The difference
between winning and
losing in a 30 team
National Hockey League
is inexplicably close.
One night you fill
the net but have bad
goaltending resulting in
a loss.
Another night you
have a stellar showing
by your netminder but
struggle on the offence
and come up empty once
again.
Sometimes, and most
times it seems this
season for the Calgary
Flames, nothing works
out resulting in loss
after loss.
Everything came
together in Chicago on
Friday night however,
sending the visiting
Flames to the showers
with a 2-0 victory over
the struggling
Blackhawks.
The Flames had grit,
excellent penalty
killing, great
goaltending, and some
bounces in a well
deserved win.
On a night where even
Hans Blix would have
trouble identifying a
weapon of any sort, it
appeared the game was
heading for the books in
a scoreless draw.
|
2003
Draft Watch |
|
If
the draft was held
today ... |
|
Pick
|
Team
|
Player*
|
| 1 |
Carolina |
M.-A.
Fleury |
| 2 |
Atlanta |
Milan
Michalek |
| 3 |
Buffalo |
Nikolai
Zherdev |
| 4 |
Columbus |
Nathan
Horton |
| 5 |
Calgary |
Braydon
Coburn |
| *ranking:
Red
Line 2/26/03 |
|
The
Flames took the play to the
Hawks early, pinning the home
side in their own zone for much
of the first six minutes in
running up a six nil shot
advantage.
Chris
Drury came the closest to
opening the scoring when his
shot went between a Hawk
defender's legs and off the iron
behind Thibault.
Later
in the period Tyler Arnason also
fired a shot off the post,
leaving the game scoreless
through one period.
The
second period featured more of
the same; good goaltending and
some severely blown chances as
both teams seemed to self
destruct more often than not
when in close.
With
just over nine minutes to play
Chris Drury finally nuked the
double goose egg by following
the well known hockey axiom of
putting the puck on the net,
always.
Drury
came across the line, fired the
puck towards the Chicago cage,
only to have it glance off a
defenceman's rear end and past a
startled Thibault.
The
goal gives Drury four goals and
two assists in his last three
games - all Flame victories.
The
game was pretty much put on ice
when Theo Fleury made an ill-advised
back hand pass through his legs
in the Flames zone while the
Hawks were trying to get set up
with their goaltender pulled.
Craig Conroy intercepted the
faux pas and fired a rink wide
pass to Jarome Iginla who hit
nothing but net to score his
29th of the season. It was
Iginla's first goal since he
managed four in Phoenix on
February 23rd.
The
win moves the Flames out of the
Western cellar and past tomorrow
night's opponent, the Columbus
Blue Jackets, and into 14th
place.
In
terms of the draft position, the
win into spot number five, and
only one point behind the
Penguins with a game in hand.
Get
Your
Calgarypuck
Gear!
