The glory days of the ’80s aside, the benchmark for the Calgary Flames seems to be the 2003/04 squad that made a surprise run to the Stanley Cup finals, captured the hearts of a nation and re-kindled an overwhelming bout of Flames Fever in a city numbed by seven years of indifference and mediocrity. That team was a lunch bucket brigade that didn’t have a tremendous amount of skill but managed to gut out wins through hard work and sheer will. They overcame their shortcomings through a simple strategy: they simply wouldn’t say die. It’s fitting then, that the second half resurgence of a 2010/11 Flames team that many had written off and left for dead has been fueled by similar philosophies: play as a team, stick to the system, work hard every shift, and never, ever quit. It’s been working too; even though a rash of injuries has hurt them as of late, these Flames just won’t go away. As the season winds down and the games in hand shake out around them, perseverance is perhaps the only thing that can get the Flames into the playoffs now. They have to play their game, control what they can control, and fight to the last. Prior to tonight’s games, the difference between the Flames in 10th and the LA Kings in 5th was 3 measly points. Needless to say, the Flames will need everything they can get from here on out.
On The Line
It’s backs up against the wall, no tomorrow, all the cards on the table, do or die time. If that’s not enough clichés for you, tack on the phrase “must win”. With the Flames currently sitting in on the outside looking in and everyone else around them still enjoying games in hand, getting two points out of this one really is crucial. A regulation loss, and that sound grating in your ears just might be Rita McNeil warming up the ‘ol vocal cords.
The Flow
There has been a fair amount of talk recently about the Flames not getting the bounces they were getting ten or fifteen games ago, and how it is impacting them on the score sheet. This was made painfully obvious just over three minutes in the first period, as the Flames had been playing well enough but ended up yet again being the victims of another early goal. Jamal Mayers threw the puck loosely across the slot, where it found the stick of Torrey Mitchell as he charged to the goalmouth and deflected behind a surprised Miikka Kiprusoff. The Flames would draw even with an Iginla power play goal, but the deadlock was short-lived as two minutes later Andrew Desjardins potted his first NHL goal (who saw that coming?) with a wicked wrister that beat Kiprusoff high stick side. The Flames would tie it up again after some hard work along the boards by none other than Ales Kotalik, when Cory Sarich ripped a long shot from the blue line that found its way past Antti Niemi. Patrick Marleau would put the Sharks ahead to stay when he beat Jay Boumeester to the outside and roofed a shot into the Calgary goal. Marleau would score the eventual game winner just over 2 1/2 minutes later on a power play courtesy of an Alex Tanguay holding penalty, putting the Sharks up 4-2 heading into the first intermission.
The Flames did their best to climb back into the game in the second, with the newly-minted line of Lance Bouma, Matt Stajan, and newcomer Greg Nemisz churning out two excellent shifts. Both rookies had scoring chances but just couldn’t capitalize. The Flames would draw within one when Rene Bourque scored a weird backhand goal that fooled everyone in the building, including the goal judge. No red light, no cheers, and even the Flames players seemed caught off guard and didn’t celebrate until they began to realize what had happened. It was as close as they would get though, and the Sharks restored their two goal cushion when Torrey Mitchell potted his second of the game off a goalmouth scramble that featured several saves by Miikka Kiprusoff.
The Flames started the third period on their heels, killing off the remainder of a late penalty to Anton Babchuk. From that point on, San Jose went into defensive lockdown and the Flames just didn’t seem to have the jump to do anything about it. Cory Sarich tried to spark his team when he plastered Logan Couture into the boards with a heavy but clean check, but all he got out of it was a five minute major after dancing with an unimpressed Ryane Clowe. Calgary started to press midway through the period, but a Jay Bouwmeester pinch allowed the Sharks to escape on a 2-on-1, and Logan Couture got the last laugh when he snapped home his 28th goal of the year to make the final score San Jose 6, Calgary 3.
Three Stars
- Torrey Mitchell: Two goals and a couple other chances from a guy who seemed to find himself in the right place at the right time all night.
- Miikka Kiprusoff: Seems odd to pick a goaltender as a game star on a night when he allowed 6 goals, but if not for Kiprusoff’s efforts the Sharks goal total may have hit double digits.
- Patrick Marleau: Strong game from the Sharks veteran, scored 2 quick goals in the first that the Flames would never recover from.
Big Save
Mikka Kiprusoff had Devin Setoguchi’s number all night, stoning him once on a second period 3-on-2 chance and slamming the door again during an early 3rd period San Jose power play. The only thing Setoguchi threw at him that he couldn’t stop was Setoguchi himself; crashing the net early in the 3rd and wrapping Kiprusoff around one of his own goalposts.
Big Hit
Mark Giordano absolutely destroyed Ryane Clowe along the end boards in the Flames zone with a heavy hit that drew the ire of Dany Heatley, whose retaliatory boarding penalty set the table for Iginla’s powerplay goal early in the first period.
The Goat
Jay Bouwmeester had several brutal giveaways in his own end and got beat like a rented mule on Marleau’s first goal. The offense hasn’t ever manifested itself during the guy’s tenure with the Flames, and his defensive play as of late has been hitting the highlight reel for all the wrong reasons. For 6.8 million per season, a lot more is expected.
Mr. Clutch
Sadly, there was no clutch player for the Flames on a night when they desperately needed one. Kiprusoff did his best but was unable to turn aside the potent San Jose offense on his own. Probably the best clutch performance of the evening belonged to Torrey Mitchell, whose timely second goal of the evening sucked the momentum out of the Flames after Rene Bourque’s second period goal drew them within one.
Odds and Ends
A playoff race as close as this year’s is as frustrating as it is exciting. The Flames playoff hopes took a serious hit tonight, but the standings are so insane that all if would take is for a team ahead of them to lose two games and the Flames to win two games, and they would be right back in the thick of it. They are now in a position where they will require outside help to make it, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility yet……Mikael Backlund is really growing into that top six role. At times he was the most noticeable member of the first line tonight, and not in a bad way……Some people will say it’s an excuse, but the injuries down the stretch have really hurt the Flames. They still aren’t really playing badly, but it’s obvious that the chemistry that was evident with this team three weeks ago has dwindled as they juggle the lines in order to fill the holes……what is it with the Flames and opposing players scoring milestone goals? Need your first ever? No problem, just play the Flames. It’s seriously mind-boggling……it is beyond discouraging to watch the out of town scoreboard these days. Was there ever any doubt that the Dallas / Anaheim game would be a three pointer? Of course, both of the teams the Flames are in direct contention with just have to each pick up points. It’s enough to drive a Mormon to drink……As unlikely as the playoffs seem now, this Flames team has at least shown some heart down the stretch. Missing the dance is still a disappointment, but I have to say I’m a lot more impressed with them now than I was in December. These last six games will be nothing if not interesting.
Next Up
The Flames finish up their road trip in Mulletville against the lowly Oilers, who would love nothing more than to spoil any possibility of a post season party for their arch-rivals from the fair city to the south. The Flames only hope of making the playoffs now is to win as many games as they can and hope for help on the out of town scoreboard. The Battle of Alberta should be motivation enough to come prepared to play, and it’s two points that the Flames sorely need as their magic number gets smaller and smaller.
Lines (To Start):
Tanguay – Backlund – Iginla
Bourque – Glencross – Kostopoulos
Kotalik – Jokinen – Jackman
Bouma – Stajan – Nemisz
Regehr – Bouwmeester
Giordano – Sarich
Staios – Babchuk
Kiprusoff
