Flames/Stars Postgame Thoughts

– It's finally happened: Dion Phaneuf is back to being a third pairing defenseman. He played 14:20 at ES last night, the least of any Flames defender, and he spent most of the night facing Brunnstrom, Neal, Lundqvist and other assorted 3rd liners. There's no question at this point: the kid has taken a big step back this year. 

– The Flames dominated at ES yesterday, but still surrendered too much on the PK (even though the Stars failed to score) by my eyes. Dallas had just 13 ES shots all night, but managed 6 shots in 3 PP opportunities. Keep in mind, this was a tired opponent whose PP has been operating at about 11% recently. The Flames, in contrast, generated 7 shots in 5 PP chances. Secial teams are rapidly becoming a sort point for me with this club.

– Last night's corsi. I actually really like what I saw out of the Jokinen line, even though they were all -1 on the evening, and the corsi rates back me up. Also, while they didn't score, they did manage to draw three penalties, which has value to be sure. Other interesting numbers from last night are Leo's +18 rating and Phaneuf's team low +2…especially since Leopold was facing the tougher competition. 

by Kent Wilson