boards rather than let Toskala open the door and do what he’s good at! And almost got the two many men…
They gotta stick to the system.
Go Flames Go
Goals? Where we're going, we don't need goals.
by Justin Azevedo on Mar 5, 2010 7:32 PM PST up reply actions
Pat Quinn likes the cut of your jib, maimster.
by Robert Cleave on Mar 5, 2010 7:37 PM PST up reply actions
i actually noted that i thought it was cute that you said “two many men” cause that’s the number of penalty mins
by walkinvisible on Mar 5, 2010 7:35 PM PST up reply actions
nobody on the bench looks happy except for nystrom
by MetallicIronDeth on Mar 5, 2010 7:32 PM PST reply actions
They shouldn’t be happy if they haven’t won.
Go Flames Go
Goals? Where we're going, we don't need goals.
by Justin Azevedo on Mar 5, 2010 7:35 PM PST up reply actions
welll…. in fairness, mayers and sutter are incapable of looking happy.
by walkinvisible on Mar 5, 2010 7:35 PM PST up reply actions
CGY +10, +4 in the period. Backlund is +6, but not one puck has actually hit the NJ net when he’s been on the ice. That’s sorta hard to do.
EV shots 14-14, 9-7 CGY in the second.
I thought they played well that period, obviously, and the three goals are nice, but the Corsi for the period is pretty representative I thought, They weren’t dominant, they made the most of their chances. And, no, I don’t remember typing those last seven words of that sentence before.
I should have checked the totals right after the Nystrom goal, because I think NJ pulled that number back a bit in the last few minutes.
by Robert Cleave on Mar 5, 2010 7:41 PM PST up reply actions
So, uh, Kovalchuk doesn’t exactly look like a 10 million dollar player out there.
Go Flames Go
Goals? Where we're going, we don't need goals.
he’s injured now remember ? staios effed him up.
by walkinvisible on Mar 5, 2010 7:40 PM PST up reply actions
I was wondering who you guys were talking about. Didn’t watch the first.
Go Flames Go
Goals? Where we're going, we don't need goals.
by Justin Azevedo on Mar 5, 2010 7:46 PM PST up reply actions
He and Staios hammered themselves into the boards behind Kipper. Kovy was grabbing his hand afterwards.
by Robert Cleave on Mar 5, 2010 7:47 PM PST up reply actions
Kovalchuk looks even less interested than he sid when Atlanta came to town, if that is even possible. Haven’t even noticed him except when he tried to kill himself.
by Resolute on Mar 5, 2010 7:41 PM PST via mobile reply actions
He is true boom-bust. I noticed him 4-5 times with a really nice pass or sneaky good shot, where I thought “what a talent”. But I’ve also noticed him losing numerous battles.
That’s his whole deal, isn’t it?
Nothing, nothing, nothing, goal, nothing, nothing, goal against, nothing, etc.
by Robert Cleave on Mar 5, 2010 7:49 PM PST up reply actions
LA or the KHL, if I were to guess. I doubt anyone in the NHL, LA included, will offer him anything close to what Atlanta did.
by Robert Cleave on Mar 5, 2010 7:54 PM PST up reply actions
I think the KHL’s abilities to lure away top-level talent are overrated. Even the talent they do have (Jagr) would return to the NHL over the KHL.
Go Flames Go
Goals? Where we're going, we don't need goals.
by Justin Azevedo on Mar 5, 2010 8:01 PM PST up reply actions
Speaking of Kovalchuk, it was Glencross who stripped him for th ENG against Atlanta, did he not? Kovalchuk is going to have nightmares about #20.
by Resolute on Mar 5, 2010 7:51 PM PST via mobile reply actions
Tell me we aren’t already in shell mode.
Go Flames Go
Goals? Where we're going, we don't need goals.
no red rover defense, though…. it looks more like the dodgeball defense.
by walkinvisible on Mar 5, 2010 7:56 PM PST up reply actions
If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball.
Go Flames Go
Goals? Where we're going, we don't need goals.
by Justin Azevedo on Mar 5, 2010 8:00 PM PST up reply actions
I’d have to say both. But I didn’t see the first.
Go Flames Go
Goals? Where we're going, we don't need goals.
by Justin Azevedo on Mar 5, 2010 8:09 PM PST up reply actions
They’ve played well, Sarah, and Brodeur has been Olympian, if you catch my drift.
by Robert Cleave on Mar 5, 2010 8:10 PM PST up reply actions
every line has scored, is a good note by mikeH. which makes me think dawes won’t see ice for awhile.
Which sucks. Although I would not be surprised if the lines get shuffled around again.
Go Flames Go
Goals? Where we're going, we don't need goals.
by Justin Azevedo on Mar 5, 2010 8:13 PM PST up reply actions
Every forward but Mayers has a point, actually, but none more than one. And not one D has a point. Strange…
All the goals have been from low plays except GlenX’s shorty. Not much from the points in terms of shot attempts.
by Robert Cleave on Mar 5, 2010 8:16 PM PST up reply actions
Yup. That doesn’t happen that often, agreed. Tough to get the points spread when you don’t score at all, of course.
by Robert Cleave on Mar 5, 2010 8:21 PM PST up reply actions
I think Gio just did something X-rated to him.
by Robert Cleave on Mar 5, 2010 8:18 PM PST up reply actions
Not to nitpick on a a decent night, but…
You’re shorthanded, yet three guys are on the boards with one NJD, yet you lose the battle, and the one guy ends up being the guy who goes to the net and scores the goal (because none of the three guys, at least one and maybe two were out of position, thought to stay with him to such a non-critical area). That was Capital-A Awful.
That’s a shaky one for Kipper. Kovy’s a good shooter and all, but it was right through him.
by Robert Cleave on Mar 5, 2010 8:24 PM PST up reply actions
and, more importantly, like the joisey team we were expecting.
by walkinvisible on Mar 5, 2010 8:24 PM PST up reply actions
meh. i was kindof hoping for an L to incite change upstairs.
by walkinvisible on Mar 5, 2010 8:25 PM PST up reply actions
also, and this goes back to the olympics, every game i say we’re gonna lose we win.
by walkinvisible on Mar 5, 2010 8:28 PM PST up reply actions
Unfortunately, usually when you notice a pattern like that, it changes. Otherwise, you’d be worth gold!
FORTUNATELY, i noticed it before the gold medal game but i still suggested canada would win silver. ;)
by walkinvisible on Mar 5, 2010 8:31 PM PST up reply actions
How many years did Doug MacLean stick around? The Oilers braintrust hasn’t gone anywhere, either. Milbury kept his job for years. You’re hoping for something that isn’t that historically likely even if the Flames miss the playoffs. GMs don’t get fired that often.
Oh, Don Waddell still has a job as well. Sutter looks like Sam friggin’ Pollock by comparison.
by Robert Cleave on Mar 5, 2010 8:29 PM PST up reply actions
A win is a win and these are a massive two points, The Flames really showed that swagger of old. Minnesota sunday, Detroit tuesday, Ottawa thursday, Vancouver on the 14th and Detroit on 15th.
6 of the biggest games in recent Flames memory.
Good win tonight.
What you see is, What you get.
GO FLAMES GO!!!
They played well. Jersey’s a decent team, and the Flames held them down. They only gave up 25 shots overall, which is good work. I just hope that they don’t sleepwalk their way through another Minny game.
Oh, and for anyone watching Sportsnet’s highlights, Derek Boogaard is a dirty bastard. Knee on knee on Ryan Jones, and it looked like it was on purpose.
by Robert Cleave on Mar 5, 2010 8:40 PM PST up reply actions
That’s Doug MacLean, but your point still stands.That man collected a cheque as a NHL GM for many years.
by Robert Cleave on Mar 5, 2010 8:49 PM PST up reply actions
i was only half paying attention. but yeah. i mean —-i can’t believe he’d say “no idea why he was left in that long.” why ? because he EFFING WASNT.
Either way they’re both screwy in the head.
I hate the Blackhawks but I liked what they did to the D-Bag’s that inhabit the coast tonight.
What you see is, What you get.
GO FLAMES GO!!!
Luuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!!!!!!
by Robert Cleave on Mar 5, 2010 8:54 PM PST up reply actions
that’s supposed to say gold, right ? i’m guessing it’s not a religious joke.
by walkinvisible on Mar 5, 2010 8:59 PM PST up reply actions
Blind luck that will boost his stats and make him an easier sell in the off-season?
by SmellOfVictory on Mar 5, 2010 9:04 PM PST up reply actions
He actually looked reasonably well tonight. Maybe he had a dream in his sleep of him shutting down top comp when he was with the Lightning.
What you see is, What you get.
GO FLAMES GO!!!
my theory is, of course:
6th man minutes + 3rd pairing comp + gio = steady.
2nd man minutes + top pairing comp + jaybouw = 4-0 minnesota.
by walkinvisible on Mar 5, 2010 9:09 PM PST up reply actions
I just want to say that this had better not merely be the Flames playing with my heart. If this kind of play extends and they don’t get into their passive shell/lack of confidence game, there IS a chance that something good could happen. Something really good. A cup. Cup cup cup cup cup cup cup cup.
Lately their have been other games that when you come to think about you don’t want either team to win because it will put the Flames back or whatever.
Yesterday with Phoenix v Colorado, Today with Nashville v Detroit, Tomorrow we have two of those games Anaheim v Phoenix and St Louis v Colorado. ST FREAKING LOUIS is only two points back of us now.
What you see is, What you get.
GO FLAMES GO!!!
In their defence, St Louis apparently decided to stop sucking at some point in the 2nd half of the season. It’s not like they don’t have the talent for it, they just weren’t executing. Kind of like the Flames (partially bad luck, partially playing like they felt like they were going to lose from the outset).
by SmellOfVictory on Mar 5, 2010 9:35 PM PST up reply actions
chris mason’s dialled up the good and turned down the suck since about 2010. i know this cause he’s on my fantasy team.
by walkinvisible on Mar 5, 2010 9:37 PM PST up reply actions
Well let’s hope he accidentally knocks the dials back into early season position (nothing against your fantasy team, of course) for the good of the Flames.
by SmellOfVictory on Mar 5, 2010 9:45 PM PST up reply actions
i would always sacrifice my fantasy team for the prosperity of the flames. i also have luongo. ie: when vancouver wins, i can at least draw some satisfaction in my dread.
by walkinvisible on Mar 5, 2010 10:27 PM PST up reply actions
gasp! That’s pretty close to selling your soul in Flamesland. ;)
by SmellOfVictory on Mar 6, 2010 1:57 AM PST up reply actions
Good game against a quality opponent.
Of course I thought Wednesday was a pretty good game too, the difference is we didn’t bury our chances. And sometimes it’s as simple as the rebounds bouncing one way out the zone instead of the other way onto your stick.
We owned the puck and I’m pretty sure we outchanced at EV (at least in the first two periods there). We’ve been doing this for a while, I hope nobody’s surprised.
Some game notes.
- Backlund had a nice game. He served up his usual special (shot from the blue line with no traffic) pretty early but as the game went on he generated a bit more.
- Surprisingly the defensive shell wasn’t deployed by the bench. Maybe it seemed like it on the surface but actually what happened was that our players couldn’t get the puck out for three or four consecutive shifts to start the third, so we had to constantly make changes and when you do that you pretty much line up 1-2-2. Once we got out of the zone with legs the players attacked pretty fiercely.
- I STILL don’t like Stajan on that top line. He just disappears sometimes when there’s defensive pressure. Langkow has to be there for this team to have extended success.
- Higgins is a beast. Seriously, I lost track of how many battles he won but it was in the realm of “a fuckton”.
- Kotalik is really hard on the puck, surprisingly. I’m flummoxed why his results aren’t better.
- Staios is as advertised, better than Pardy but no hell.
- I like Loubardias a lot, he makes really intelligent comments. His delivery is absurd (that meat comment had me raising one eybrow, then the other) but he speaks the language of scoring chances and it’s refreshing.
even though he looks like slapchop ? i dunno. i’m on the fence. i hate the way he says renny bourque and Ahginla. drives me mental.
by walkinvisible on Mar 5, 2010 11:42 PM PST up reply actions
For me the real kicker is that he kept emphasizing how Calgary just needed a couple bounces to score. You listen to the FAN and you walk away with the impression that the 09/10 Flames are a redux of every first-year expansion team not named the Florida Panthers – can’t score, can’t stop a beach ball, can’t win, therefore no good.
Loubardias, for all his flaws, keeps it real.
Agreed. His delivery doesn’t really bother me like everyone else, but I particularly enjoy his lack of idiotic comments like most other play by play guys,
-Colin
“Some Kinda Play/Shot/Effort/Hit/Player/Talent/Fight/Goal/Pass etc” never gets old
by Rod Blogojevich on Mar 6, 2010 12:38 AM PST via mobile up reply actions
ALSO:
I have Steinberg on Twitter, and listening to him on overtime, plus reading here. I don’t know about this bad goal business.
First goal from the slot off a rebound, those are IIRC 0.667 shots (i.e. goalie only has 0.667 chance to stop it). That’s basically a breakaway.
Second goal is a breakaway.
Third goal was iffy, Brodeur basically had the puck and lost it.
Fourth goal was iffy, puck has very little velocity. To his credit Marty made a brilliant save on the Bourque chance which was ten-bell, too bad for him he couldn’t corral the puck though.
Fifth goal is a shot initially from the slot, basically unstoppable but Brodeur actually gets a piece of it so kudos. The rebound is unstoppable.
So three goals that I would say Brodeur isn’t really culpable for and two that were a bit iffy. I think credit should go to the Flames for actually creating some kick-ass scoring chances this game. And if we’re going to throw out bad goals then we ought to discount that third Kipper goal which was from far out.
didn’t we talk about this in the anaheim game where i suggested that the three flames breakaway goals shouldn’t be “counted” as “good goals” (flames were having trouble potting them, as they still are more or less) and i was told that goals are goals and they all friggin count ?
we got five. they got three. win: flames. end of story. why do we have to analyze the g**d***goals ?!?!
by walkinvisible on Mar 5, 2010 10:56 PM PST up reply actions
also: i like what you said to steinberg over on flamesnation. i was gonna pipe up but couldn’t be bothered. i find it interesting that he is very defensive of sutters (mostly brent, but darryl to a certain extent, too) but is apparently pretty quick to throw langkow under the bus (according to what you said —i didn’t hear it). i chalk it up to an MSM thing. i’m not sure where it all comes from but those dudes must get paid to report “press release” news items.
by walkinvisible on Mar 5, 2010 10:58 PM PST up reply actions
The only reason I bring it up is because I’m hearing murmurs that we only won this game because Brodeur was awful. It’s being made out that we didn’t score on actual scoring chances or something.
The truth is we created quite a few chances tonight and scored on them. We also created quite a few chances in that ANA game and scored on them too.
If that ANA game was instead a bunch of fluke double deflections into the net and you were critical of it I would’ve been in your bandwagon.
Steinberg just all but admitted on FlamesNation that despite his disparaging comments about Langkow’s defensive zone positioning, that he doesn’t really pay enough attention to tell one way or the other.
This is why I hate MSM sports reporting.
yep. ditto. nobody (save for maybe bob mckenzie, ron mclean, and kelly hrudey) actually pays attention to what goes on on the ice…. it’s kindof infuriating when you think about it, cause the masses just blindly follow what they hear from these dudes and form an opinion based on, essentially, hearsay. it’s why people thought bertuzzi was beyond awesome: cause they were told he was.
what’s his nuts on sportsnet tonight actually said that miikka kiprusoff let in 6 goals during the finnish semifinal game v. the USA, and couldn’t understand why “he was left in so long.” ej hradek and the douches on NHL live are no better (regarding western conference matchups, anyways) —-i honestly wonder how many of these MSM guys actually WATCH the games.
by walkinvisible on Mar 6, 2010 12:45 AM PST up reply actions
You have an interesting take on the game… Its in tune with a lot of those Oiler bloggers like MC79 and Willis. Realistic, not blinded by allegiance to your team, which is refreshing from the LUUUUUU canuck fans or DIOOOOOOON leaf fans on this network. While there is Some stuff I don’t agree with I suppose (I don’t really think your boy Frolov is anything special for example), but more often than not you tend to be right, or at least on the right track, which is as good as an observer from the outside can do. for example I thought Ian White was going to be wicked when we snagged him, but when you were lamenting his play, I’ve made a point of watching him and he really isn’t living up to the hype. Anyways, enough ball slobbering, I’m just curious, what MSM people do you like the most? Anyone (other than Loubardious) you can think of off the top of your head who “speaks your language?”
by Rod Blogojevich on Mar 6, 2010 12:50 AM PST via mobile up reply actions
i threw my two cents in over on FN, btw. i couldn’t not. that comment was infuriating and insulting and actually kindof patronizing…..
by walkinvisible on Mar 6, 2010 1:03 AM PST up reply actions
I’d love to throw my two cents in, except those bastards didn’t email me a confirmation link when I signed up. grrr.
kent ? you might want to have a look at that…. the people want to comment… ;)
by walkinvisible on Mar 6, 2010 9:07 AM PST up reply actions
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