Whatever happens tonight, it's been a successful road trip by just about any measure. While the performances weren't quite as even as the record would indicate, some timely scoring and elite goaltending by Kipper covered up the rougher patches. Iginla and Jokinen have looked capable recently and the return of Bourqe (and Moss, less literally) has firmed up the forward depth. I don't know if the Flames can skate with the Blackhawks (yet), but there's little doubt anymore that they're the class of the NW. Good stuff.
The Kings controlled the play completely for portions of the second period the last time these two teams faced each other, but the Flames were full value otherwise (sound familiar?). The match-ups will likely be similar this evening (Iginla/Jokinen versus Kopitar) so hopefully Calgary can either avoid or limit the resultant damage.
Of course, now that I've sung the club's praises, watch them completely drop the ball tonight.
Stuff to watch -
- Keep an eye on Alexander Frolov. He seems to have fallen out of favor a bit in LA, but has a good track record of being a solid player at both ES and on the PP. He's also a LW and a pending UFA. Now, we all know how Sutter feels about Russians but he may be a trade or sign target at some point in the near future.
Prediction - Flames 3, Kings 2. Moss, Phaneuf and Dawes for Calgary. Williams and Stoll for LA.
Let's get it on.