The Calgary Flames embarked on a short three game road trip last night, and with an overtime loss to the Ducks just one night ago, in a game the Flames maybe deserved a better fate in, the next step was taking on the suddenly resurgent Los Angeles Kings, winners of four straight, coming off a very successful road trip that has them nipping at the heels of the teams clinging to the final playoff spot in the West.
What you had was a recipe for disaster if you’re a Calgary Flames fan. Desperate team brimming with confidence, versus a stumbling team with but a single win in their last six, who lost the night before in overtime.
Or at least that was the plan until Miikka Kiprusoff decided to change things.
On The Line
A fair amount was on the line for the Flames tonight. With two thirds of their remaining games in the season on the road, getting victories where you can, against teams that ideally you should be able to beat, are of utmost importance.
The Flow
Barely two minutes into the game the Flames were already on a penalty kill, and shortly after that facing a five on three disadvantage, so from the onset of the game, it was all Kings. Midway through the first though, the goal-den boy, Mike Cammalleri found himself left alone on the open side of the net ready to accept a slick saucer pass from Todd Bertuzzi and the Flames, like the night before, had a one goal lead in the first period. Things calmed down for the Flames after that for the remainder of the first period with a few chances going back and forth, but both Miikka Kiprusoff on Johnathan Quick were calm and collected in their respective nets.
The second was a different story altogether. The Kings were on a mission to find a way past Kiprusoff, but the sensational Finn was looking like he did in seasons past almost making his performance look effortless. The Kings had numerous scoring chances, especially on a shift where Daymond Langkow, who had a fantastic game defensively, got caught out on a shift about three times as long as it should have been. Yet Kiprusoff was amazingly calm, always in position, gobbling up rebounds, the only scare for those watching the game coming when Anze Kopitar raised his hands in celebration after a snap shot from the circle, only to find that Kiprusoff had managed to get a shoulder on his shot and it slipped out behind the net. Calgary made a scare in the final few minutes when Todd Bertuzzi went in on a partial breakaway, only to turn and fire a great pass to Jarome Iginla who was uncovered and trailing the play, but Iginla flubbed the play and missed the net horribly.
The third was much like the second, but for the series of the game when Robyn Regehr flipped the puck over the glass five seconds after Craig Conroy had been tagged for the weakest of weak hooking calls. So for 1:55 of the third the Kings pressed. Dion Phaneuf, Cory Sarich and Rene Bourque in particular were key elements in keeping the Kings off the board during that near two minutes of hockey, as they kept the Kings from even getting a shot to Miikka Kiprusoff until nearly the end of the penalties. The Kings would continue to press, often hemming the Flames in their own zone until Bourque put the icing on a Miikka Kiprusoff 39 save shutout with an empty netter for his nineteenth goal of the season.
Three Stars
1. Miikka Kiprusoff: Kipper was lights out tonight, and the most amazing thing about his performance was how easy he made things look. Even when the Kings were mounting insane amounts of pressure, Kiprusoff was always facing the puck, never scrambled, never flustered. It was magic.
2. Dustin Brown: The Kings young captain was all over the ice doling out big hits, taking big hits to make plays. A very solid game.
3. Cory Sarich: It was sort of a toss up between Sarich and Aucoin for the third star, but most of the time a good game from Cory Sarich, you hardly notice him on the ice. Tonight, that was not the case, he was all over the place, and looking defensively dreamy while he did it.
Big Save
Out of all the saves that Miikka Kiprusoff made, and he made some fantastic ones, the biggest “save” was not by the Finn, but by Mark Giordano who played pass on a Kings two on one, and deftly swept the puck between his legs while the King forward following up the play could only dream of slipping the puck into the open net. A HUGE play from Giordano.
Big Hit
The nominees are: Dustin Brown obliterating the monster that is Adam Pardy behind the Flames net in the first; Dion Phaneuf leveling Dustin Brown at centre ice in the second; and Dion Phaneuf laying waste to Drew Doughty at centre ice in the third……And the winner is: DION PHANEUF ON DUSTIN BROWN! (*Resulting scoring opportunity aside).
The Goat
The Calgary Flames weren’t great tonight, there were a few individuals who played a good game, but the one guy who stuck out to me as really struggling was the captain: Jarome Iginla. His missed scoring opportunity in the second that would have made life a lot easier for teammates, coaches and fans alike, was really what sealed it for this shameful award.
Mr. Clutch
It’s easy to say Miikka Kiprusoff, but that’s too easy, and he’s been talked to death so far. Daymond Langkow had a spectacular effort on the defensive side of the game. The number of times he could be seen behind the net, supporting the defensemen down low…that’s clutch road hockey from the Captain of Consistency.
Odds and Ends
Lets talk about Curtis McElhinney! Why didn’t he get the sta.. no, just kidding. I just wanted to get D’Arcy riled up. For those who have met him, there was a nice shot of Bring Back Shantz (Wade to his friends) on Sportsnet tonight. Nice to see you joining the team on the road trip!
Sorry for the brevity of the odds and ends section. The lateness of the game really takes the life out of me.
Next Up
The Flames get a day of rest before heading to Phoenix to take on the Coyotes. Game time is 8PM as it’s the late game on Hockey Night in Canada on CBC.
Lines:
Bertuzzi – Langkow – Iginla
Cammalleri – Lombardi – Bourque
Glencross – Conroy – Moss
Roy – Boyd – Nystrom
Phaneuf – Giordano
Regehr – Aucoin
Sarich – Pardy
Kiprusoff
