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Flames
Fall Flat in Denver
Avalanche 7 - Flames 4
D'Arcy
McGrath
January 24, 2006
Hey
even good teams lay a big fat egg once and a while.
The
Calgary Flames ended an impressive four game winning streak by doing just that
in Denver on Tuesday night, to the tune of a 7-4 drubbing by the Colorado
Avalanche.
Even
their past road trip, a journey that began with three straight losses, featured
games where the Flames competed, led, and in some cases should have won.
Not
tonight however, as the team looked one part tired, and another disinterested in
going down to their divisional hosts.
On
The Line
A
great chance to add even
more real estate between
themselves and their
other Northwest pals.
The Canucks had blown
one in Columbus, and the
Edmonton Oilers were
idle.
And ... lets face it,
every game is simply
huge given the surreal
log jam in the West.
The
Flow
The
Flames had a decent
first period, surviving
a tough start and for
the most part taking the
play to their hosts. The
second period was a
different story however
as the Avalanche took
advantage of numerous
misques, and some spotty
defensive coverage and
goaltending to run up a
four goal lead.
Three
Stars
1
� Joe Sakic. Simply
one of the best ... all
time. Avalanche leader
had two goals and an
assist on the night,
moving past Guy Lafleur
on the all time goals
list. Sakic now sits at
561.
2 � Chuck Kobasew.
With the way
his play has come on of
late it was only a
matter of time until his
goalless streak came to
an end. He did so
dramatically scoring
three on the night to
move his season total to
14.
3 � Alex Tanguay.
Slick forward
fed Sakic twice and
scored one of his own as
well.
Big
Hit
Andrew Ference, while
killing a penalty,
crunched both Rob Blake
and teammate Marcus
Nilson almost leading to
a wide open Avalanche
player and a powerplay
goal against.
Big
Save
David Aebischer simply
stoned Marcus Nilson in
the first period when he
reached back and got his
mitt on a labeled shot
that would have tied the
game at one a piece. Not
a lot in the way of
great goaltending from
either stopper the rest
of the way, however.
The
Goat
The Flames had a good
start and looked to be
heading toward two
points until two game
variables got firmly in
the way. One ... the
powerplay. Was just
awful through forty
minutes with the game on
the line and the
Avalanche scoring on
their chances. The other
goat? As mean as it
sounds, Phil Sauve
simply has to be better.
All the goals certainly
couldn't be hung on the
infrequently seen
backup, but he has to
stop some tough ones and
give his team a chance.
He didn't.
Mr.
Clutch
Certainly not a Flame in
this one given the way
this game went down.
We'll toss it to Joe
Sakic for another great
night in a very great
career. He was dangerous
every time he was on the
ice, giving his
ex-teammate Phil Sauve
fits.
Odds
and Ends
The ice in Denver was
just brutal, leading to
at least Chuck Kobasew's
giveaway resulting in a
goal, and possibly even
Shean Donovan's boo boo.
... Line combinations.
Not a great game to
praise lines, but the
Flames really do have a
nice quartet of trios up
front right now.
Huselius is a good mix
with Daymond Langkow,
Jarome Iginla looks
great with Matthew
Lombardi, and I really
like Chuck Kobasew with
Stephane Yelle and
Darren McCarty. Even the
fourth line with Chris
Simon, Marcus Nilson and
Shean Donovan has some
punch. ... What was Phil
Sauve thinking going
down the ice to fight
with 30 some seconds
left in the game? Just
odd in my opinion, there
wasn't enough of an
incident to warrant such
a thing. Like Roger
Millions pointed out
there must be some
history between the two
goaltenders. ... Any
guesses on how Sutter
reacts to this one? He's
been a pretty cool
customer after losses
this season, unlike past
seasons. ... Kobasew
scored his three goals
on only three shots. ...
Pretty much an off night
for all the Flames best
players with the
possible exception of
Steve Reinprecht who had
some zip. ... Ritchie
Regehr is a player,
probably a full time
player as early as next
season.
Next
up � Back
to back games in
Chicago, games three and
four on a five game trip
that wraps up in St.
Louis on Monday.
Lines
-
Reinprecht-Lombardi-
Iginla
McCarty- Yelle- Kobasew
Simon-Nilson- Donovan
Huselius-Langkow-Amonte
Hamrlik-Phaneuf
Leopold-Regehr
Ference-Warrener
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