There are some teams in the NHL that you absolutely hate to lose to. The Blackhawks are one of them, and one team Calgary seems to lose to far too frequently. Tonight the Flames take on the Blackhawks team who completely embarrassed them earlier in October by recovering from a 5 goal deficit to win 6-5. Will Calgary get their revenge?
On The Line
For Calgary, to stop a losing streak before it starts. With 10 out of 14 November games taking place away from the friendly confines of the Saddledome, garnering these home points is crucial to a successful month. In fact, Calgary’s home record of 6-4 is fairly mediocre, and a far cry from the dominance we’ve seen from them here in recent seasons. Chicago is sporting an identical 12-5-2 record as Calgary, and lead their division by 2 points. They have won 4 consecutive games and have recorded at least a point in 5 straight. They will be looking to let the good times roll tonight against an opponent they have completely owned in recent years, with Chicago posting a 6-2 record in their last 8 trips to the Saddledome.
The Flow
Calgary applied most of the pressure in the early going. They got some pucks to the net and even drew an early powerplay chance which generated lots of pressure on Huet. The game remained scoreless until 9:15 when Troy Brouwer was given all day in front of the Flames net on a powerplay, and whacked in his 3rd rebound attempt to give the Hawks a 1-0 lead. Calgary had their chances to tie it up before the intermission, but couldn’t solve Cristobal Huet.
The Flames started the 2nd period on the right foot, as Olli Jokinen took an Iginla pass at 00:14 and wired a wrist shot top shelf past Huet. That was about the only glimmer of hope for Calgary, as things quickly got out of hand. At 2:01, Kris Versteeg tipped in a Brent Seabrook powerplay blast to restore the lead. Then Dustin Byfuglien, Andrew Ladd, Patrick Kane, and Kris Versteeg for the 2nd time would all add goals to give the Blackhawks an ugly 6-1 lead heading to the 3rd period.
The Flames just wanted the game to end, so not much happened in the 3rd. Ben Eager scored to make it 7-1. Nothing else of note happened. Bad game for Calgary. Should be some interesting fallout tomorrow.
Three Stars
1. Cristobal Huet: Rare for a goalie to register 1st star in a blowout, but Huet was spectacular in net for Chicago. This could have been a much different game if things had gone differently early on.
2. Duncan Keith: 3 assists, +2, and led the Hawks in icetime. Very solid blueliner.
3. Kris Versteeg: 2 goals for the Hawks forward who always seems to find the net against Calgary.
Big Save
Jay Bouwmeester was absolutely robbed by Cristobal Huet on what might be the save of the season. With the Flames down a goal in the 2nd, and the game still well within reach, Jay Bouwmeester grabbed a loose puck and fired it towards a wide open net. Huet, who was completely out of position, sailed through the air and got his blocker on the puck just before it found pay dirt. A huge save and the turning point in the game as the Blackhawks never looked back.
Big Hit
Niklas Hjalmarsson cleaned Rene Bourque’s clock when the Flames forward made a pass near the centre line at the boards. The thundering hit sent Bourque flying and led to Nigel Dawes taking a retaliatory penalty, which in turn led to one of the Hawks second period goals.
The Goat
I don’t know what to blame most. Lazy defense. lazy forwards, the penalty kill? Undisciplined, unmotivated, and unphysical…the entire team checked out of this game before it even began.
Mr. Clutch
Cristobal Huet. Believe it or not, this game did have a chance to be different. Had some bounces gone Calgary’s way early, totally different ballgame. Huet played a large part in making sure Calgary stayed frustrated and unwilling to work for their goals.
Odds and Ends
This was one of those games when you just know, no matter what happens, the Flames can not win. It was a first period and start of the 2nd period that had those vibes all over the place. So frustrating to watch. The only positive for Calgary was the play of Olli Jokinen. He worked hard in practice with Brent Sutter on just shooting the puck, and shoot he did. He led Calgary with 7 shots on goal and did look much more dangerous overall. Calgary allowed 4 powerplay goals, and looked every bit as bad on the PK as that stat suggests. Dion Phaneuf was 4th in Flames Defencemen icetime. Regehr, Bouwmeester, and Giordano all had more. Calgary outshot Chicago 27-26. On the 1st Blackhawk goal, the Brouwer PP goal…how the heck did the Flames give that guy 4 whacks at the puck? Just baffling. If you have a chance, watch the highlight of that goal and watch the jaw-droppingly bad coverage.
Next Up
Calgary will travel to Los Angeles to take on the Kings in a dreaded afternoon game on Saturday. 2:00 PM and you can catch the action on Sportsnet West and the Fan 960.
Lines:
Glencross – Jokinen – Iginla
Dawes – Langkow – Bourque
Nystrom – Boyd – Moss
Sjostrom – Conroy – Prust
Regehr – Phaneuf
Sarich – Bouwmeester
Pardy – Giordano
Kiprusoff
