Friday, December 21, 2007

 

This is my house; I have to defend it.

The Flames are back home at the Saddledome tonight, facing the Dallas Stars at 8PM MT. The game is on TSN, and although I assume we're getting Glenn Healy, I'm excited anyway, as this will be the first Flames game broadcast in HD since Mrs. Matt and I got our Christmas present hooked up. Predictions:

Score: 4-1 Calgary
1st Star: Robyn Regehr
2nd Star: Miikka Kiprusoff
3rd Star: Alex Tanguay
Loch Ness Monster: Mike Ribeiro

Go Flames.

Bonus Link: Mike Richards' 12 Days of Christmas, 2005 edition. Worth it just for Bob Cole.

Comments:

Here's my overly detailed prediction:

Through strong play by Turco and Dallas top pairing, our top line is held off the scoreboard for the first two periods. However, we stay in the game through a revelation by Tanguay that he can let Conroy set up plays while he shoots. Tanguay gets one goal, and forces a rebound that Boyd puts in. In the third period, Dallas increases pressure to break Kiprusoff's shutout. They score a goal, but not without giving up breakaways to Iginla, Huselius and Langkow. Iginla scores twice, Langkow once, with Huselius assisting on all three. Final score: 5 - 1.
 


Im always nervous when we play Dallas - they've had the Flames number for years. The fact that it's the first game after a long rod trip makes it even worse.

here's hoping the streak continues anyways...
 


what passes for comedy on 960 is sad
 


Riiight, cause there are so many other morning shows doing anything worthwhile in Calgary...

At least Richards writes his own material, unlike that hack Forbes.
 


Damn. I was going to use that one.
 


That was a disappointing game. Not because we lost, but because from the start of the second period to Dallas' goal in the third, Dallas was the better team. Even though we scored two goals in that stretch, we were getting outplayed and couldn't seem to generate sustained offensive pressure. After Dallas tied it, we woke up and started playing, but 15 minutes just isn't enough time to guarantee a goal. If we had played the second period like we did the end of the third, we would have won the game handily.

Losing the point isn't the end of the world, but it's frustrating to know that we should have won that game.
 


Interesting ng, I thought the Flames were actually the better team for much of the 2nd and 3rd. If not for a couple of missed golden opportunities, the Flames would have won that game in regulation. Also, Smith was excellent in goal for Dallas.

Overall, I'm quite encouraged by the game, simply because a month ago we looked terrible against good teams. Tonight we looked like a good team playing a good team in a game that could go either way. Definitely steps in the right direction.
 


Zubov.
 


Were you watching on TV? I was listening on the radio, and that sometimes makes for a funny view of how a game went.

But I agree that there were steps in the right direction. I don't think Kiprusoff can be faulted for his play tonight. The regulation goals were both clearly a result of poor coverage. There were scoring chances, some really good ones watching the highlights. And Lombardi's goal was outstanding. With the linemates he's playing with, he's going to have to generate a lot of scoring opportunities on his own, and that's what he did.

So, with a night to let it settle, I have to say that if this is what a bad game looks like for us (against a team that has a shot at a divisional title), then it's a pretty good game. Taking a look at the Last 10 numbers, we're second in the league, and Detroit has the lead only by their extra win.
 


ng, I was at the game last night. I meant to record it then watch it back just to see how different it looked on TV, but I forgot to set it up.

The first goal was definitely horrible coverage by Phaneuf. The 2nd goal wasn't quite as bad, but Eriksson definitely lost his man for a split second.
 


The Flames vastly outplayed the Stars for most of the night. Dallas won because of horseshoes and bad ice. And the fact Kipper let a stinker in in overtime.
 


the Falmes keep getting points yet can't climb the NW standings because all 3 teams ahead of them are also on fire!

maybe the Oil shall rise to te top after x-mas :P
Jordan
 


I also watched the game on TV last night, and I agree with MG. The Flames hit a number of posts and would have won the game without the stellar play of Mike Smith, who got lucky a number of times...

From my perspective, Calgary dominated play through much of the game (especially the last two regulation frames), but just wasn't getting the bounces (which seems to be a theme this season)...

But they haven't lost a game in regulation all month (7-0-3)...
 


I'm glad to hear that my first impressions were wrong.

I think we're going to do well against NJ tonight. They seem pretty similar to Dallas, except less offense and more defense. But I'll take our top guys against any defense in the league right now, especially if the other team's offense can't control the play in the other end.
 

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