Playoff Post Game Analysis – WCQ Game 6 – Hawks @ Flames – 4-1 Hawks end the Flames Season.

April 27, 2009 – 10:07 pm

First Period
This was definitely not the start we were looking for. The Flames had a great start actually, they came out hard the first couple shifts and hit hard, and even managed a few shots on net. The Bertuzzi went and took an early stupid penalty and the Flames fell apart. Two goals later and with about seven minutes left in the period, is when the Flames finally started to shoot, hit, and skate again. They were absolutely listless right after the Chicago power play goal, and it wasn’t until Burish scored, and made the entire team look bad when no one at all came back to help Leopold in the Flames zone, that they showed any life at all. The last minute was the best minute in the game for the Flames as they really ground it out down low and behind the Hawks net.

The penalty kill was hot and then cold. The first minute was great with a few brilliant blocks, A couple nice saves, and a good old fashioned clear. The second shift on the other hand was unable to clear and chased the puck around the zone until Versteeg shot, and Kane pounced on the rebound and in. The power play was actually acceptable. They didn’t score and that was because they didn’t shoot enough. Other than that the possession was strong, they passed well, moved around the zone, and actually looked dangerous. The one shot that did go in on net was off of Iginla’s stick and it was a howitzer. Too bad Khabibulin was ready for it.

Leopold was horrible in the first. A couple bad bad turnovers and a few really bad plays positionally. Bertuzzi too was god awful. First the penalty, and then the usual bad passes and his sudden inability to stay vertical on his skates for more than half a shift. What’s with that? Nystrom, Glencross, and Moss have looked really really good on the flip side of the coin. They have spent the entirety of their shifts in the offensive zone, or with the puck moving into the offensive zone. Great line. Jokinen’s been trying everything out there too. Now if only Iggy could be gunning that hard.

Second Period
What can you say? The Flames fired pucks at net all period long, They battled hard, and crashed the net at every opportunity. They just couldn’t score. Not on the power play, not five on five, it just never happened. Bourque came the closest when he rang a one timer off the crossbar, but that would be all. The Flames to a man were stronger in the second, skating harder and hitting much more. It’s really too bad that they didn’t show up for the first period, and that Khabibulin is impossible to beat so far.

The power play was again useless the first chance and unproductive the second chance. They had serious trouble gaining the zone, and never really created much pressure. The second chance saw great possessions, excellent movement, and two whole shots on net. Any wonder the power play isn’t scoring? I thought not. The penalty kill was just as ineffective. On a really bad Too Many Men penalty, the Flames started really well. Sarich leveled Havlat and the puck was cleared. The next zone entrance saw the Flames take the puck easily, and skate around wasting some time before it was pounded down the ice. Then it fell apart. Campbell gets the puck in the high slot, and rifles it off of Pardy’s stick and into the net.

I tend to agree, this score is not Miikka’s fault. Horrible defensive plays on each of the three goals is to blame. Not that Miikka hasn’t been tested elsewise, because he has. He’s been showing flashes if brilliance, but when he made that amazing save after the Flames were down three to one, I thought. too little too late. I hope I am very wrong. Nystrom has continued to work his face off out there. Glencross and Jokinen as well. I feel bad that they have the rest of the team pulling them down. I know I should be showing more hope, but the way the Flames have played this series, it’s hard to muster much.

Third Period
The period started out very very right as less than aminute in Bertuzzi stormed in and shot from a bad bad angle and it popped past Khabibulin. The Flames then shot everything but the kitchen sink at the Chicago net, but couldn’t beat the Bulin Wall again. It certainly wasn’t from a lack of effort. The Flames pressured the puck very well, had good pressure and a large amount of shots. The empty net goal simply sealed the fate of the Flames who just didn’t want it enough.

Overall Impressions
Story of the season. They just didn’t want it enough. Too little too late. Perhaps I am being a touch harsh, but I said right from the start of the season that this would be an epic failure of a season if the Flames failed to advance to at bare minimum the second round. They not only wasted a twelve point division lead they wasted opportunities to put this series away early. They didn’t have the heart, the effort or what ever you want to call it.

Three Stars By Solstice
1. Nicolai Khabibulin
2. Patrick Kane
3. Dustin Bufgylien
HM: Eric Nystrom, who played harder than anyone else on this team.

I will write a season review when I have had some time to calm down, and see things from a wider perspective.

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Western Conference Quarter Finals – Game Six – Gameday Pregame

April 27, 2009 – 8:07 am

Chicago Blackhawks at Calgary Flames

7:30PM MDT TSN and The Fan960

STANLEY!

An eighty two game season, and a handful of games in the post season. And it all comes down to tonight for the Flames. Cliches like “Must win Game” and “Most Important game of the season” are thrown around like popcorn all winter long, but they are all so literally true tonight. Win and the Flames force a game seven back in Chicago. Lose and it’ll be time to head for the golf courses. This series has been all home team advantage, and one certainly hopes the trend continues tonight.

The Flames did not show up at all last game, and with the on and off play this team has exhibited all season long, I suppose we shouldn’t have been so surprised. I for one, thought the Flames would be past that, it being the playoffs and all. It would seem they haven’t though, and now tonight we have to hope for the angry bear Flames, the team that in the first four games hit every thing on the ice, and took no prisoners. Not the team that had Mark Messier lost a bet about potato chips, he would have be laughing at. Tonight every last player has got to be better. All of them. The only exceptions were Nystrom, Moss and Boyd. No one else has any reason to feel anything other than shame, and maybe that will be the motivator for this team tonight. They sucked badly, and they know it. Time for some redemption.

Projected Line-ups

Bourque-Conroy-Iginla
Cammalleri-Langkow-Bertuzzi
Glencross-Jokinen-Moss
Nystrom-Boyd-Peters
Defence Pairings:
Leopold-Phaneuf
Sarich-Aucoin
Vandermeer-Pardy

Expect a stellar performance from number 34 tonight.

Injury Report
Calgary Flames
Mark Giordano D 02/20/2009 is on injured reserve and is out indefinitely – shoulder surgery
Wayne Primeau C 12/06/2008 is on injured reserve and will miss the remainder of the season – foot surgery
Robyn Regehr D 04/03/2009 is out indefinitely – knee
Rhett Warrener D 10/09/2008 is on injured reserve and is out indefinitely – shoulder
Chicago BlackHawks
Brent Sopel D 12/30/2008 is on injured reserve – undisclosed

Player to Watch
Nystrom rocks. He never gives soft minutes and he gets those timely goals and plays that make him a true playoff warrior.

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Playoff Post Game Analysis – WCQ Game 5 – Flames @ Hawks – 5-1 Hawks – The Flames never took to the Ice

April 25, 2009 – 9:43 pm

First Period
This was not what any Flames fan wanted to see to start this game. Undisciplined, uninspired, and out worked to the extreme. The Chicago team came prepared for war. The Flames looked like they came prepared for a cup of tea. They didn’t hit, the passing was sloppy, and outside of maybe four or five flames no one was really engaged. Chicago scored three goals in the span of five minutes and the Flames couldn’t even generate five shots all period. First it was Seabrook receiving a perfect pass during the power play and he starts off the flood. Less than a minute later Sharpe gets the puck past a sprawling Miikka on a horribly scrambled play in front of the net. Shortly after the Puck bounced off the boards directly onto Vertseeg’s stick and straight into the net. The period just couldn’t end fast enough.

The penalty kill was busy as the Flames took three consecutive penalties andthey killed two at least. The first one to Bertuzzi for holding was a clean kill. Good clears, Nystrom being Nystrom and making the PK his, and Miikka with a glove. The second penalty was to Sarich for roughing when Bolland fell over like he had been shot from the third deck. Seabrook got his goal on this penalty. The third was Nystrom skating around with the puck in the Chicago zone and getting a shot or two off. He’s awesome.

Nystrom is the one player who is in this game. He does everything and has looked magnificent tonight. Iggy and Olli have been trying but their communication seemed mistimed. Glencross has also looked good, but he’s getting man handled. Where the heck is the hitting? I mean the Flames hitting something? That’s successful. Miikka was not bad, but he was not good either. He made some huge saves, but he was out of position on the Versteeg goal, I can’t really say how I feel about the Sharpe goal as I missed it until the third replay.

Second Period
More uninspired play in the second period by the Flames. Well, they hit a bit more, but they only generated one goal and managed to get nailed for two more. The passing was again ill timed and to no where at best. At worst they turned over the puck more than a pancake maker with Stampede Breakfast pancakes. It was horrible. The one Flames goal came off of the tiny bit of good hockey the Calgary squad did muster. They gained the zone and ground out the puck on the boards the shot comes in from the slot and Boyd pulls the rebound out and tucks it past Khabibulin. Of course that was negated by Leopold passing the puck to Miikka and Ladd storming in and poking it through Kipper. McElhinney was then put in. He held the fort well, but the puck simply spent too much time in the zone and Barker blasted a shot from the point that tipped in off of Vandermeer’s skate and in.

No one person was bad. It was the whole team not playing well. Some players were showing some determination, but their hockey smarts left them. You’ll notice I skipped the usual penalty and power play summary. That’s simply because I forgot I was watching a power play as the Flame shad failed attempts at gaining the zone repeatedly, and it looked no different from the rest of the period. That just illustrates how uninvolved the whole team looks. They just don’t want to play tonight it feels.

Third Period
The third period had no real flow, and Flames had their chances but just couldn’t close the deal at any point. The bright spot of the third was that the Hawks couldn’t find the net. Mind you neither could the Flames even though they had a five on three and another power play. The Flames began to finally get the chippy physical play, but even that wasn’t sustained for any length of time. Pardy tried to get his team going by fighting with Eager, but that failed when Eager pounded the tar right out of Pardy.

The power play was back to it’s usual unproductive and frustrating self. The passing was plentiful, and the possession pretty solid. The shots were non existent. The few times the puck did get directed to the net, the Chicago killers blocked and redirected the puck. The Flames wasted a five on three by over passing, and then non the next power play they had it shortened by Bourque who took an elbowing call. The ensuing shortened penalty kill was uneventful as the shots never really threatened.

Overall Impressions
Where were the Flames heads? They never once looked like they were a part of this world, let alone the game. I have nothing positive to say, because there truly was nothing positive about this game.

Three Stars by Solstice
1. Martin Havlat
2. Nicolai Khabibulin
3. Kris Versteeg

The series returns to the Dome to see if the Flames can uphold the home stand aspect of the series to force a seventh tilt on Monday.

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Western Conference Quarter Finals – Game Five – Gameday Pregame

April 25, 2009 – 10:56 am

Calgary Flames @ Chicago Blackhawks

7:00PM MDT TSN and The Fan 960

STANLEY!!!

The Heroes

Here we are at game five in Chicago. The series all tied up at two a piece. This has been a series of home ice advantage, missed opportunities, and enormous fluctuations in momentum. The first two games in Chicago saw the teams battle to one goal games both time, where the Flames took the lead in both games, and when they had the game in hand they let off the gas pedal and Chicago stormed back to take the win. In both the first games it seemed that the Flames just didn’t have the desire or killer instinct to finish off the young, and inexperienced Hawks. Give the Chicago club their due, they showed amazing resiliency to battle back from countless deficits, and they never showed any signs of quit.

The series then traveled to Calgary where the Flames and the “C of Red” vowed to show the Hawks a thing or two about holding serve on home territory. And they did just that. In game three the intensity and emotion of playoff hockey came to the forefront as both teams battled hard, both with the puck and physically as the animosity between the teams reached a fever pitch. The third game ended on an uproarious note with a giant scrum in the closing minutes, and the Chicago club would soon learn a lesson about poking the proverbial sleeping bear. The bear in this instance being Mr Iginla, who got very perturbed and was ready for battle in game four. Game four was a true battle of attrition as the Flames built up a three goal lead in the second period. Once again they frittered away the lead in less than eight minutes and the Flames faithful all let loose a collective groan of “Here we go again”. The true hero of game four was Eric Nystrom, who much like his father, scored a goal that will forever live on in Flames history as an epic game winner, and possibly the most important goal of the 2009 playoffs for the Flaming C.

Which brings us now to Game five back in Chicago. This is now a best of three series, and it’s brought this series to a whole new level. You can expect to see much more of the thunderous hitting, elevated emotions, and stark hatred between these two teams. For the Flames the whole goal is to finally win one game in the Chicago barn, and for the first time in this series take the lead in the best of seven. For the Hawks to goal is to continue to hold serve on home ice, and continue the run that has re-ignited the imagination of their fans for the first time in many years. Tonight we separate the men from the boys. Tonight we find out just which team really has the desire, the hunger, the need for the greatest trophy known to sport. Tonight it truly will be a war on ice for the chance to lift the Mug of Lord Stanley, and gain the eternal glory that comes with it.

Projected Line-ups

Bourque-Conroy-Iginla
Cammalleri-Langkow-Bertuzzi
Glencross-Jokinen-Moss
Nystrom-Boyd-Peters
Defence Pairings:
Leopold-Phaneuf
Sarich-Aucoin
Vandermeer-Pardy

You know for a fact the Kipper is in.

Injury Report
Calgary Flames
Mark Giordano D 02/20/2009 is on injured reserve and is out indefinitely – shoulder surgery
Wayne Primeau C 12/06/2008 is on injured reserve and will miss the remainder of the season – foot surgery
Robyn Regehr D 04/03/2009 is out indefinitely – knee
Rhett Warrener D 10/09/2008 is on injured reserve and is out indefinitely – shoulder
Chicago BlackHawks
Brent Sopel D 12/30/2008 is on injured reserve – undisclosed

Player to Watch
Olli scored his first two goals ever in the playoffs last game, and you can bet he’ll be scoring a few more tonight.

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Playoff Post Game Analysis – WCQ Game 4 – Hawks @ Flames – 6-4 Flames – The game that should never have been this close.

April 22, 2009 – 10:44 pm

First Period
The game started out with bad news as Bourque is sitting this one out. The Flames started this game in the right way. Heavy hits and lots of them. The definition of smash mouth hockey, as they plastered every Hawks player who touched the puck. They also played a very smart defensive game with one momentary slip that cost them as the forwards were slow to get back and Sharpe made a pass to Kane who rifled the puck over the shoulder of Miikka to open the scoring. The Flames tied it up shortly there after and that’s where the score sits after one. The defensive zone coverage was pretty solid, and everyone did an excellent job of clearing pucks out from in front of the net, and bailed Miikka out a couple times. The biggest hits to my mind were Vandermeer steamrolling over Burish and Iginla finishing what Glencross started by clobbering Seabrook. Great effort in the first by everyone in the Flaming C.

The power play started off in a bad way with the Flames unable to effectively penetrate the Hawks zone. I was thinking, “Here we go again”. Just as that thought crossed my mind Bertuzzi made a brilliant play along the boards to protect the puck and keep the play alive to Phaneuf, who shot it a touch wide. Cammalleri picked up the puck and saucered the puck to a waiting and ready Iginla who put it right through Khabibulin. A perfect one for one on the power play thus far for the Flames. No penalties were called against the Flames as they were supremely disciplined that entire period.

Miikka is looking fairly good in net tonight, even if he has made a mistake or two. Thankfully everyone has been there to bail him out. Cammalleri and Jokinen are flying all over the ice tonight. They may not be scoring, but they are hitting and back checking so well that I can forgive the lack of goal production as they are doing everything else right. Bertuzzi was an absolute beast in the first. Hits, shots, passes, and great plays to create the goal. Exactly what we want to see from him.

Second Period
What a roller coaster the second period turned out to be. The Flames came out hard to start the period and on a bad turnover by Barker, Jokinen finally scored his first playoff goal. The Flames shortly after had to kill a penalty and they came out very hard just after. They turned up the pressure and on a shot by Aucoin, Nystrom got the tip and it went over Bulin and into the net. less than a minute later Jokinen received an amazing pass from Phaneuf and put it right past Khabibulin and the Flames had what looked to be a commanding lead. But alas, they took their collective foot off the gas, stopped punishing the Hawks with the hits and the Chicago squad made the Flames pay dearly as Versteeg, Barker, and Byfuglien charged back to keep this game knotted up. Both goaltenders were made to look like swiss cheese in the second and neither one of them looked good at all.

The penalty kill was less than stellar to say the least. The first kill was great with all the battles down low being won by the Flames and they made no mistake clearingpucks and blocking shots. They also made alot of issue in the neutral zonr to deny the Hawks any chance of gaining the Flames zone. After that though, it all fell apart. On the Leopold infraction a big rebound by Miikka went straight to Versteeg who had the entire open cage to shoot at and he put it right in. The Jokinen infraction was even worse. The Flames had little to no pressure on the puck and Byfuglien was left alone in front of Miikka to make the perfect tip to tie this game all up.

Jokinen was magnificent in the second. He finally looked like the player all us Flames fan hoped he would be. Nystrom too has been amazing for the Flames as he has so much grit and determination. Glencross may just well be the unsung hero of the Flames as he never quits. He’s always firing on all cylinders and ready to rock no matter the circumstances. Miikka has simply got to be better. Sure maybe the last goal isn’t his fault, but the rebound control must be exponentially better, and his decision making must be smarter. How many times did he try to clear the puck only to have it end up on the stcik of a Chicago player in the Calgary zone? The whole team has got to ramp it back up. Get back to the hard hitting heavy shooting game, as they let off the gas and fell back to defending the lead. In the immortal words of Rocky the Raccoon, “That trick never works!”

Third Period
The third period started out very very scrambly. Neither team could create much flow or any serious chances until Bertuzzi took a penalty. Nothing much happened during the Flames kill, and then around the six minute mark the game began to get right proper intense again. The hitting and physical play the exemplified the first frame was back in full force as both teams fought very hard for the goal to break the tie. The Flames began to up the pressure on the Hawks, as they played very smart in the defensive zone and sprung players to create many chances on the fly. Finally after a great play by Langkow to knock down a puck and not get a hand pass call, he got the puck back to Sarich who fired it in on net, and Nystrom slammed in the rebound to get what would eventually be the game winner. The Hawks did press and hard at that, but even with the sixth man on the ice as Khabibulin left for the extra skater they just couldn’t get the puck past the Flames defense or Miikka and Iginla iced this game with empty netter.

The penalty kill for the Flames in the third was truly wonderful. The flames skated with the puck, and created more than a few offensive chances killing at least half the penalty in the Chicago zone. When the puck was in the Flames zone they won the battles along the boards and put the puck out of the zone. The puck support was also truly magnificent as all the Flames players pressured and made certain that the puck was leaving Flames territory. No power plays for the Flames in the third, though I tend to agree with the crowd at the Dome that they Zebras missed a couple calls that should have gone for the Flames. It’s ok, as I saw three infractions the Flames got away with.

Overall Impressions
Well this game should never have been this close, but the final result is exactly what we wanted. The Flames held serve and this is now a best of three series heading back to Chicago. What a game by Jokinen, Iginla and Nystrom. They took this one by the throat and made it their own. In the words of Peter Mahar, “YEAH BABY!”

Three Stars By Solstice
1. Eric Nystrom
2. Olli Jokinen
3. Jarome Iginla

We now head back to Chicago to find out which team can best the other in a best of three.

By Solstice | Posted in Flames, Gameday, Playoffs | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments (2)

Western Conference Quarter Finals – Game Four – Gameday Pregame

April 22, 2009 – 9:57 am

Chicago Blackhawks at Calgary Flames

8:00PM MDT TSN and The Fan960

STANLEY!!

IGGY IGGY IGGY OI! OI! OI!

The Flames finally put together a full game on Monday and as such they dominated the Hawks. They proved that they can take a game and punish the opposition soundly. They were mean, relentless and victorious. They will have to replicate that performance tonight to tie this series back up. The last minute of the game from Monday will only add fuel to the fire of the Flames as the Hawks did the one thing that every team in the NHL tries to avoid doing. They awoke the beast named Iginla. He was furious with the entire Chicago bench, and he hasn’t mellowed out since. When Iggy is mad, the whole Flames team is mad. This simple fact does not bode well for the Chicago team.

Tonight the Flames will again have the “C of Red” to back them again. The Flames fed off the Dome energy very well last game and I personally expect no different tonight. Hard hitting, strong fore check and smart defensive plays will be the order of the day. Miikka again will have to be stellar, just like he was on Monday. We all know this team can get it done when they actually show up for a full game and as such I expect nothing less.

Projected Line-ups

Bourque-Conroy-Iginla
Cammalleri-Langkow-Bertuzzi
Glencross-Jokinen-Moss
Nystrom-Boyd-Peters
Defence Pairings:
Leopold-Phaneuf
Sarich-Aucoin
Vandermeer-Pardy

Do we even have another Goaltender? I thought not. Miikka as usual.

Injury Report
Calgary Flames
Mark Giordano D 02/20/2009 is on injured reserve and is out indefinitely – shoulder surgery
Wayne Primeau C 12/06/2008 is on injured reserve and will miss the remainder of the season – foot surgery
Robyn Regehr D 04/03/2009 is out indefinitely – knee
Rhett Warrener D 10/09/2008 is on injured reserve and is out indefinitely – shoulder
Chicago BlackHawks
Brent Sopel D 12/30/2008 is on injured reserve – undisclosed

Player To Watch
Angry Iggy. He’s cheesed off, and therefore he’s ready to make Chicago pay the price. A hat trick? Very very possible.

Updates will be added as I find anything.

12:45pm The Calgary Herald is reporting that Colin Campbell has issued an edict to the players that Trash talk will be penalized as Unsportsmanlike conduct. What the heck is this? The players don’t care so why should the league? Crap. Pure and utter crap when you consider the fact that Campbell hasn’t even been doing his job suspending blatant intent to injure penalties. What is the NHL coming to?

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Playoff Post Game Analysis – WCQ Game 3 – Hawks @ Flames – 4-2 Flames – The Moss and Glencross Show

April 20, 2009 – 10:28 pm

First Period
The first period was without question exciting. The Flames really got into trouble early, and couldn’t get anything going for the first five minutes or so of the game. Jokinen takes a penalty and just that quickly the Hawks take the lead. Shortly after another kill the Flames found their game and tied it up on a perfect pass from Glencross to Nystrom. The first period was yet another in a long line of physical crash and bang periods between these two teams. The whole Flames roster was hitting, yes even Bertuzzi. The Hawks got a few decent hits of their own too. I loved that hit by Aucoin on Brower and Iginla throwing Sharpe to the ice. Not the best start to the game, but the Flames redeemed themselves quickly. My biggest request would be take a few less penalties please Flames.

The penalty kill started horrifically but got better with each kill. The first PK lasted a whole eight seconds as the Hawks passed perfectly and fired the puck past Miikka. Aucoin certainly should have had Sharpe on that one. The second kill started out with Toews hitting the post, then the Flames remembered how to properly kill a penalty. They pressured the puck well, won the races to the puck and threw it down the ice with some fantastic secondary puck support. The Flames did not get a power play.

Iginla is fired up. The Hawks may have made a big mistake getting him angry, as Angry Iggy is a very dangerous player. Glencross has been fantastic as has Bourque. That pass by Glencross to Nystrom was a thing of pure awesomeness. Nystrom as well has been brilliant every time he hits the ice. I was going to call out Bertuzzi, but then he made a few really good plays and had that amazing chance on Bulin, so he pulled it up too. I am going to say this about Aucoin. He makes such goofy mistakes that cost goals, but then he does stuff like the destruction of Brower and one has to like him again. Miikka has been fantastic so far. Great rebound control and though he may be getting a few lucky bounces he’s finally looking like the Miikka we all love.

Second Period
A much much better second period. Heck the first time the Flames actually showed up for the second period thus far in the post season. They continued with the physical play, and created a lot of pressure in the Hawks zone early. They also started grinding the puck out down low and in front of the net finally. The penalties were fewer for the Flames, and they certainly seemed to have their heads in the game much more so than in the first. They did get into one serious patch of trouble where they got hemmed into their own zone after the one penalty kill and Miikka made matters worse by handing the puck directly to the Hawks. After a few heart stopping moments the Flames finally managed to clear the puck and start pressing the offense again. Olli Jokinen finally made some noise with his best play of the post season. He dumped the puck into the offensive zone, chased it down, fought off three defenders and passed it back to Bourque. Bourque then made the play to the net and the puck bounced of Khabibulin and the Flames head to the third with a one goal lead.

The power play was abysmal. Certainly the great work of the Hawks penalty kill had a lot to do with that, but they were missing passes, not gaining the zone, and creating no pressure whatsoever. They managed to create a few chances but nothing doing when all was said or done. The penalty kill was magnificent. They fore checked the Hawks and managed to keep the puck in the Hawks zone for a good half of the kill. They also had smart sticks in the passing lanes and blocked shots very well.

Bourque has been fantastic all game. He saved a sure goal, and got the goal to take the lead. Miikka has been stellar all game so far. Sure he had one huge blunder but he made up for it no question. Thank god Olli finally decided to show up. He looked great in that period. Iggy disappeared somewhat and Bertuzzi, well Bertuzzi didn’t make any bad plays but he didn’t make much happen either. Moss still rocks.

Third Period
The third period was just fantastic. Physical, hard skating and amazing work. One could also call the third period the “Moss” period. He got two goals, and a ton of hits. What a player!! Everyone continued the crushing hits, and they took no quarter from anyone. I’m sure the Hawks fan will see this differently, but this is what a playoff game should look like. The whistle blows and every last time the scrum would develop and players would chirp at each other and a few shots from both sides would fly. I have no idea what was said to Iggy but man watch out for him next game as he’s riled up beyond belief!!

The penalty kill was pure poetry. They blocked shots, got sticks in the passing lanes and denied the Hawks much chance at anything during the man disadvantage. I also think that the refs got a little slashing happy with the calls as Bourque got three slashing calls this game. Glencross and Sarich were truly magnificent during all the kills making all those little and huge plays that keep your team in the lead. The Flames kind of had a power play, but a huge brawl ended that about six seconds in. Wouldn’t have mattered much though as the man advantage came with less than a minute and a half left in the game.

Overall Impressions
Now this is the Flames team I was waiting to see in the post season. They hit, they hit some more, and never once took their foot off the gas. This is how they need to play in order to garner fifteen more wins. I lichen Moss.

Three Stars By Solstice
1. David Moss
2. Curtis Glencross
3. Miikka Kiprusoff
HM: Olli Jokinen for his stellar hitting and nonstop effort.

The war continues on Calgary ice on Wednesday at 8:00pm MDT. There will be blood.

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Western Conference Quarter Finals – Game Three – Gameday Pregame

April 20, 2009 – 10:27 am

Chicago Blackhawks @ Calgary Flames

7:30PM MDT TSN and The Fan960

KEEE-RUNCH

Well the Flames are in it deep now. Having given up leads in both games, and playing like a bunch of pylons after such an amazing start in both games, the Flames now have to break with team history and begin the long road to a comeback. This is more than possible as we saw the Flames completely dominate the first period of both games. One might argue that the fans in the Chicago barn helped the Hawks players, but now they are in the C of Red, and you can bet the Dome will be rocking. So the Flames really have no excuse on these next two games.

To win the Flames simply need to continue having such amazing starts, and then proceed to maintain the pace and intensity levels through out the next two periods. I have harped all season long about the need for a full sixty minute effort, but it is just as true today as it was way back in November. Smart defensive plays, devastating hits, and relentless fore checking. This is the formula for success. Iginla, Kiprusoff, and Jokinen also are required to elevate their respective games. They are the big boys on this team and it’s well past time they took control of this team and made the wins happen.

Projected Line-ups

Bourque-Jokinen-Iginla
Cammalleri-Langkow-Bertuzzi
Glencross-Conroy-Moss
Nystrom-Boyd-Lundmark
Defence Pairings:
Leopold-Phaneuf
Vandermeer-Sarich
Pardy-Aucoin
Extra: Eriksson

I shouldn’t even need to say this, but without question Miikka Kiprusoff between the pipes.

Injury Report
Calgary Flames
Mark Giordano D 02/20/2009 is on injured reserve and is out indefinitely – shoulder surgery
Wayne Primeau C 12/06/2008 is on injured reserve and will miss the remainder of the season – foot surgery
Robyn Regehr D 04/03/2009 is out indefinitely – knee
Rhett Warrener D 10/09/2008 is on injured reserve and is out indefinitely – shoulder
Chicago BlackHawks
Brent Sopel D 12/30/2008 is on injured reserve – undisclosed

Player to Watch
Rene Bourque and David Moss. Two of the most consistent and solid players for the Flames thus far in the Post Season. I expect them to continue to make waves and to get it done.

As usual any new information I might find will be updated. Of course with how tight lipped everyone in the Flames organization has been don’t expect any earth shattering news.

By Solstice | Posted in Flames, Gameday, Playoffs | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off

Playoff Post Game Analysis – WCQ Game 2 – Flames @ Hawks – 3-2 Hawks – The Flames are Lazy.

April 18, 2009 – 9:44 pm

First Period
The Flames took this game by the throat and began to throttle it immediately. Right away the Flames were cycling down low and causing no end of havok in behind the net. Before you could more than scream “Yeah Baby!” the Flames had amassed nine official and probably twice as many unofficial hits. Physical is to this period as moist is to the ocean. Everyone genuinely looks angry. There we lots of penalties in the first, but no fights. This was easily the most intense Flames style hockey I have witnessed this season. The Flames only have to continue to press the attack and destroy everything in their path. Seriously this was the very best start to the game any one of the Flames Faithful could have possibly asked for.

The power play was absolutely fantastic. Faceoff win, pass back to the point, the blast from said point and tip in the rebound. Eight seconds is how long the first power play lasted and it went exactly to script. Iginla gets the goal as he was right on the doorstep awaiting the rebound. Perfection. The second power play was only 43 seconds, but it was also good. I might say that since the second goal was scored during the four on four play (done by grinding hard down low) it should count as a power play goal. The penalty kill was incredibly effective. They pressure the point men, and kept the puck to the outside. Miikka was stunning to say the least, especially those saves back to back on Kane and Toews during the Leopold (his first of three in the first) penalty kill. As a matter fact the Flames have roughly a minute and a half of pk time that rolled over to the second period to kill yet.

Yes Leopold. He needs to stop taking all these penalties. Ok, the interference wasn’t bad, but the tripping was just bad . Phaneuf has made a couple incredible plays in the defensive zone one on one tonight. Bertuzzi is really giving me some serious gas. Sometimes he was magnificent, and shortly after he would poop the proverbial bed. Iginla!! Now that’s some fired up Iggy, no question. Keep that Iggy as I prefer the play of Angry Iggy. Miikka has been phenomenal! He has been able to stop everything shot his way, even when he had zero chance of seeing the puck! Amazing!!

Second Period
This was not a good period. It started off with a power play goal against and never got any better. They let off the physical play, didn’t pressure the fore check as strongly, and the Hawks capitalized. It seemed that, yet again, once they felt comfortable with the lead they let off the gas. Just like last game as soon as they let the Hawks get a little room they ran with it. The passing also left a bit to be desired as the game got very sloppy in the neutral zone. Bad turnovers also happened with greater frequency in the second. The Flames just kept making silly passes to nowhere and directly onto opposition sticks.

The penalty kill was quite scrambled in all honesty. They skated hard, and tried to pressure the puck. The Hawks simply executed perfectly as they tic tac toed all over the ice and then Toews gets a perfect pass and Miikka dropped a touch early and the penalty ends. The power play looked more like the waste of two minutes we are used to seeing. They never really sustained any pressure or maintained possession. They did create a few dangerous chances off the rush, but after that they would lose possession and have to chase the puck to their own end again.

Bertuzzi is really trying hard, but his hockey smarts seem to have been left in Calgary. He was making those horrible back passes to no one again and it caused more than one bad rush against the Flames. Nystrom is purely to blame for the second goal. What a horrible giveaway. I lay the blame for the third goal squarely on Miikka’s shoulders. That was a horrible rebound and an even worse attempt to save on the rebound. At least Iggy and Bourque are amazing still. Every time they hit the ice good things would begin to develop. Perhaps put them together and see how many goals they get as a tandem?

Third Period
The third period was more of the “just abouts” from the Flames. Just about enough energy, just about enough fore check, just about a good enough team. They weren’t overly physical, they didn’t pressure the Hawks very much, and the play was seriously dictated by the Hawks in the third. This team just couldn’t muster the required compete level in the third period and they always seemed just a step behind the Hawks. They also did little to nothing to try and control Toews and Sharpe as the both of them took liberties with the Flames defense at every turn in the third period.

No penalties were called in the final frame of this game whatsoever. Good job by the Zebras all game to be totally honest. There were missed calls, but nothing that would turn the hair of Fraiser even so I thought it was brilliantly done.

Overall Impressions
How many times are we going to see this team come out gang busters, then slowly regress in effort and ability as the second and third periods come and go? Do they not want to win the Stanley Cup? Seriously.

Three Stars by Solstice
1. Jonathan Toews
2. Nicolai Khabibulin
3. Patrick Sharpe

The Flames try to make a series of this on Monday at the Dome. Maybe they can remember how to play a SIXTY minute game at home.

By Solstice | Posted in Flames, Gameday, Playoffs | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

Western Conference Quarter Finals – Game Two – Gameday Pregame

April 18, 2009 – 9:38 am

Calgary Flames @ Chicago BlackHawks

7:00PM MST TSN and The Fan960

MOSS ROLLS!

The Flames gave us hope to begin this series and then they sat back and had it taken away. Without a doubt the Flames had control of that game, and it’s obvious that had they continued to press the advantage last game, we would be talking about taking both opening games. So really all the Flames need to do is replicate the first period from that game for a whole and complete sixty minutes tonight. That has been a common theme this season with the Flames, but it makes it no less true now than it was back in November.

Thundering hits, and relentless pressure. Get in the heads of the Hawks again, and this time instead of sitting back and nursing the lead, continue to charge forward and show no mercy. Stay out of the penalty box. Certainly the Flames did well killing off every opportunity last game, but you simply can not let a dangerous team like Chicago have too many chances. Speaking of chances, by all that is holy, get even just one power play goal. Pretty please.

Projected Line-ups

Bourque-Jokinen-Iginla
Cammalleri-Langkow-Bertuzzi
Lundmark-Conroy-Moss
Nystrom-Boyd-Roy
Defence Pairings:
Leopold-Phaneuf
Vandermeer-Sarich
Pardy-Aucoin
Extra: Eriksson

I shouldn’t even need to say this, but without question Miikka Kiprusoff between the pipes.

Injury Report
Calgary Flames
Mark Giordano D 02/20/2009 is on injured reserve and is out indefinitely – shoulder surgery
Wayne Primeau C 12/06/2008 is on injured reserve and will miss the remainder of the season – foot surgery
Robyn Regehr D 04/03/2009 is out indefinitely – knee
Rhett Warrener D 10/09/2008 is on injured reserve and is out indefinitely – shoulder
Chicago BlackHawks
Brent Sopel D 12/30/2008 is on injured reserve – undisclosed

Player to Watch
We Lichen Moss. That man has stepped up his game to a whole new level. He goes to every dirty spot on the ice, and has no fear, or give. He’s just a prototypical Flames player with no quit.

Updates as I find them.

By Solstice | Posted in Flames, Gameday, Playoffs | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off
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