On
The Line
A
seven game winning streak and the chance to exact some revenge on the
Red Wings after the loss in October.
A win tonight would also run the Flames home record to an
incredible 9-1-1.
The
Flow
The
Flames were unable to draw from the energy of the crowd early in the
game. A somewhat
lackadaisical effort in the first period left the Flames behind 1-0
early. However, the
momentum would shift the Flames way half way through the first period
after a breakaway goal by Tony Amonte. The Flames would continue to dominate in the remaining
periods and managed to keep the Red Wings� top guns off the score
sheet.
Three
Stars
1 � Tony Amonte. Had one of his best games as a Flame.
He was using his speed and quick hands to get in deep on the
Detroit defense all night. Not
only did he score the game-tying goal but he also assisted on the
Flames third goal that put the game out Detroit�s reach.
2 � Darren McCarty. His raw energy and strength
lit a fire under a listless Flames team in the first period.
He continued to crash and bang all night and put away his
second goal of the season. He
was obviously pumped up to be playing against his old team and it
showed.
3
� Mikka Kiprusoff.
Although he wasn�t tested too much throughout the game he did come
up solid on a number of close in chances.
His poise and solid play gave the Flames the confidence they
needed to fight back after going behind early in the game.
Big
Hit
Darren
McCarty absolutely crushed Chris Chelios in behind the Detroit net
half way through the first period.
As mentioned above, it was this kind of play that shook the
Flames out of their early funk.
Big
Save
Detroit
goalie Manny Legace came up huge against Flames forward Steven
Reinprecht midway through the third period.
Reinprecht managed to corral a loose puck at the Detroit blue
line and skated in alone against Legace.
Legace�s blocker soundly turned the quick shot away.
The
Goat
With
such a solid team effort it is tough to pick out a goat but the
Flames defensive performance early in the first earned them the
title. Andrew Ference gave the puck away to Wings center Robert Lang
at the Flames blueline. His
giveaway turned into the first goal of the game on the first shot of
the game. Shortly after
there were numerous defensive mistakes made in clearing the puck out
of the Flames zone. The
defense did, however, tighten up as the game went on.
Mr.
Clutch
It
is hard to pick just one Flame tonight so Amonte and McCarty share
the title of Mr. Clutch. Both
showed the speed, heart and determination that have come to be
associated with a winning Flames team.
Odds
and Ends
The
Flames took advantage of the no center line rule on their first goal.
Reinprecht feed a beautiful stretch pass to Amonte who went in
all alone on Legace�For the second straight night Flames coach and
GM Darryl Sutter mixed-up his lines throughout the game.
The starting forward line had Yelle centering Iginla and
Nilson�After a disappointing effort Monday night against the Wild
Jason Weimer was sent to the press box in exchange for feisty forward
Byron Ritchie�Jordan Leopold left the game early in the third
period after being cut in the face.
He did return�Chris Simon continued to show why he hasn�t
earned a spot on the top two lines.
He took a couple shifts with Iginla and his lack of speed was
painfully obvious�Calgary finished ahead of Detroit in a number of
areas including shots (28-22), hits (26-22), takeaways (9-3),
giveaways (7-12) and blocked shots (14-9)�Compared to the night
before the game was relatively well refereed.
Detroit took 4 penalties and the Flames 3.
Next
up �
Chicago Blackhawks, Friday November 18.
7:00 pm MST. Available
on Rogers Sportsnet and Fan 960.
Lines
-
Much
like the night before the lines did change throughout the game.
However, this is how they started�
Kobasew
- Reinprecht-Iginla
McCarty - Langkow - Amonte
Simon-Ritchie-Donovan
Nilson�Yelle-MacDonald
Hamrlik-Phaneuf
Leopold-Regehr
Ference-Warrener
