Two months ago the Flames got on a pretty decent roll despite a boatload of injuries and the whole hockey world doubting them. Then, players came back from injury and just like that the magic was gone, and the team starting losing.
Tonight, the injury depleted Flames found a way to win again, their 5th straight win a huge 4-1 victory over the Coyotes. - Full Article –
The hair on your arm stands on end as the electricity in the building takes hold and charges through your veins. Beads of perspiration trickle down your forehead as you immerse yourself in the collective storm of the “C” of red. You cheer a desperation sliding block, jeer a behind the play jostle, and hold you breath as a blast from the point whistles just wide. Your throat, already coarse from shouting, fails to swallow as the opposition dangerously storms the zone. And your heart rips to shreds and is consumed by your churning stomach every time the puck doesn’t bounce your way.
And that’s just the opening shift.
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The Flames once again are finding a way; a huge variable for a team looking to turn their last 14 games into 20 points and a playoff spot.
Their scoring has returned in force at a time when perhaps their season long saviour Miikka Kiprusoff needs some help; as the savvy veteran seems to be fighting the puck. Like games against Montreal and Winnipeg at home, the Flames found heaping servings of adversity, but also 2 points in a 4-3 scramble in Minnesota on Sunday afternoon.
The result? Back into 8th place in the West with 13 games left to play on their schedule. Fun!
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When I had my season ticket draft back in September and ended up with the third pick, I was pleasantly surprised when this game was still on the table. Somehow the ticket owner, and the first two people who drafted, completely forgot about this rather historic game. The Atlanta Bowl, the return of the True North, the Jets are back in town baby! Now, the excitement of this game, in general regards of hockey, was pretty much off the chart before the big news of Wednesday arrived. No, I’m not talking about the new iPad, Calgary Flames first round pick in 2011, Sven Bärtschi, was called up from his junior team, the Portland Winterhawks, to fill in for Tim Jackman in an emergency basis.
I can’t tell you the number of people who begged me for my tickets to tonight’s game. - Full Article –
Purgatory. A temporal void where lost souls await their fate. Not quite good enough, not quite bad enough. Unable to join the joyousness above, but not yet suffering the scorn and hopelessness of those below. A place to pay for the sins committed before, where full cleansing is often necessary, but never easy to accomplish.
Unfortunately for the Flames and their fans, this is where they’ve been mired ever since their glimpse of heaven in 2004, following seven years of torturous hell. They have consistently found themselves floating in the very middle, not quite good enough to join the league’s elite, not quite bad enough to justify a blow-up and rebuild.
Hell hath no fury like an embittered Flames fan. They are sick of their placement and might even welcome the burn of the coals if it meant that one day the Flames would rise again. Yet the team remains on that bubble. Winning when hope seems all but lost. Losing when they sit on the verge of emergence.
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