Calgary's win over Phoenix tonight was televised on RSN West, and I caught a goodly bit.

**Boyd really is on fire. In their first two games, the Flames have scored 5 goals; Boyd has been in on 4 of them (2 EV, 1 PP, 1 SH). But it's not just that, he's creating chances and driving possession. I liked the guy last year for his potential and his touch, but it's just a fact that he got creamed, and you can only put a bit of that on the Erics. He wasn't really a big-league forward last season; he sure as hell looks like one right now.

**Phaneuf got the first star, which is... .... not the same decision I would have made. Way to start the season with a nice high-event game, Dion!

**I liked what I saw from Giordano. Hasn't lost his ability or desire to take the puck past the top of the circle, but didn't make any mistakes that I noticed.

**I liked what I didn't see from The Warrener and Vandermeer (J.) -- no giveaways, no struggling in their own end, no mention of their names hardly.

**Old guy I love: Moss. He just makes smart plays all the time. New guy I loved, tonight: Bourque! Fast, active stick, happy to bump around. Like Shean Donovan went through a time machine.

**No surprise with Andre Roy. He probably shouldn't be an NHL player. He also fell down about 0.9 seconds into his first fight as a Flame. So noo... I didn't fall in love.

**Regrettably, no surprise with Brandon Prust either. Suffice it to say that there was no evidence on display tonight that would explain why Sutter elected to give him that unexpected one-way deal. Though in fairness, he was mostly playing with

**Wayne Primeau. Gahhh. Look, I don't have a personal grudge against this man, and I'm sure he's an A-1 character. But he stinks. His performance for most of the past year has been below replacement-level. And regardless of the standard (and essentially accurate, though incomplete) scouting report on the guy -- which is that he's big, skates well, and can hit -- he is a goddamn floater. I'm sure he's not any of the things that "floater" implies (lazy, cares more about his own stats than how the team does, etc.), but a floater he is. When the puck is in the Flames' end, he coasts around and his feet don't move.

The benefits of his veteran savvy, whatever exactly that is, are not evident on the ice. He's not good at getting the puck out of his own zone, or at keeping it in the other guy's. He can't score, can't pass well, doesn't kill penalties, and turns the puck over in the neutral zone too much (another couple of beauties on that count tonight).

We know that the Flames are lacking a bit of quality in the top 6 this season compared to last. It can be overstated a bit, because Nolan is eminently replaceable, Conroy is still around, and Huselius was replaced (twice!). But on the other hand, maybe not, because it's even money that Bertuzzi is kaput as a remotely effective player, let alone a dynamic one.

What this means is that the Flames cannot afford to ice a 4th line that doesn't get results and has no chance of doing so going forward. I'm happy to give Prust a few extra chances, but the Flames cannot ice a 4th line of [Anyone]-Primeau-Roy this season. Not on a regular basis, not at all. Roy will stick around for (at minimum) grudge matches, I suppose, but there are 10 guys in the organization who can provide at least what Primeau provides, and all of them have a chance of being better next month. He needs to get busted down to Moline, where at that point Ryan Mcgill can confirm that Primeau is nowhere near his best forward, and then this can be over.

I'm not the guy who wants all the rookies to play, and who doesn't believe that there are things learned best via NHL experience. (I'm no prospophile, check my hard drive archives.) But Primeau, in all his veteranness, isn't good enough to play on this team.

Go Flames.