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Flames take on Oilers: Playing for Pride

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Game Preview #81

There appears to be this rumor going around that the Flames are in contention for the playoffs – this rumor has been started by the Edmonton Oilers. In this narrative the Oilers cast themselves as the mighty team to cast the Flames from the playoffs.

Yeah right.

Last game against the Oilers I had to painfully listen to the Oiler announcer gleefully proclaiming the Oilers were eliminating the Flames from the playoffs. What a game, what a team, oh the future is so bright I have to wear shades. It was a great play by play for Oiler fans but then the Flames had to wreck it all by deciding they wanted to play half a period of hockey in the final frame.

The Flames came back from a three-goal deficit, tied the game and went onto beat the Oilers in the Shoot-out for the two-points. All this to the utter humiliation of several heady Oiler fans who were busy trolling away in various Flames game-day threads all over the internet during the game.

Don’t buy into the hype of this narrative. The Flames mathematical hopes of getting into the playoffs, I don’t even want to use the term probability anymore, rest on the Blackhawks and Ducks losing – not the Flames winning. Even with the Flames winning out in the remaining two games it is highly unlikely they will make the playoffs.

Nonetheless, a good game should still be up for grabs. The BOA is alive and well, even with the thinned ranks of the Oilers, we saw some good chirping last game.

Let the Battle begin, it is all about pride.

More of the usual game preview after the jump…

 

The Stat Rack

Flames

Rank

Rank

Oilers

18.6%

9th

PP%

28th

14.1%

81.2%

19th

PK%

28th

77.7%

2.82

19th

GA

28th

3.13

2.91

7th

GF

27th

2.35

47.9%

24th

FO%

30th

44.4%

 

Number Crunch

The Oilers are bottom three in the NHL in all 5 categories. I expect an offensive game – goals will be scored. We may have an entertaining goaltending battle but the goals will go in.

Alive in the Last Five

Flames

Jarome Iginla – 6G 4A +1 in his last 5GP

Alex Tanguay 2G 5A +4 in his last 3GP

Mark Giordano 1G 6A -1 over his last 5GP

Oilers

Jordan Eberle 1G 3A (even) in his last 5GP

Magnus Paajarvi 3G 1A -2 in his last 5GP

Linus Omark 2G 3A +1 in his last 5GP

Ryan Jones 2G 2A -1 in his last 5GP

Anticipated Roster (subject to change by game time)

The Flames

The Oilers

Tanguay

Langkow

Iginla

Hartikainen

Vande-Velde

Eberle

Glencross

Jokinen

Bourque

Paajarvi

O’Marra

Jones

Kostopoulos

Backlund

Jackman

Reddox

Cogliano

Omark

Bouma

Stajan

Nemisz

Strudwick

Jacques

MacIntyre

Regehr

Bouwmeester

Chorney

Gilbert

Giordano

Carson

Peckham

Foster

Babchuk

Sarich

Petry

Vandermeer

Kiprusoff

Karlsson

Khabibulin

Dubnyk

Anticipated Game Style

Not calling this one based on the bizarre last game the two played. The Oilers have just beat the Canucks in two straight games and who knows if the Canucks are already floating to the playoffs at this point or not. I didn’t watch those games, so I can’t judge.

Assuming the Oilers beat a Canucks team that was giving a genuine effort, that is quite impressive and means the Flames should be on notice.

One on One

Daymond Langkow vs Linus Omark

Langkow is still in my must watch list, I like what I see and I am keeping a close eye on him.

Omark is another Baby Oil to keep your eye on. This guy is one of their lower picks in the 4th round 97th overall in 2007. Lots of flash and dash for the scoring side but very weak on the defensive side of the game, he is 2nd worst on the Oil with a -15 overall. Remains to be seen if he will solid up a roster spot, as he is a third line player on an already thin Oiler line-up.

The Magic 8-Ball

The Magic 8-ball is thinking Flames all the way – rack up those points Iggy…

by M Smith