Playing the Minnesota
Wild is a lot like a
visit to the dentist.
You don't look
forward to it, but you
have to do it at least
twice a year, and no
matter the outcome you
know you'll have a bad
taste in your mouth and
a splitting head ache.
The Flames escaped
this battle with the
Wild without any
cavities scraping out a
2-2 tie with the
streaking Jacques
Lemaire coached
defensive specialists.
|
| Saprykin |
McAmmond |
Iginla |
| Green |
Yelle |
Donovan |
| Gelinas |
Lombardi |
Kobasew |
| Lowry |
Betts |
Clark |
| Regehr |
Leopold |
| Montador |
Warrener |
| Lydman |
Ference |
|
Giving up the first goal
against the Wild is
usually game over, so a
draw in this one is
somewhat pleasing though
the Calgary squad
clearly deserved more in
out shooting their
visitors by a wide 46-19
margin.
"They get that
penalty shot, but that's
the kind of team that
they are. It is frustrating",
Dean McAmmond told
Sportsnet after the
game.
"After
they got that goal they
just sat on it, trying
to win with that one
goal. We talked about,
and got a bounce or
two."
"There
were some things
slipping in our game, we
did a little soul
searching and did a
better job tonight.
The
first period featured
two distinct halves.
The
first showing an
anything but tired
Calgary club taking the
play to the visiting
Wild and out shooting
them 13-5 but coming up
empty.
The
second half a complete
flipside with the Wild
taking the play to
Calgary and capitalizing
when Pascal Dupuis
pounced on a Sergei
Zholtok rebound to beat
Miikka Kiprusoff.
The
second period was
literally tipped toward
the Minnesota end with
the home side holding a
14-1 shot margin in the
period. The Wild end of
the ice was literally
slush by the end of the
stanza.
The
Flames seemingly found a
way to come back and
break the infamous Wild
trap but not by scoring
themselves.
Calgary
scored two goals in 2:21
of play both off the
kneed pads of Wild
defenceman Andrei Zyuzin.
First
Martin Gelinas wheeled
around the net and
passed the puck off of
Zyuzin and into the
Minnesota cage, and then
Dave Lowry made a
similar play attempting
to feed Chuck Kobasew
out front.
The
third period featured
more of the same with
the Flames taking it to
the Wild to the shot
tune of 13-5 but the
Wild scored the only
goal on a penalty shot.
Richard
Park froze Kiprusoff
with a forehand to
backhand move to tie the
game and send 16,279
Saddledome patrons home
frustrated.
It
wasn't that the goal was
cheap, Jordan Leopold
did put his hand on the
puck in the crease and
sweep it out, but to see
a team only generate 7
shots for the last 45
minutes of a 65 minute
hockey game and still
get a point was mind
numbing.
The
tie is a big one for the
Flames however, as the
club managed to avoid
any of the three games
against teams in their
division chasing them
(they also beat the
Oilers twice this week).
They
did lose some ground to
the Vancouver Canucks
who turned back the
Colorado Avalanche in
Denver tonight.
