Wow.

The race to the finish line is coming down to the wire. Another exciting year in the NHL is about to wrap up and we have quite the dogfight in both the eastern and western conferences. Should things always come down to the wire? I don’t know. Don’t we all tend to procrastinate a little bit in our lives even though we say next time i’ll start earlier etc?The Calgary Flames are fighting for their playoff lives and unfortunately are on a 2 game losing streak. Am I going to panic? Nope. The loss to the Oilers was a tough one to take as the team played quite well and certainly put in the effort, but just didn’t get the result. The Vancouver game was a blowout - but some lessons in life are best learned from falling and learning how to pick ourselves up again. This team had it’s nose bloodied by a fiesty Vancouver squad. If anything, we should take our mad out against the Oilers tomorrow night as we look to regain our lost footing. Should we focus on winning the division? I think that might be a bit out of reach right now. Instead, the Flames forwards have to rededicate themselves to helping out the defense. Our star goalie needs to get his concentration back. Most importantly though, we need to be physically punishing our opponents every time they set foot across our blue line.

I’m inspired to write this post based on the WHL game I caught on the weekend where the Lethbridge Hurricanes beat the Brandon Wheat Kings, from pillar to post, in every conceivable category. Led by a strong fore check, the Hurricanes did not let the Wheat Kings dally for too long in their (Canes) zone. They physically dominated the game with numerous high-light real hits and they never let up for most of the game. The Flames could learn much from watching this team. On another positive note, the Calgary Hitmen have advanced to the second round of the WHL playoffs (along with the Hurricanes) and as such I can safely say that over the course of the next 2 months I will be seeing some amazing hockey. Forget social gatherings, forget the party’s forget relationships…its about hockey.

I love this time of year.

Go Flames

P.S. Go Hitmen…Go Hurricanes (except if Lethbridge plays Calgary then its Go Hitmen)

So, the Flames phoned it in from GM Place tonight, and I wonder how this will affect the team’s psyche going into the final three games.

Brian suggested to me this evening that the Flames could use a good wake-up call like this right now. I think there’s some merit to this, especially since this loss bumps Calgary down to seventh place. This team now ill-afford to sleep through games, and this should give them some much needed urgency. At the same time, we’re now starting to string losses together (one more and I’ll call it a streak). That’s the kind of trend that a team needs to avoid ahead of the post season. Lately I’ve been thinking back to the late season losses last season that saw us barely hang onto the eighth seed. I fear that a similar trend would yield similar first-round results this season.

Could there be a more satisfying way to buck the trend than to also devastate the Oilers’ playoff hopes on Tuesday night? I can’t think of one. Let’s hope that we can pull out a big win on Rexall ice.

One notable positive that I did see tonight was Keenan’s use of the bench after the game was out of hand. Dustin Boyd was given ample ice time, especially on the penalty kill, and displayed a competence out there that should earn him more ice time in the coming games. Outside of that, though, I’m glad I opted to enjoy the Hurricanes’ win tonight rather than sit through the Flames’ performance in its entirety.

The Vancouver Canucks obviously wanted this game more than the Calgary Flames did. They seemed to win all battles, and were first to all the pucks. The Flames “Jekyll and Hyde” play has plagued the team throughout the entire season and tonight was a terrible time for Hyde to show up. This was a crucial game for the Flames to keep their chances of first place in the Northwest division alive. Now they simply need to focus on making the playoffs.

I have 2 major complaints about the Flames in the game tonight:

First, laziness. Sure they played last night and I am sure they are tired, but all teams have to battle through that so that cannot be used as an excuse. At every turn, the Canucks were faster, smarter, and played harder than the Flames. Naslund’s goal in the first period and Linden’s goal in the second were a perfect examples of this. In both cases, the Flames should have been able to be the first to pounce on the rebound and clear the puck, however, in both situations, the Canucks player wanted it more and demonstrated it by picking up the rebound and scoring.

Second, the Flames played a very undisciplined game tonight. They let their emotions get the best of them and paid the price for doing so. The Canucks (very effectively) got under the skin of many of the Flames players. The team was short handed for almost the ENTIRE 3rd period and the final 6-2 score could have been much worse. Cory Sarich took 5 straight (stupid) penalties in the 3rd period. Even the captain joined in the goonery as he took 3 straight penalties purely out of frustration.

Now, I am an extremely competitive person and I have been known to let my temper flare during certain sporting events. But professionals at this level need to be able to retain their composure and not turn into goons when the get down by a few points. This only makes the team look bad while the opposing team looks like saints. Keenan needs to calm everyone down and come back as a composed group for the critical game versus the Oilers on Tuesday.

Go Flames Go!

“I don’t have to qualify him [to retain his rights], but I will,” Risebrough told the Star-Tribune. “It’s a bad message not to do that. He’s a good player. He needs a motivation [to rehab], and he doesn’t need that stress in his life.”

Doug Risebrough - Minnesota Wild

After the Patrick / Jonathan Roy shenanigans that has dominated hockey for the last week or so, its really nice to hear a great story from the Minnesota Wild. TSN has the story here.

Of course, this is the same hockey club that has sold out every single game since its return to the city. I wouldn’t expect anything less from such as classy organization and city.

Go Flames.

In the wake of Jonathon Roy’s suspension, Bob McKenzie has summed up my thoughts exactly on fighting in hockey.

Coming from someone who’s played the game at a competitive level and always in leagues where fighting is banned, let me tell you, you will never be able to keep fighting entirely out of the game. Game misconducts and certainty of suspension doesn’t dissuade 16 year olds from getting involved in a scrap when the game gets emotional. I’ve been a player in those fights, and I’ve been a linesman trying to break up those line brawls.

Roy committed a straight-up dumb attack on an unwilling opponent. He was suspended. The circle of life continues. And don’t think the Sagueneens will forget; this rivalry has more fighting to come, whether the Q tries to ban it or not.

For me the litmus test regarding fighting in hockey is this: Do fans cheer when a fight breaks out? We all know the answer is a resounding "yes". It’s emotional and it’s entertaining. Let the willing combatants duke it out, and suspend players for attacks and showboating like Roy.

I’ve been away for the blog for a few days, enjoying a brief vacation in the Rockies. Unfortunately I was on the wrong side of the Kicking Horse Line, so was subject to SportsNet Pacific. It’s good to be back to SportsNet West this evening.

And while we’re at it, it’s good to have the big three back as well. Not that they’ve really gone anywhere lately, but Iginla, Phaneuf, and Kipprusoff have been playing outstanding hockey lately. With Iginla in striking distance of his single season scoring mark, Phaneuf scoring both pretty goals as well as his trademark rifle, and Kipper providing solid backing, the Flames look to be in good shape for the playoffs.

Still, the 40-minute efforts are a little troubling to me. Being badly outplayed for 20 minutes can mean the difference between wins and losses. Once this team can start playing full 60-minute outings, I think they will be contenders in the post-season.

There’s a major no-brainer happening in the NHL right now. I’d like to think that the no-brainer here is the need to alter the touch icing rule to prevent injuries. It appears, however, that the real no-brainer is the collective NHL board of governors who refuse to revisit the value of this rule.

I’ve long been of the ‘abolish touch icing’ camp, simply because I think the risk it exposes players to is far greater than the value of the attacking player beating the icing. Sure it can be an exciting play, but I feel that the pro-touch icing folks are exaggerating its value to the game. I hadn’t considered that a compromise was possible to retain that excitement while reducing risk to player safety. Bob McKenzie has discussed the USHL hybrid rule on his blog and I have to admit that it’s a pretty satisfying compromise for me.

In the USHL, a linesman must make a judgment call on any potential icing. If the defending player gets to the faceoff dot or hash marks first or the defender and the attacker arrive there in a dead heat, the whistle is blown immediately for automatic icing.

Now, while I don’t think that the touch icing race is as exciting as its proponents claim, I don’t have a problem with these races if we can minimize the injury risk that currently comes along with it. Seeing now that it doesn’t have to be a black-and-white argument, I would like to see the NHL consider some such alternatives to protect its players.

I think changing this rule is a no-brainer, and I suspect that Al MacInnis, Mark Tinordi, Marty Reasoner, Marco Sturm, Mike Wilson, and now Kurtis Foster might agree with me.

Here we go again.

I rolled my eyes and cursed under my breath as Vancouver scored their second goal 12 seconds after their first. In a game that Calgary needed to win, things were not looking good for the boys in red,yellow,white and um black. The small contingent of Vancouver fans in attendance at the Dome certainly made their presence known. Oh how they must have basked in the glory of their insurmountable lead. All the Nucks had to do was play shut-down hockey. Right? About 50 or 60 games ago I would say that would have been a solid strategy. However, they were facing a Flames club that has gone through a season of trials and tribulations from both the coaching staff and the fans. This is a Calgary squad that is playing more like a team as the playoffs loom ever so closer. This team has heart. It has found that missing element that has eluded them for most of this season. Then why are they still in the playoff hunt? Simple. Talent. On paper, the Flames are a very deep and skilled team - perhaps the best skilled team that the Calgary organization has ever fielded. It would seem that they have finally found their voice. As I have often said, the quality of the play will point towards success or failure for this team. The Flames have responded by showing tremendous effort as of late.

Iginla, Kiprusoff and Phaneuf. The stars came out to shine once again and led our team to victory. Demonstrating that they can bounce back after a frustrating game, the Flames have proven tonight that they are ready to play and compete. Hold on boys and girls, the best is yet to come.Go Flames!

The Flames deserved a better fate tonight.

Although the Colorado squeaked out a victory, the boys in red put up a valiant effort in the first of a back to back session. 2 points meant an awful lot to both teams and this certainly puts a bit more pressure on the Flames. However, that same pressure would still be there should they have won anyways. Except for the PP, I was pretty happy with the effort that the Flames put in tonight as it was leagues ahead of the Columbus effort. This was a gritty effort put in by the Flames but the Avalanche played with more desperation and so they got the two points. The 2 man PK was pretty big for Calgary and I’m happy that this team can play short handed and so I hope that effort keeps up. The Powerplay, as I mentioned earlier, needs to crank it up by quite a few notches.

Knowing that Vancouver was coming up, it was a wise decision to pull Kipper after the 2nd goal (where was the icing call???????) as he will more than likely be starting the next game as well. While this was a tough 2 points to give up, it certainly does not spell doom for the Flames. Most importantly though, was the effort was consistent - a complaint I have had about this team in the past. This was a loss I could feel good about as I know that they will take their anger out against Vancouver tomorrow night. I am really looking forward to the Oilers game on Saturday as that should be a pretty epic battle.

Go Flames

I can’t do it. I just can’t do it.

Cheer for the Oilers?

No. Not in this lifetime or the next. I was screaming for joy when Carolina took them out in the finals a couple of years ago. Even though the Oilers can ‘help’ the Flames by beating the Wild tonight, I still will not root for them. To say that Oiler fans are cheering for the Flames is a bit of an exaggeration. The Oilers and Flames are arch rivals. End of story. You don’t cheer for a new George Lucas movie and you don’t cheer for the Edmonton Oilers - or if you were a *shudder* an Oiler fan, you don’t cheer for the Flames. In fact, you wish the worst upon your enemy, you kick them when they are down. You think of as many ways as possible to incur the wrath of your opponents by slandering them with as many accurate or inaccurate analogies to a variety of unpleasant images as possible.

To be frank, the Oilers are playing way over their heads. Everyone is talking about the feel good team of the year…and how they have overcome the odds to make hockey magic..yada, yada, yada. The Oilers suck. The are scoring many goals but they are letting in a horrible amount as well. Based on the legit games they have won, they do not deserve to be in the hunt for the playoffs. As soon as they come to realize that, the better the hockey world will be.

P.S. Go Wild (but only against the Oilers).