Despite the Flames loss, game 6 turned out to be a very entertaining game with lots of hits, goals, and end-to-end play. However, the Flames fell just shy of completing the comeback again, and fall 3-2 in the series. Needless to say, Sunday’s game in Calgary is their most important game of the year.

Things I noticed from the game 6 are:

Positives:

With the exception of a few costly giveaways, I felt that the Flames play was their best of the series. They managed 36 shots on goal (compared to 10 in the previous game), and had several excellent scoring opportunities.

Kipper had a strong game, even though he allowed 4 goals in 26 shots. To be fair, the goals that were scored were very difficult goals.

Iginla looked great. This guy plays with so much intensity and is a true leader - you can tell this guy wants to win more than anyone else on the ice. His supporting cast needs to pick up their play.

Negatives:

Matthew Lombardi - this guy has amazing speed and can blow by most defenders, however, I don’t think he knows what to do with the puck when he gets close to the goal.

The secondary scoring has dried up. The majority of the goals are coming from their top 4-5 players, while most of the other players aren’t doing much at all. Huselius is ABSOLUTELY invisible and might as well be riding the pine and let a young guy come up from the minors.

The Big Guns for the San Jose Sharks have finally showed up and last night, Marleau, Cheechoo, Campbell, and Thorton lead the way in the Sharks win. Hopefully in Sunday’s game the Flames will get back to their old ways of shutting these guys down.

Back in January, when the announcement was made that Curtis Joseph had been signed, I must admit, I was somewhat worried about the deal. A 40 year-old goaltender was not my idea of a great pickup. I had heard rumours that Joseph was looking to make a return to the NHL and Calgary was an option for him, but I didn’t think that the rumours would ever come to fruition.

Jump ahead 2 months… I think this is one of the best deals Darryl Sutter made this season. Why? Let me explain:

1. He has proven he is still a great goaltender. So far, Joseph has played 3 full games in a Flames uniform. His first (unfortunately) was against the Oilers in which the rest of the team forgot to show up. All 5 goals allowed were directly related to poor coverage in the defensive zone. I don’t think the score would have been any different had Kipper been between the pipes. The next 2 games vs. Dallas and Phoenix, Joseph has been superb and, in the case of the Dallas game, stole 2 points for the Flames.
2. He puts pressure on Kipper. Until the signing in Joseph, it really didn’t matter how poorly Kiprusoff played, he was still going to get ice time… and a lot of it. The other 2-3 backup goalies in the Flames system had such little NHL experience that Miikka was going to play no matter what. Now that Joseph is here, Kiprusoff knows that he is not an automatic starter. If his play degrades, Mike Keenan will have no problems letting him ride the pine for a few games while Joseph takes over.
3. He’s had tons of experience. This guy knows what it takes to win. He’s fourth on the NHL all time win list - which is an amazing accomplishment when you think of the talented goaltenders that have passed through the league. He’s also had a tremendous amount of experience in the playoffs and can pass this on to the younger players on the team.
4. He’s a leader in the locker room. Curtis Joseph has been around for a long time and has a tremendous amount of knowledge when it comes to playing in the NHL. He’s a leader for the young players on the team and has the ability to keep players calm in stressful situations. I predict we will Curtis Joseph in some sort of leadership role in the NHL after his playing career is over.