A few days into the NHL season, I’ve got a couple of questions that I’d like answered.

Who turned the central division standings upside-down?

Who’s been wearing Roberto Luongo’s jersey?

I’m sure things will average out over the course of the season, Luongo will put up all-star numbers, the Red Wings will content for the conference title, and Jarome Iginla will score a truck load of goals. But for now it’s fun to look at the early-season anomalies.

ESPN’s NHL player survey results have been released for 2008/09, and Jarome Iginla came out of it looking pretty good this year.

ESPN contacted every team in the NHL and got responses from over 20% of the players in the league for this survey.

Iggy was named both the best leader, as well as the player who would make the best president/prime minister. He also garnered votes as a player that his colleagues would like to trade lives with. None of this comes as a surprise to Flames fans, but it’s good to see that he’s getting that recognition from his colleagues league-wide.

Other notable Calgary inclusions:

• Todd Bertuzzi is considered one of the worst complainers in the NHL, although he trails far behind Sidney Crosby
• We Flames fans are considered among the “most disruptive” in the league
• Kerry Fraser was selected as the best referee in the league. This would suggest that votership was low from the Flames roster

Jarome Iginla has been one of the NHL’s most consistent players of this decade. He is the heart and soul of the Flames due in part to his class, leadership, and intensity. Both tough and a gifted goal scorer, Iginla is from the same mold as such legends as Maurice Richard and Gordie Howe. As Iginla goes, so too go the Flames.

Not since 2000/01 has Iginla scored fewer than 35 goals, and twice he has reached the 50 goal plateau. Last season, Iginla’s point total was 32 points more than his next closest teammate (98 pts vs. Kristian Huselius’ 66), and became the Flames all-time leading goal scorer (374 and counting). It really goes without saying that Iginla is a man to watch once again this season!

Can you believe these ten guys were drafted ahead of Iginla in 1995? I can’t.

• Bryan Berard (Ottawa)
• Wade Redden (NY Islanders)
• Aki Berg (Los Angeles)
• Chad Kilger (Anaheim)
• Daymond Langkow (Tampa Bay)
• Steve Kelly (Edmonton)
• Shane Doan (Winnipeg)
• Terry Ryan (Montreal)
• Kyle McLaren (Boston)
• Radek Dvorak (Florida)

I think maybe Edmonton and Montreal, in particular, would like to have that one back.

The only knock I have on Iginla is being from Edmonton, but we’ll forgive him for that.

Things could be worse. Tomorrow is the final day of first round NHL playoff action, and up to this point the Flames are still alive. Games four and five were winnable hockey games for us, so we could be in better shape than we are, but given the pre-series outlook, a seventh game can hardly be considered disastrous.

So what does game seven mean? For Calgary, a loss would not be catastrophic. Disappointing, yes, but most pundits didn’t expect the season to last this long. The Sharks, on the other hand, have been perennial playoff blunders, seemingly unable to reach their potential on the NHL’s biggest stage. It’s safe to assume that big changes could be afoot in San Jose should they fall to the Flames tomorrow night. The same cannot be said of their counterparts. A first round departure would likely result in the typical minor off-season tweaks for which Darryl Sutter is known. But let’s not dwell on the “what if we lose” scenario. Instead, let’s ask “what do we need to do to win?”

Here are my keys to victory on Tuesday night:

• Shut down the stars - when the Sharks have been successful, it’s been on the efforts of Thornton, Cheechoo, and Marleau. The Flames can win this game if they continue to pay close attention to shutting those guys down.
• Keep the shots down - it’s hard to win games when you’re getting outshot 40-15. Make life easy for Kipper by keeping the shots down to low 20’s.
• Energy through all the lines - all four lines need to contribute, as they did last night. Guys like Lombardi, Nystrom, and Vandermeer providing a spark could be the difference.
• Let’s get physical - as we saw in game three, big hits can swing the momentum of a game. Laying the body to the Sharks early and often will set the right tone for the Flames.

There’s too much snow to golf, so let’s keep playing hockey!

One night down in the NHL playoffs, and what a start it’s been. Let’s take a look around the league at the series that opened this evening:

• It’s been 19 years since Gary Roberts won a Stanley Cup with the Flames, and he looks like he wants to win another. It also looks like he enjoys playing the Senators. Adding his performance to those of Crosby, Malkin, Sykora, and Hossa and these guys really have the firepower to make this a short series.
• Didn’t see much of the Rangers/Devils game, but it looks like Sean Avery is having an impact in this series already.
• Minnesota/Colorado made for an exciting start to the playoffs; A penalty shot and eventual overtime make for plenty of drama. If I had to pick an Avalanche player to score in OT, Joe Sakic would be my pick every time.
• Big play from Jarome Iginla and Miikka Kiprusoff came to play tonight. The final few seconds of the game seemed to last an eternity as the Flames fought to keep a tying goal off the board. As Eklund said in his predictions, when Iggy and Kipper are involved anything can happen. If the Flames can play full series like that it wouldn’t be a surprise to see them win this series. So far it’s been a much better start than last season in Detroit.
• And in the WHL: The Calgary Hitmen and Lethbridge Hurricanes moved a step closer to meeting in the conference finals. Each with 3-1 leads in their respective series now, my dream series is starting to look like a reality. And yes, I’ll think about the road trip to support the ‘Canes in Calgary in that series.

… my wife really hates this time of year.

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.

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.