Powerful Flames!
There was a moment from last night, sitting in the Dome having just watched Jason Spezza score a nifty goal to put the Sens up 2-0, where I was thinking (and the gentleman next to me was vocalizing) how wimpy the Flames were playing. A team as frail as Ottawa (Little Alfie fell like a tonne of bricks just skating into Robyn Regehr, on which Regehr was penalized…), should not have been winning the battles on the boards and pushing our D-men around… Then something changed… maybe it was the 2-0 score but the spark was lit and out came the line of Rene Bourque, with Iginla and Langkow battling hard pushing around the all-of-a-sudden helpless Sens and Langkow fed a pass to Bourque who finished the wrap around to get the Home squad on the board. This sparked turned a low fire into an inferno as Calgary scored twice in the next 3 minutes to take the lead. Each time, they had out muscled Ottawa on the boards and in the corners. To overpower and win battles is what Calgary needs to KNOW if they are to take on the Wings, Sharks and Blackhawks for the Western crown and a chance for the Cup! There was a time when a one goal lead was never feared by fans because Darryl Sutter had instilled this knowledge that they WERE stronger and just as quick as any team in the league… Last night, I got that shiver back when Adrian Aucoin from one knee one-timed the go-ahead goal!
Tomorrow, they’re playing a Wild team that is playing the Hawks tonight so if they KNOW they’re stronger and just as quick, tomorrow will be a walk in the park… if they choose to mull things over and THINK they might be a strong team, it’s going to be a long night.
Just a question for Flame fans to ponder… is Dion Phaneuf playing too much to the point of ineffectiveness? Last night, he looked sluggish, couldn’t get any Dijon (mustard, Anchorman Ron Burgandy would pronounce it as Dion…) on his shots to finish one-timers or quick passes and is currently sporting a very UN-Norris like -10… what’s going on?
December 28th, 2008 at 8:38 pm
I don’t believe that Dion is playing too many minutes… he’s young with lots of energy and can handle it. However, if he wants to be a Norris contender, he is going to have to focus on his defensive play. He seems to have REALLY focused on his offensive play this year and that is hurting his defense. You often see him pinching in situations where he wouldn’t have last year.
December 28th, 2008 at 10:12 pm
I think the added role of being a Forward on the Power Play has done something to his mental approach to situations too… Love the point about his focus… not seeing those crushing checks that make him who he is and under Darryl and Playfair, his Defence always led to better Offensive pinching situations! This year, he’s a -10 and is on pace for an average season of 55pts… FYI, Sergei Zubov and Brian Leetch had 89pts and 79pts respectively for Mike Keenan in 1994! Zubov led the team in scoring that year!