Its officially the end of the Flames 08/09 year. A season that started badly, but picked up momentum and had people saying things like elite, and talking about catching Detroit for second. For a few months, the Flames played consistent hockey, sticking to a system, with a good powerplay, great penalty kill and solid goaltending.
Then the wheels fell off, in late February, the team had a solid lead on the Canucks. In a horrible week, the Flames lost Giordano for the season, Bourque for 2 months and ultimately their focus. The Flames were facing a 7 game roadtrip to start march, after an ugly 8-6 loss to Tampa Bay at home. Many thought this team could handle it and keep control of the division. After the Olli Jokinen and Leopold deals, they looked like the team to come out of the west, for one game anyways. It fell apart, the system was gone, there was no consistency, something was off most nights. Iginla, Cammalleri and Jokinen all saw their plus/minus plummet.
They got home from the roadtrip still in control of the division, but it was shakey. More injuries hit, the team couldn’t win two in a row and Vancouver played lights out hockey. Regher, Sarich, Phaneuf and Langkow were out, the Flames were up against the cap and had to dress John Negrin and Matt Pelech for their first NHL games. The Flames got lucky as Vancouver blew weekend games against Edmonton and Colorado, but the Flames couldn’t beat Luongo and game 80 cost the Flames the division.
The Nucks swept the Blues. The Flames gave up leads in games 1 & 2 vs the hawks. Then won 2 at home. Things looked good again. Then game 5, the Flames were, brutal. 5-1 loss. In game 6 the beatup Flames tried hard, got 40+ shots on net, but for once a goalie stole a game in the series. The Blackhawks, surprisingly, were the ones in this series that had the killer instinct. Khabibulin played amazing, the Flames had defensive lapses and lost 3-1. at home.
That’s it. A season of players playing to their peaks, then either slumping or getting hurt at the worst of times. For a team with so much talent, it sucks to lose in the first round. Always next year as they say.Interesting to hear maher talk about the injuries the flames sustained last night on the postgame. Here are some he mentioned, as per calgary puck
Giordano - Season ending shoulder surgery. (We knew that one)
Regher - Season ending knee injury - possible surgery (We kinda knew that one too)
Aucoin - So far Undisclosed but Peter Maher stated it was groin
Sarich - Broken foot (Also knew that one - but wow)
Phaneuf - Knee injury could require knee surgery - happened before Christmas - Broken Ribs from game 1 - Hip injury that will most likely require surgery - was an injury from last year that was re-injured early in the year - all these injuries on the left side of his body
Todd Bertuzzi - Knee injury and a undisclosed wrist injury
Rene Bourque - Re aggrivated his high ankle sprain - should not have been playing
Dustin Boyd - Undisclosed leg injury
Craig Conroy - Separated shoulder
Curtis Glencross - Shoulder injury
Jarome Iginla - Suspected Knee injury - though he will not admit it
Daymond Langkow - Broken Hand If true, wow, that is a lot of hurt. Still, the flames blew leads in this series they shouldn't have, they looked disorganized at times, inconsistent, and we all know the powerplay had no power. The guys got out worked everytime out late in the season. Keenan juggled lines but wouldn't let Iggy and Jokinen apart. The Flames tried hard, but game 5 killed them. They weren't prepared. Iginla didn't lead the team to victory, but no one else showed up to play either.
Chicago is a talented team, 3 top 3 draft picks in that lineup. They wouldn't lie down and after game 3 and 4, avoided scrums and skated hard. The Flames just weren't good enough with the guys out of the lineup and injured ones in the lineup to beat a remarkably healthy chicago team. I'm sure some of the chicago guys are also playing through injury, like Barker's finger, but no players missed games, aside from Kane in game 3 with a flu.
Kipper also got outgoaltended by Khabby. Niether goalie was amazing for the first 5 games, both were average, niether got shutouts, but in game 6, when it mattered most. Khabibulin lived up to his billing as a wall the Flames just couldn't bring down. The Flames had over 40 shots in game 6 (though most from the outside) and could only squeak one by.
Bertuzzi was dissapointing the entire series. Badly timed penalties, floating around the outside, getting beat on the boards. Jokinen showed up for a few playoff games, I think you need to stick it out and give him next season. After how long Sutter wanted him, you can’t give up on him already, and no one would want him if the Flames are giving up on him too. Not many of the Flames played amazing in the playoffs, but injuries did play a part.
Its only one day after, but the Flames will need to do lots of evaluation this offseason to decide what they want to do. My feeling is to go with the young guys coming up, considering how close the Flames are to the cap. Maybe then they can afford to resign cammalleri, maybe not. Flush the coaching staff, Keenan and the assistant coaches need to GO. Part of the blame is on the core, part is on the coaches. The coaches are easy to change. The core may benefit if the Flames stop following the Oilers lead and inbreeding the coaching staff. Find a new coach. I don't know who, but it’s a long offseason. The Flames have plenty of young guys who can step up and replace the loss of Cammalleri and Bertuzzi. I’d rather the Flames spend their money to get an elite defenceman, like Jay Bouwmeester. Its him or resign Aucoin. Pardy and Giordano will be back next season, and Pelech will hopefully be what Pardy was this year. The Flames have some great players coming up, but maybe need an agitator type guy like Chris Niel or Steve Ott. Steve Ott would be great, but hard to get. Moss-Conroy and Glencross should stick together. Backlund may be ready for primetime next season and guys like Sutter, Greentree and Van der Gulik should be on the edge. Resign McElhinney or another backup goalie and have them play 20 games. None of this stupid Kipper starting 70+ games stuff. He may want to play that much, but it might not be a good idea. Brodeur and Luongo have shown how important it is to be fresh going into the playoffs. In 04 Kipper played 34 games and was ready for the playoffs. I think McElhinney is not a bad goalie, I would like to see him do well and he has developed in our system.
And get back to defensive hockey. That’s what wins in the playoffs. Play a defensive system that requires the whole team to be responsible defensively. (something Iggy was far from at times this season). If they can play solid defensively, maybe you can limit how good the goaltender is having an effect on the team. When Kipper has an off night, the Flames need to be able to play well defensively, then you can throw in the backup and the system shouldn't change. Clear example here is New Jersey, they make their goalies look good. Brodeur is all-world no doubt, but Clemmonson was great for them while he was out.
The Flames need to take a page out of the books of the other teams in this city. The Stampeders lost in the west semifinal for 3 years before Henry Burris took them to a Grey Cup victory.
The Roughnecks, well this year isn’t finished, but they took care of business in the regular season. Clinching first overall in the NLL.
The Hitmen were one of the best teams in the country. 12-0 in the playoffs so far, and they play Backlund’s Rockets in the WHL final. That’s taking care of business.
I guess the one difference between the Flames and these teams, is the regular season success. The Flames haven’t been able to step up to the elite level of the other 3 big teams in Calgary in the regular season. Maybe we expected to much, maybe not. We all would love another cup run. Even a division win and a first round win would do.
As for next season, I will find it hard to get overly excited over this team unless they can maintain a 1 or 2 position in the conference. They need to step it up, only one team finishing lower than 1 or 2 in their conference has won the cup in the last 15 years. At least that’s what I’ve heard.
Anyways, im done ranting for now, just some thoughts. It should be an interesting offseason!
until next time, Go Hitmen and Go Roughnecks this spring!
Adam
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Sunday, April 12, 2009
more indepth first round picks
1. San Jose vs 8. Anahiem
San Jose may be known for falling short, but they always make the second round. this will be a tough series, as anahiem and san jose have been playing well. anahiem is dangerous as they were playing well and have solid dmen in pronger, neidermayer and whitney. San Jose still has the goaltending and scoring in this battle. as thier season series was, this will be close.
(San Jose in 7)
Detroit vs Columbus
Detroit has been struggling lately, lucky vancouver cooled off the past few weeks or they may have caught them (ok probably not). anyways Columbus has reminded me for a few months of calgary in '04. the Blue Jackets have a hot young goalie, havent made the playoffs in 8 years and have an exprienced but young captain. Columbus plays thier system well, and will have to get huge goaltending from Mason. Detroit may have a talented team, but goaltending is a question mark.
(Columbus in 6)
Vancouver vs St Louis
as much as I would love to see vancouver get swept by St. Louis, I think St. Louis may burn out. 8-1-1 pace is impressive, they will need to play hard, vancouver has shown they can win when they play like they can. Luongo will at least show up and could win this series on his own.
(Vancouver in 6)
Chicago vs Calgary
the Flames have a better, more playoff experienced team, and should be able to beat the Blackhawks. they can't let Khabibulin get in thier heads. if they outwork and outhit the smallish hawks, they can win. they have to defend against the speed of the hawks. the Flames have been playing ok lately, getting better, but need to get healthy. with no salary cap in the playoffs, the Flames can finally call up the reinforcements theyve needed. guys like eriksson, palin, boyd, maybe warrener comes back. regher may come back and bourque should be back. the Flames will be getting healthy. aucoin and phaneuf will appreciate the days off before the playoffs. this is going to be close, but the Flames dont want to exit first round again.
(Calgary in 7)
East
Boston vs Montreal
It would be funny to see Boston lose to Montreal in the playoffs again. I have a tough time going against Boston, but they not playing amazing lately, so they are beatable. not by montreal though! that team has some serious issues
(Boston in 6)
Washington vs New York
Ovechkin, Semin, Green. this team has so much firepower, New York will be in tough, the Rangers may not like Avery so much in the playoffs... the Rangers haven't given me reason they will beat the Caps.
(Washington in 5)
New Jersey vs Carolina
...ahh I don't like the devils. ok i like brodeur. he is the only reason the devils win this if they do. Carolina has been playing inspired hockey since the trade deadline. picking up Eric Cole may have had a better impact than anyone thought it would. Cam Ward has been great. I smell an upset
(Carolina in 5)
Pittsburg vs Philidelphia
the Flyers had a chance at hosting this one but lost today. the Penguins are defending east champs that have been playing great since the coach was canned. Crosby and Malkin have been tearing it up this year, and Philidelphia's goaltending is nothing to be scared of. Fleury needs to be good though, as the flyers have some firepower on thier side as well.
(Pittsburg in 6)
San Jose may be known for falling short, but they always make the second round. this will be a tough series, as anahiem and san jose have been playing well. anahiem is dangerous as they were playing well and have solid dmen in pronger, neidermayer and whitney. San Jose still has the goaltending and scoring in this battle. as thier season series was, this will be close.
(San Jose in 7)
Detroit vs Columbus
Detroit has been struggling lately, lucky vancouver cooled off the past few weeks or they may have caught them (ok probably not). anyways Columbus has reminded me for a few months of calgary in '04. the Blue Jackets have a hot young goalie, havent made the playoffs in 8 years and have an exprienced but young captain. Columbus plays thier system well, and will have to get huge goaltending from Mason. Detroit may have a talented team, but goaltending is a question mark.
(Columbus in 6)
Vancouver vs St Louis
as much as I would love to see vancouver get swept by St. Louis, I think St. Louis may burn out. 8-1-1 pace is impressive, they will need to play hard, vancouver has shown they can win when they play like they can. Luongo will at least show up and could win this series on his own.
(Vancouver in 6)
Chicago vs Calgary
the Flames have a better, more playoff experienced team, and should be able to beat the Blackhawks. they can't let Khabibulin get in thier heads. if they outwork and outhit the smallish hawks, they can win. they have to defend against the speed of the hawks. the Flames have been playing ok lately, getting better, but need to get healthy. with no salary cap in the playoffs, the Flames can finally call up the reinforcements theyve needed. guys like eriksson, palin, boyd, maybe warrener comes back. regher may come back and bourque should be back. the Flames will be getting healthy. aucoin and phaneuf will appreciate the days off before the playoffs. this is going to be close, but the Flames dont want to exit first round again.
(Calgary in 7)
East
Boston vs Montreal
It would be funny to see Boston lose to Montreal in the playoffs again. I have a tough time going against Boston, but they not playing amazing lately, so they are beatable. not by montreal though! that team has some serious issues
(Boston in 6)
Washington vs New York
Ovechkin, Semin, Green. this team has so much firepower, New York will be in tough, the Rangers may not like Avery so much in the playoffs... the Rangers haven't given me reason they will beat the Caps.
(Washington in 5)
New Jersey vs Carolina
...ahh I don't like the devils. ok i like brodeur. he is the only reason the devils win this if they do. Carolina has been playing inspired hockey since the trade deadline. picking up Eric Cole may have had a better impact than anyone thought it would. Cam Ward has been great. I smell an upset
(Carolina in 5)
Pittsburg vs Philidelphia
the Flyers had a chance at hosting this one but lost today. the Penguins are defending east champs that have been playing great since the coach was canned. Crosby and Malkin have been tearing it up this year, and Philidelphia's goaltending is nothing to be scared of. Fleury needs to be good though, as the flyers have some firepower on thier side as well.
(Pittsburg in 6)
nhl season ends, Roughnecks clinch first in NLL, Hitmen to play Brandon in east conference final...stamps still champs
well last night the Flames finished the season with a solid 4-1 win over the Oilers. McElhinney got his first NHL win and Cammalleri got 2 goals. the Flames lost the division to the Canucks by 2 points, after losing to Edmonton on friday. the Flames were hit hard by injuries, and couldn't get fully back on track since losing Giordano and Bourque in late February. they seem to have been playing better but snakebitten in the past 2 weeks, they will get some much needed rest/repair time before the playoffs start.
finish (predicted team for that position, where they finished) - thoughts (deviation)
1. San Jose (Detroit,2) well I was close, goaltending let them down (1)
2. Detroit (Dallas, 12) no catching san jose, i was way off. goaltending and injuries (10)
3. vancouver (Calgary,5) really, 2 points off. Calgary should have won the division. stupid nucks (2)
4. Chicago (Edmonton, 11) haha, guess i listened to hard to the oil fans/media that said they would win the division, gladly wrong! (7)
5. Calgary (San Jose, 1) underestimated them clearly (4)
6. St. Louis (Anaheim, 8) almost got 6th, 2 points short (2)
7. Columbus (Chicago, 4) young guys impressed, khabibulin back in form unfortunatly (3)
8. Anaheim (Vancouver, 3) stupid division winners, got hot february/march (5)
---------------
9. Minnesota (Columbus, 7) yay columbus, Mason came out of nowhere, first playoff appearance (2)
10. Nashville (...Nashville!, 10) i got this one right! (0)
11. Edmonton(Pheonix, 13) next year should be better for 'yotes (2)
12. Dallas (Minnesota, 9) i underestimated minnesota, meh. (3)
13. Pheonix (Colorado, 15) drive for Tavares, sakic injury put this team out midway (2)
14. Los Angeles (Los Angeles, 14!) i got this one right too (0)
15. Colorado (St. Louis,6) seriously impressed and suprised by st louis, 8-1-1 run to get 6th (9)
in the west, i was 52 off, an average of just about 3 and a half spots off.
EAST:
1. Boston (Montreal, 8) dissapointing season for centennial Canadiens (7)
2. Washington (Pittsburg, 4) coaching troubles had them out of it, got back in (2)
3. New Jersey (Washington, 2) ovy, green, semin and co played well (1)
4. Pittsburg (Philidelphia, 5) wrong because of a tiebreaker...young guys getting better (1)
5. Philidelphia (New York, 7) close, were in danger of missing (2)
6. Carolina (Ottawa, 11) fell apart, out by midseason (5)
7. New York (Tampa Bay, 14) didnt think loss of richards would impact them so much, stamkos needs more time (7)
8. Montreal (New Jersey, 3) even with injuries, NJ keeps getting it done (5)
----------------
9. Florida (Buffalo, 10) i was close. (1)
10. Buffalo (Carolina, 6) getting eric Cole back was huge. and Cam Ward in the net(4)
11. Ottawa (Boston, 1) savard and tim thomas, did not expect this. scary team. (10)
12. Toronto (Florida, 9) good to see florida getting closer, lost bouwmeester though
13. Atlanta (Atlanta, 13) I was right. Kovalchuck is happy just scoring goals. (0)
14. Tampa Bay (Toronto, 12) did better than i thought, but not by much (2)
15. NYI (NYI, 15) no suprise here, still rebuilding (0)
in the west, i was 47 off, an average of just about 3 spots off.
well i didnt too too bad, on my predictions, got 4 right.
all that matters for flames fans is we are in the playoffs again.
the Flames will face off against Chicago on thursday to start round 1 of the 2009 stanley cup playoffs.
matchups:
San Jose vs Anahiem (San Jose in 7)
Detroit vs Columbus (Columbus in 6)
Vancouver vs St Louis (Vancouver in 6)
Chicago vs Calgary (Calgary in 7)
Boston vs Montreal (Boston in 6)
Washington vs New York (Washington in 5)
New Jersey vs Carolina (Carolina in 5)
Pittsburg vs Philidelphia (Pittsburg in 6)
Go Flames go
the Hitmen now await the Brandon Wheat Kings in the WHL east final, but will wait until the west conference series are done. Calgary and Brandon are both 8-0 in the postseason.
the Roughnecks lost to Portland on Friday night in a tight game, but rebouned to beat Edmonton last night ( the same night flames beat oilers) and clinch both the division and first in the league.
they have one game left vs Portland then the playoffs begin in early May.
finish (predicted team for that position, where they finished) - thoughts (deviation)
1. San Jose (Detroit,2) well I was close, goaltending let them down (1)
2. Detroit (Dallas, 12) no catching san jose, i was way off. goaltending and injuries (10)
3. vancouver (Calgary,5) really, 2 points off. Calgary should have won the division. stupid nucks (2)
4. Chicago (Edmonton, 11) haha, guess i listened to hard to the oil fans/media that said they would win the division, gladly wrong! (7)
5. Calgary (San Jose, 1) underestimated them clearly (4)
6. St. Louis (Anaheim, 8) almost got 6th, 2 points short (2)
7. Columbus (Chicago, 4) young guys impressed, khabibulin back in form unfortunatly (3)
8. Anaheim (Vancouver, 3) stupid division winners, got hot february/march (5)
---------------
9. Minnesota (Columbus, 7) yay columbus, Mason came out of nowhere, first playoff appearance (2)
10. Nashville (...Nashville!, 10) i got this one right! (0)
11. Edmonton(Pheonix, 13) next year should be better for 'yotes (2)
12. Dallas (Minnesota, 9) i underestimated minnesota, meh. (3)
13. Pheonix (Colorado, 15) drive for Tavares, sakic injury put this team out midway (2)
14. Los Angeles (Los Angeles, 14!) i got this one right too (0)
15. Colorado (St. Louis,6) seriously impressed and suprised by st louis, 8-1-1 run to get 6th (9)
in the west, i was 52 off, an average of just about 3 and a half spots off.
EAST:
1. Boston (Montreal, 8) dissapointing season for centennial Canadiens (7)
2. Washington (Pittsburg, 4) coaching troubles had them out of it, got back in (2)
3. New Jersey (Washington, 2) ovy, green, semin and co played well (1)
4. Pittsburg (Philidelphia, 5) wrong because of a tiebreaker...young guys getting better (1)
5. Philidelphia (New York, 7) close, were in danger of missing (2)
6. Carolina (Ottawa, 11) fell apart, out by midseason (5)
7. New York (Tampa Bay, 14) didnt think loss of richards would impact them so much, stamkos needs more time (7)
8. Montreal (New Jersey, 3) even with injuries, NJ keeps getting it done (5)
----------------
9. Florida (Buffalo, 10) i was close. (1)
10. Buffalo (Carolina, 6) getting eric Cole back was huge. and Cam Ward in the net(4)
11. Ottawa (Boston, 1) savard and tim thomas, did not expect this. scary team. (10)
12. Toronto (Florida, 9) good to see florida getting closer, lost bouwmeester though
13. Atlanta (Atlanta, 13) I was right. Kovalchuck is happy just scoring goals. (0)
14. Tampa Bay (Toronto, 12) did better than i thought, but not by much (2)
15. NYI (NYI, 15) no suprise here, still rebuilding (0)
in the west, i was 47 off, an average of just about 3 spots off.
well i didnt too too bad, on my predictions, got 4 right.
all that matters for flames fans is we are in the playoffs again.
the Flames will face off against Chicago on thursday to start round 1 of the 2009 stanley cup playoffs.
matchups:
San Jose vs Anahiem (San Jose in 7)
Detroit vs Columbus (Columbus in 6)
Vancouver vs St Louis (Vancouver in 6)
Chicago vs Calgary (Calgary in 7)
Boston vs Montreal (Boston in 6)
Washington vs New York (Washington in 5)
New Jersey vs Carolina (Carolina in 5)
Pittsburg vs Philidelphia (Pittsburg in 6)
Go Flames go
the Hitmen now await the Brandon Wheat Kings in the WHL east final, but will wait until the west conference series are done. Calgary and Brandon are both 8-0 in the postseason.
the Roughnecks lost to Portland on Friday night in a tight game, but rebouned to beat Edmonton last night ( the same night flames beat oilers) and clinch both the division and first in the league.
they have one game left vs Portland then the playoffs begin in early May.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
quick update
Flames beat the Kings last night 4-1 and play the Canucks tonight and can clinch the northwest division with a win. both teams have 2 games left after tonight. the Flames have the tiebreaker and a 2 point lead.
the Hitmen have won the first 2 games of the east semifinal series vs lethbridge.
a video for football fans missing football season (well stamps fans at least)
http://www.stampeders.com/multimedia/audio_video/?id=428
thats all for now
the Hitmen have won the first 2 games of the east semifinal series vs lethbridge.
a video for football fans missing football season (well stamps fans at least)
http://www.stampeders.com/multimedia/audio_video/?id=428
thats all for now
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
April fools!
FLAMES PULL OFF GREATEST APRIL FOOLS JOKE IN NHL HISTORY
04/01/2009 COMMENTS(12) FLAMES INSIDER
So it appears the Calgary Flames have pulled off one of the most epic April fools jokes ever.
Over the course of the last month the Flames players and coaching staff have fooled the fans and media into thinking they were no longing a good hockey team, and that a first round playoff exit was imminent.
However at practice today it was revealed that the month long display of incompetence was nothing more then an elaborate April Fools joke.
"About a month ago we decided that the typical April Fools jokes that occur just weren’t cutting it, so we sat down as a team to decide what the best way to not only fool the city of Calgary, but the entire NHL would be.” Craig Conroy revealed to our reporters this morning. “We decided, what better joke then to make the entire NHL think we have transformed into the Toronto Maple Leafs over night!!!”
Over the month of March the Flames went 6-9, and managed to loose the division lead to the Vancouver Canucks.
“The hardest part was getting everyone on board. This wasn’t a one or two player effort. It required the collective incompetence of all our top players, goaltender, and coaching staff.”
Despite the almost flawless execution of this joke, there were a few hiccups along the way. “Yeah, that game is Detroit, we had been perfect for two and a half periods, managing to take all those penalties and be trailing by two with a few minutes left. Then, out of no where, Lundmark starts scoring! All of a sudden we were winning! We even let then get a late goal to tie it, but all three of the Wings missed the net in the shootout!”
In fact, Jamie Lundmark only found out this morning about this ploy. “I’ve been busting my ass off every night, trying to help the team win, and today I find out it was all a giant joke.” Others who apparently hadn’t gotten the memo include wingers Eric Nystrom, Warren Peters, and Curtis Glencross.
“I guess since I came from Edmonton they wanted to see me squirm! The amazing part is how they even got the ref to play along in the Minnesota game!” Glencross remarked while sporting a sheepish grin this morning at practice.
Reached for comments this morning, Roberto Loungo had this to say “We always knew we weren’t as good as the Flames, and I suspected something was up. However, I’m glad the Flames let our fans know what it feels like to be in first place, even if it is only going to be for one day!”
04/01/2009 COMMENTS(12) FLAMES INSIDER
So it appears the Calgary Flames have pulled off one of the most epic April fools jokes ever.
Over the course of the last month the Flames players and coaching staff have fooled the fans and media into thinking they were no longing a good hockey team, and that a first round playoff exit was imminent.
However at practice today it was revealed that the month long display of incompetence was nothing more then an elaborate April Fools joke.
"About a month ago we decided that the typical April Fools jokes that occur just weren’t cutting it, so we sat down as a team to decide what the best way to not only fool the city of Calgary, but the entire NHL would be.” Craig Conroy revealed to our reporters this morning. “We decided, what better joke then to make the entire NHL think we have transformed into the Toronto Maple Leafs over night!!!”
Over the month of March the Flames went 6-9, and managed to loose the division lead to the Vancouver Canucks.
“The hardest part was getting everyone on board. This wasn’t a one or two player effort. It required the collective incompetence of all our top players, goaltender, and coaching staff.”
Despite the almost flawless execution of this joke, there were a few hiccups along the way. “Yeah, that game is Detroit, we had been perfect for two and a half periods, managing to take all those penalties and be trailing by two with a few minutes left. Then, out of no where, Lundmark starts scoring! All of a sudden we were winning! We even let then get a late goal to tie it, but all three of the Wings missed the net in the shootout!”
In fact, Jamie Lundmark only found out this morning about this ploy. “I’ve been busting my ass off every night, trying to help the team win, and today I find out it was all a giant joke.” Others who apparently hadn’t gotten the memo include wingers Eric Nystrom, Warren Peters, and Curtis Glencross.
“I guess since I came from Edmonton they wanted to see me squirm! The amazing part is how they even got the ref to play along in the Minnesota game!” Glencross remarked while sporting a sheepish grin this morning at practice.
Reached for comments this morning, Roberto Loungo had this to say “We always knew we weren’t as good as the Flames, and I suspected something was up. However, I’m glad the Flames let our fans know what it feels like to be in first place, even if it is only going to be for one day!”
haha, well that was certainly entertaining. seriously though, the Canucks have passed the Flames in the standings. by one point. thats ok, the division will be decided on tuesday when the Canucks play the Flames. if the Flames win the division, they are likely to play Columbus. Columbus is a tough matchup, as they have gotten better as a team, play well on defence, have a hot rookie goaltender...actually they remind me of the Flames of '04. a little scary, but the flames can beat any team if they play thier game. IF. the Flames should win it this year, but the playoffs are so hard to predict. i still think they will, but its up to the players to play like they need to, and Kipper to play solid in the net. solid team defence will be important, like in the San Jose game the other day. even though the Flames lost, they played like they need to play going into the playoffs.
if the Flames lose the division, they will likely play Chicago. This appears to be a tough matchup as the Flames lost to Chicago all 4 times they played this season. but Chicago is mostly made up of young, smaller players. the Flames can crush them and thier inexperience. reg season means squat when teams play head to head in the playoffs. the only thing that worries me about Chicago is Khabibulin. He always plays rediculously well against the Flames.
no matter what happens, the Flames will play a tough but not elite team in the playoffs. its up to the Flames to win that first series no matter what. then hopefully its a date with Vancouver in the second round.
Go Flames!!
btw, the Hitmen are through to the second round of the playoffs after sweeping Edmonton.
the Roughnecks have clinched a playoff spot again, with a win over minnesota. they move to 9-3.
forgot to add, the Flames clinched a playoff spot tonight!!(its the division we want though)
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Flames, hitmen and Roughnecks
well the Flames have had a rough ride since the trade deadline. the Flames played out a tough roadtrip, and have played better since coming home, but are only 2-2 in the past 4 games. they ahve been playing better though, thats for sure. The Vancouver Canucks have crept to within 3 points of the division lead playing .800 hockey the past 2 months. it will be a close finish with less than 10 games left. the Flames lost tonight to Pittsburg, who are red hot lately, 2-0. Vancouver plays St. Louis tomorrow and the Flames play Columbus.
interesting comment i heard on the post game show, everyone is upset over these simple losses because they are tired of the stupid divison race and want the playoffs to start. the sooner we clinch, the sooner these reg season games are so worrisome. it doesn't really matter if the Flames win the division (it would def help thier chances of getting Stanley's mug tho), it matters if they win in the playoffs.
enough of the regular season, i want playoffs!!!!
speaking of the Playoffs, the Hitmen won again tonight and swept the Edmonton Oil Kings in the first round of WHL playoffs. Go Hitmen. the second round opponent has yet to be decided
the Roughnecks have been playing well lately as well, playing to a 8-2 record, they play the Toronto Rock on friday at the dome
interesting comment i heard on the post game show, everyone is upset over these simple losses because they are tired of the stupid divison race and want the playoffs to start. the sooner we clinch, the sooner these reg season games are so worrisome. it doesn't really matter if the Flames win the division (it would def help thier chances of getting Stanley's mug tho), it matters if they win in the playoffs.
enough of the regular season, i want playoffs!!!!
speaking of the Playoffs, the Hitmen won again tonight and swept the Edmonton Oil Kings in the first round of WHL playoffs. Go Hitmen. the second round opponent has yet to be decided
the Roughnecks have been playing well lately as well, playing to a 8-2 record, they play the Toronto Rock on friday at the dome
Friday, March 6, 2009
post trade deadline thoughts on the Flames
first up, the Flames defeated the Flyers last night 5-1, with goals from Cammallari, Conroy and new comers Leopold and Jokinen(2 goals). the Flames improved to 39-19-6, for 84 points.
well the NHL trade deadline has come and gone, and this year it...was...awesome. an entertaining day of talking about trades and seeing what teams did. actually I mostly found it entertaining because the Flames made some BIG moves to push for the Stanely cup and the moves created some discussion among friends.
here are the Flames deals
- Flames traded D Brett Wilson, D Lawrence Nycholat and Montreal's second round pick to Colorado for D Jordan Leopold.
Adam's take
This is a great deal, Wilson may still play in the NHL, who knows, and Nycholat? well we picked him up off waivers a few days earlier. so we gave up a draft pick and a non-blue chip prospect for an arguably top 4 dman.
Three things I want to point out here...
- with Giordano out for the season with shoulder surgery, the Flames needed a replacement. this allows the Flames to have Pardy as the 7th dman, and a little insurance in case of the inevitable playoff injuries. The Flames also have Anders Eriksson and Matt Pelech on the farm, as well Rhett Warrener may be back.
-Adrian Aucoins contract expires after this season. as much as the Flames would love to keep him, he may require too much salary under the cap. Leopold may be his replacement for next year, depending on how he plays the rest of the way.
- Jordan Leopold has played here before, he helped us get to game 7 of the cup final in '04. he is comfortable here, and that is key to not disrupting team chemistry. it took guys like aucoin and sarich a while to get used to the flames system, the learning curve for Leopold will be much shorter. he scored a goal in his first game back with the flames last night!
the second deal the Flames made was this
the Flames traded C Matt Lombardi, LW Brandon Prust and a first round draft pick (in the 25-30 range) to Pheonix for C Olli Jokinen and Pheonix's 3rd round pick (65-70 range)
I also really like this deal. Sure it sucks to lose Matt Lombardi, but you have to give something up to get something, and Jokinen is a big, big upgrade. Matt Lombardi hasn't lived up to potential, the last 3 seasons were supposed to be break-out 20+ goal seasons, but it hasn't happened. he has 9 goals this year...he is fast, and i have always cheered him on, but if you watch him play, he doesn't have the great hands to go with the speed, when he shows up he plays great. he plays 10 or 15 great games a year, where he is stellar on the penalty kill. that is where the flames will miss him most. Lombardi will have successful career, but nowhere near Jokinen in the end.
Jokinen is a great player who is a scorer and a playmaker, much like iginla, he consistently puts up 30+ goals and 40-50 assists. one knock on him is he has played on non playoff teams...same was said about Luongo when he went to vancouver. Jokinen doesn't have to be the star here, Iggy is THE leader of the team, so Jokinen can just go out and play, and play with Cammalleri and Iginla! and he seems to like the idea of playing in a hockey market for once, this can only be good. just look at last night, Jokinen got two goals in his first game with the Flames, playing on the top line. that top line is scary.
someone i know called it the Rocky Mountain Express, or maybe Flashfire. good names, the national media will probably give them a name anyways though. whatever you call them, they should be a force in the playoffs!
the Flames also traded goalie prospect matt Lalande for a 3rd round draft pick. they would have had to lose one of the guys next season anyways. The Flames made the biggest splash, on trade deadline day there were a total of 22 deals done. for more on the rest of the deals, check tsn.ca or nhl.com.
the Oilers were involved in a 4 team deal to get Osullivan and Kalinin, giving up Cole. the Canucks tried to get Bouwmeester but couldn't, Pronger also wasn't moved. Toronto picked up two goalies and traded a few guys, notably antropov to the Rangers. Morris also went to the Rangers, Recchi and Guerin were also moved.after a busy day, the Flames are in good position going into the playoffs.
Sutter accomplished what he wanted, getting a #1 center and a top 4 dman. Detroit and San Jose didn't do much, but they are the top of the league, so maybe they didn't have to, but the Flames may have moved into being at the same level as these two powerhouses. the Flames are 8 points back and with the injuries (lost the whole second line) needed some reinforcements, now for the playoff stretch.
I feel really confident about the Flames this season. they have gotten better as the season has gone on. after being hit by injuries, they continue to win. Giordano is out for the season, bourque is out til mid april, Bertuzzi is out a month, langkow is still day to day, primeau may be back late in the playoffs, warrener is likely done for the season.
The division is essentially locked up, with a 10 point lead on vancouver with 18 games left. if the Flames go .500(easy, .500 would be dissapointing the rest of the way) the rest of the way they will have 102 ponits, the canucks (10 points back with 1 game in hand) would have to go 14-5. I dont see the Flames playing any worse than .600 the resto of the way. the Flames have the pleasure of watching the mess that is the race for the 7 and 8 spots in the west. the Flames are on a 7 game roadtrip, with 5 left, having won 6 in a row on the road at this point.
will the Flames win the Stanley cup this year? well who knows, there are so many intangibles that go into a long run, but the Flames appear to be in good stead to beat any team in the playoffs in a 7 game series. I would say any team would not want to play this team in the playoffs. so much depth, strength, desire (only 2 cup rings..), leadership and outstanding goaltending. the Flames will likely beat Columbus in the first round, then they may play a tougher opponent in the second round.
I can see a Flames vs wings third round match.possibly San Jose or Vancouver, but San Jose may have goalie injury issues and have a history of choking (reminds me of a similary history of another team tho) and Vancouver is relying solely on luongo, dangerous territory. likely the west winner will play New Jersey, washington or boston. im still holding out hope of a Flames-Canadiens Cup final.
who knows maybe the Flames will get to beat the Oilers, Canucks and Cansdiens in the playoffs this year. bottom line, a first round loss this season will be a huge dissapointment. considering the depth of this team and the moves Sutter made for short term, this team is expected to win. a second round loss would also likely be dissapointing. I think we could live with a west final loss, but I don't see this team losing. they are building a winning culture, where players want to play, they need to take advantage of having guys on career years (breakout years or peaks - cammalleri, boyd, moss, glencross, aucoin) and Iggy is the guy to lead them to Stanley Cup glory.
so maybe that sounds like a Flames fan that is overconfident, but its hard not to be confident with this team. they have learned some lessons over the years (much like the Stampeders had up to last season...) and this team no longer has any glaring weaknesses when healthy. that will be key - health. if the Flames can hold off more major injuries, the Flames will improve when the players get healthy.
for once the Flames have it all, top down scoring depth, solid defencemen, with depth, and the Goaltender the has proven he can win in the playoffs. this is where we sit back as fans and watch our favourite teams. the joy that is the playoffs.
I'm looking forward to watching some playoff hockey. this team is fun to watch, and isn't that all we ask for as sports fans? a hope that the team can win and a good hockey team with skill that works hard. even if they don't win the Stanley cup, itll be a fun run to watch.
Enjoy Flames fans,
and fans of other teams that will also have some success this year.
GO Flames!
oh and as for my trade deadline Stanley Cup prediction - Flames over Devils, 4-2
in other news,
the Hitman have struggled as of late, and need a win over Vancouver to get top spot in the WHL, either way, heading into the playoffs, we may see a Vancouver vs Calgary league final.
in the CFL,
the league is eyeing some rule changes
•Moving back the kick-off following a safety touch, to reduce the number of times a team chooses to take a knee in its own end zone;
•Giving coaches the green light to use so called "wildcat" formations that would move the quarterback around, instead of requiring him to stand behind or under centre;
•Requiring a team that kicks a successful field goal to then kick off to its' opponents, increasing the number of kick returns;
•Awarding a team a third challenge of an official's ruling using instant replay if its' first two challenges are successfull.
All four ideas were approved today by the league's rules committee, and were among those suggested by CFL fans.
the BC Lions have signed Buck Pierce to a deal worth up to(with bonuses) $930,000 for 2 years
well the NHL trade deadline has come and gone, and this year it...was...awesome. an entertaining day of talking about trades and seeing what teams did. actually I mostly found it entertaining because the Flames made some BIG moves to push for the Stanely cup and the moves created some discussion among friends.
here are the Flames deals
- Flames traded D Brett Wilson, D Lawrence Nycholat and Montreal's second round pick to Colorado for D Jordan Leopold.
Adam's take
This is a great deal, Wilson may still play in the NHL, who knows, and Nycholat? well we picked him up off waivers a few days earlier. so we gave up a draft pick and a non-blue chip prospect for an arguably top 4 dman.
Three things I want to point out here...
- with Giordano out for the season with shoulder surgery, the Flames needed a replacement. this allows the Flames to have Pardy as the 7th dman, and a little insurance in case of the inevitable playoff injuries. The Flames also have Anders Eriksson and Matt Pelech on the farm, as well Rhett Warrener may be back.
-Adrian Aucoins contract expires after this season. as much as the Flames would love to keep him, he may require too much salary under the cap. Leopold may be his replacement for next year, depending on how he plays the rest of the way.
- Jordan Leopold has played here before, he helped us get to game 7 of the cup final in '04. he is comfortable here, and that is key to not disrupting team chemistry. it took guys like aucoin and sarich a while to get used to the flames system, the learning curve for Leopold will be much shorter. he scored a goal in his first game back with the flames last night!
the second deal the Flames made was this
the Flames traded C Matt Lombardi, LW Brandon Prust and a first round draft pick (in the 25-30 range) to Pheonix for C Olli Jokinen and Pheonix's 3rd round pick (65-70 range)
I also really like this deal. Sure it sucks to lose Matt Lombardi, but you have to give something up to get something, and Jokinen is a big, big upgrade. Matt Lombardi hasn't lived up to potential, the last 3 seasons were supposed to be break-out 20+ goal seasons, but it hasn't happened. he has 9 goals this year...he is fast, and i have always cheered him on, but if you watch him play, he doesn't have the great hands to go with the speed, when he shows up he plays great. he plays 10 or 15 great games a year, where he is stellar on the penalty kill. that is where the flames will miss him most. Lombardi will have successful career, but nowhere near Jokinen in the end.
Jokinen is a great player who is a scorer and a playmaker, much like iginla, he consistently puts up 30+ goals and 40-50 assists. one knock on him is he has played on non playoff teams...same was said about Luongo when he went to vancouver. Jokinen doesn't have to be the star here, Iggy is THE leader of the team, so Jokinen can just go out and play, and play with Cammalleri and Iginla! and he seems to like the idea of playing in a hockey market for once, this can only be good. just look at last night, Jokinen got two goals in his first game with the Flames, playing on the top line. that top line is scary.
someone i know called it the Rocky Mountain Express, or maybe Flashfire. good names, the national media will probably give them a name anyways though. whatever you call them, they should be a force in the playoffs!
the Flames also traded goalie prospect matt Lalande for a 3rd round draft pick. they would have had to lose one of the guys next season anyways. The Flames made the biggest splash, on trade deadline day there were a total of 22 deals done. for more on the rest of the deals, check tsn.ca or nhl.com.
the Oilers were involved in a 4 team deal to get Osullivan and Kalinin, giving up Cole. the Canucks tried to get Bouwmeester but couldn't, Pronger also wasn't moved. Toronto picked up two goalies and traded a few guys, notably antropov to the Rangers. Morris also went to the Rangers, Recchi and Guerin were also moved.after a busy day, the Flames are in good position going into the playoffs.
Sutter accomplished what he wanted, getting a #1 center and a top 4 dman. Detroit and San Jose didn't do much, but they are the top of the league, so maybe they didn't have to, but the Flames may have moved into being at the same level as these two powerhouses. the Flames are 8 points back and with the injuries (lost the whole second line) needed some reinforcements, now for the playoff stretch.
I feel really confident about the Flames this season. they have gotten better as the season has gone on. after being hit by injuries, they continue to win. Giordano is out for the season, bourque is out til mid april, Bertuzzi is out a month, langkow is still day to day, primeau may be back late in the playoffs, warrener is likely done for the season.
The division is essentially locked up, with a 10 point lead on vancouver with 18 games left. if the Flames go .500(easy, .500 would be dissapointing the rest of the way) the rest of the way they will have 102 ponits, the canucks (10 points back with 1 game in hand) would have to go 14-5. I dont see the Flames playing any worse than .600 the resto of the way. the Flames have the pleasure of watching the mess that is the race for the 7 and 8 spots in the west. the Flames are on a 7 game roadtrip, with 5 left, having won 6 in a row on the road at this point.
will the Flames win the Stanley cup this year? well who knows, there are so many intangibles that go into a long run, but the Flames appear to be in good stead to beat any team in the playoffs in a 7 game series. I would say any team would not want to play this team in the playoffs. so much depth, strength, desire (only 2 cup rings..), leadership and outstanding goaltending. the Flames will likely beat Columbus in the first round, then they may play a tougher opponent in the second round.
I can see a Flames vs wings third round match.possibly San Jose or Vancouver, but San Jose may have goalie injury issues and have a history of choking (reminds me of a similary history of another team tho) and Vancouver is relying solely on luongo, dangerous territory. likely the west winner will play New Jersey, washington or boston. im still holding out hope of a Flames-Canadiens Cup final.
who knows maybe the Flames will get to beat the Oilers, Canucks and Cansdiens in the playoffs this year. bottom line, a first round loss this season will be a huge dissapointment. considering the depth of this team and the moves Sutter made for short term, this team is expected to win. a second round loss would also likely be dissapointing. I think we could live with a west final loss, but I don't see this team losing. they are building a winning culture, where players want to play, they need to take advantage of having guys on career years (breakout years or peaks - cammalleri, boyd, moss, glencross, aucoin) and Iggy is the guy to lead them to Stanley Cup glory.
so maybe that sounds like a Flames fan that is overconfident, but its hard not to be confident with this team. they have learned some lessons over the years (much like the Stampeders had up to last season...) and this team no longer has any glaring weaknesses when healthy. that will be key - health. if the Flames can hold off more major injuries, the Flames will improve when the players get healthy.
for once the Flames have it all, top down scoring depth, solid defencemen, with depth, and the Goaltender the has proven he can win in the playoffs. this is where we sit back as fans and watch our favourite teams. the joy that is the playoffs.
I'm looking forward to watching some playoff hockey. this team is fun to watch, and isn't that all we ask for as sports fans? a hope that the team can win and a good hockey team with skill that works hard. even if they don't win the Stanley cup, itll be a fun run to watch.
Enjoy Flames fans,
and fans of other teams that will also have some success this year.
GO Flames!
oh and as for my trade deadline Stanley Cup prediction - Flames over Devils, 4-2
in other news,
the Hitman have struggled as of late, and need a win over Vancouver to get top spot in the WHL, either way, heading into the playoffs, we may see a Vancouver vs Calgary league final.
in the CFL,
the league is eyeing some rule changes
•Moving back the kick-off following a safety touch, to reduce the number of times a team chooses to take a knee in its own end zone;
•Giving coaches the green light to use so called "wildcat" formations that would move the quarterback around, instead of requiring him to stand behind or under centre;
•Requiring a team that kicks a successful field goal to then kick off to its' opponents, increasing the number of kick returns;
•Awarding a team a third challenge of an official's ruling using instant replay if its' first two challenges are successfull.
All four ideas were approved today by the league's rules committee, and were among those suggested by CFL fans.
the BC Lions have signed Buck Pierce to a deal worth up to(with bonuses) $930,000 for 2 years
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