All it took was the ripping sound of a page off a calendar.

With the Hallowed month put to bed, the Flames came out with one of their best efforts of the season in turning back the Minnesota Wild by a 3-0 score.

On The Line

Halting a skid, getting the season turned around, putting something positive in the Calgary dailies. You can only say "it's early" for so long before it simply becomes too late. The Flames needed to kick off a key month with a big victory

The Flow

The Flames put the boots the Wild in the first period, giving the Wild nothing defensively, and find the net to take the lead. Things churned into the ice somewhat in the second, before leading way to a penalty filled third and a Flame victoyr. 

Three Stars 
1 - Dion Phaneuf - Still some confusion on the goal scores in tonight's game. Some sources including Sportsnet have Dion Phaneuf with two goals, though Calgarypuck believes his night will hit the books at a goal and an assist with Jarome Iginla tipping in the second goal. 
2 - Chuck Kobasew - Held off the scoresheet, but energized and using his speed all night, the best player on the ice. 
3 - Rhett Warrener - A one man wrecking crew on the blueline leveling Wild players on seven different occasions.

Big Hit

Tough game to pick one specifically ... Jason Wiemer lit up Andrei Zyuzin, Dion Phaneuf on Marc Chouinard, Andrei Zyuzin on teammate Kyle Wanvig, but the honours go to Rhett Warrener on Stephane Veilleux in the second period when he pounded the young winger into the corner boards.

Big Save

I'll call this one a tie ... Manny Fernandez turning back a charging Chuck Kobasew in the first period, and Miikka Kiprusoff coming up huge on a third period powerplay deflection on Marc Chouinard.

The Goat

The club as a whole for it's failure to put a complete 60 minute game together once again. The usual culprits; the powerplay, the penalty killing, and goal scoring were all decent, but a second period sag almost cost the team the hockey game.

Mr. Clutch

The team's six blueliners. The Wild didn't get a sniff all night, as the visitors needed three third period powerplays to push their shot total above the 20 mark and actually force Miikka Kiprusoff to make a difficult save.

Odds and Ends

Darren McCarty made his return to the lineup after missing the final four road games on the club's unsuccessful five game gaunt. He added an energetic and physical presence to the team's roster. ... Of the four players singled out by Darryl Sutter in the papers this week, Chuck Kobasew provided the most clear response. He was flying out their tonight, taking the puck wide, finding open teammates, trying wrap arounds. One of his best NHL level games. ... Funny, I was thinking how bad the Dome ice was again last night when Roger Millions shared the fact that Saddledome technicians stated that Calgary was rated 5th in the league for ice conditions in the 03/04 season while Edmonton was 26th. Huh? ... Brent Burns has moved up from time to time in his career when the Wild have had injuries in their forward ranks. Watching Mr. Pylon tonight I have to wonder if he's better off staying up there. Burns was burned wide three times in this game in his "natural" position of defence. ... Has Calgary had a defenceman since Al MacInnis that has had a better hockey sense offensively than Dion Phaneuf? It doesn't always take the howitzer to get the job done as Phaneuf showed tonight in flipping two wristers toward the paint to give Calgary it's two non empty net goals. ... Jarome Iginla's third period goal gave the Captain goals in four straight games, and points in seven straight. ... Jordan Leopold may be pointless this season, but his play in his own zone is certainly not. The Minnesota product is much better in his own zone than I personally expected when he came into the NHL. Great positioning and great strength. ... Jason Wiemer won't be mistaken for a NHL heavyweight but you have to hand it to the guy for his willingness to mix it up when the opportunity presents itself. ... Have to also give some credit to Tony Amonte in answering the bell when Nick Schultz plastered his face into the boards in the third period. Amonte went straight at Schultz and tossed off the gloves. To add to the fun he prompted the crowd for a cheer when he left the ice. Another classic example of why the instigator penalty is just silly.

Next up - Columbus on Thursday night.

Lines -

Amonte-Langkow-Iginla
Weimer-Reinprecht-Kobasew
Nilson-Yelle-Donovan 
McDonald-Ritchie-McCarty

Hamrlik-Phaneuf 
Leopold-Warrener 
Ference-Montador