Tuesday night game notes

Watching tonight’s game I’m reminded of the old Don Henley song “How Bad Do You Want It?” The song answers that question with “not bad enough.” Outshot 38-18 by a team that’s nine points back of a playoff spot? The Flames aren’t looking like a hungry team lately, and it’s got me a little scared.

The Flames’ inability to keep star players off of the score sheet is more than a little disconcerting. Ovechkin, Kovalchuck, and Nash have all burned Calgary recently. The formula seems pretty simple: have a look at the opposing team’s stats before the game and pay a little more attention to shutting down the key players. Obviously you can’t shut guys like these down 100%, but right now we’re at the opposite end of the spectrum, and that needs to improve.

That doesn’t begin to address the paltry 18 shots on goal, but I think a stronger commitment to defense would be a welcome starting point.

Some other thoughts that came to mind during the game:

• Ken Hitchcock is sure looking old without that mustache
• The SportsNet announcers called the Blue Jackets “Nashville” when they were talking about Rick Nash. I wonder how often that happens.
• Iginla was anything but clutch today. He was absolutely invisible in the final ten minutes.