Thursday, October 09, 2008

 

Flames Game Night

Game 1 of 82 tonight, vs. the Canucks in the Carhole (830PM MT, CBC).

A lot of Flames -- players and management -- have things to prove this season, and tonight is when they'll start being judged.

Darryl Sutter has been adamant since the lockout that the key to this whole schmiel is having an elite core of players. He has one, so if the Flames have another 90-some point, one-round-and-out season, he's going to looked at critically, and not just by annoyed fans.

Mike Keenan has to show that he and a team can get better together, or this will almost certainly be the last season of his NHL coaching career.

Jarome Iginla doesn't have to prove anything in terms of ability, but he staked a bit of his own credibility on the Bertuzzi acquisition (before and after), and it's somewhat incumbent on him, personally, to find some way to turn Big Head Todd's clock back a few years.

Bertuzzi himself, of course, has to prove that he's still a legit player, and unlike last season he's probably going to have to do it against the best lines in the league.

Phaneuf has to prove that he's not "merely" one of the large 2nd tier of NHL defensemen (Lidstrom being by himself in the 1st) who play big minutes and can score on the powerplay.

And finally, Kipper has to prove that he's still a top-end goalie, and that his contract is OK -- as opposed to (say) making the Khabibulin deal look like a slight overpay. Mrs. Matt has a relatively new #34 jersey, and I'd like her to be able to wear it for a few years.

As such, a shutout would absolutely kick ass tonight, and that's what I'm calling.

Calgary 3 (Bertuzzi, Cammalleri, Bourque into the EN)
Vancouver 0 (KIPPERRRRR!!!!)

Go Flames.

Comments:

Can we all agree that the first 3 1/2 hours of HNIC will be remembered as "The Def Leppard Debacle"?
 


Agreed.
 


Neither Pronger or Neidermeyer make the list with Lidstrom? I'd disagree there.

This Luc Bourdon jersey give back is actually pretty touching.
 


Conroy with Iginla, Boyd on the 4th line...Sigh.
 


Man. I almost lost it when they showed #4 in Manitoba. That was heavy. Rest in Peace Luc.
 


Conroy with Iginla, Boyd on the 4th line...Sigh.

We're building an IDENTITY. I think it's starting with settling for mediocrity.

The really sad part is that if Conroy is on the first why don't we just take Bourque off the second and put Boyd there? Why have two sivs on the top two lines when you can get away with just one?
 


I don't think I can get excited about lines (TOI, maybe) until at least G5.
 


I don't think I can get excited about lines (TOI, maybe) until at least G5

Fair enough. I've become hyper-vigilant for Conroy with Iginla Im afraid.
 


Moss and Bourque on the PP on the 5 on 3...but not Boyd. Thats just plain old stupidity.
 


Oh right. I forgot Luongo could do this. Thank god he's Canadian eh?
 


Wow, the sad part is Giordano could not have played that any better, and Conroy couldn't have played it any worse. Dion was also pretty culpable there.
 


I know it seems like Im picking on him...but WTF was Conroy doing on that two on one??
 


Kipper flopping like a fish on the deck already. Also, where was the defense?
 


Who's the clown doing the colour tonight? At first I thought it might be Millen, but it sounds wrong.
 


Well, I figured the Flames PP and PK would be better this season, and based on the first 246th of the season, I'm even more confident. Nice stuff.

The Sedins are good players and sometimes they score on you (esp. if you wear a flaming C), but yeah, Conroy zigged when he should have zagged there. When one Sedin has the puck, the other Sedin is probably the guy you should be looking to check.
 


Milbury + Hrudey= excellent.
 


Lee+Crawford=Not so excellent.
 


That's better.
 


haha...or not.
 


Lol.

Kipper+Phaneuf=Goals Against.
 


And...that's just terrible goaltending.
 


Kipppppperrrrrrr. Kipppperrrrrrrrr.
 


Kiprusoff allowing a planet-sized rebound of a soft wrist shot?

KIPPPPEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.
 


Good lord that was a poor rebound.
 


I'm not watching, just listening on the internet, but it sounds like we are getting out-goaltended again? Fuck.
 


Is it just me, or has the fall of Miikka Kiprusoff coincided pretty exactly with the rise of Ty Conklin?

You don't think...
 


Rene Bourque looks an aweful lot like donovan...
 


Anyone else find Crawford talking about Bertuzzi's physical play a tad unsettling?
 


How did Burrows not get a boarding penalty there? Or a goaltender interference penalty?
 


Ah, it was Kesler who ran Kipper over. So much better...
 


Rene Bourque is killing me in this game.
 


I'm so confused. Should I be happy that Calgary is getting destroyed, or unhappy that Vancouver is dismantling them? It's too much for one brain to take.
 


It's interference when the guy has the puck??
 


Strange call, alright.

It's Lombardi who's killing me tonight. And I really wish it wasn't Moss who was buried on the bench with 19/27.
 


It's Lombardi who's killing me tonight

yeah. he doesn't look good either. Heard he lost a bunch of weight due to that flu, though.
 


Oh Bertuzzi, how many badly timed penalties can one man take?
 


Giordano, OTOH, looks great I think. Maybe he will be the elusive permanent partner for #3.
 


Giordano has been our best defenceman.
 


He really has. Love his roaming in the offensive zone.
 


There's the goodfellas line
 


Sit in the box, Iggy Foo!

Go Nucks! Burrows for PM!
 


Ohlund's been playing a really physical game this year, according to Crawford.

All thirty-eight-odd minutes of it.
 


In other hilarious news, Budaj is sucking balls for Colorado tonight. No one saw that coming.
 


painful
 


He really has. Love his roaming in the offensive zone.

He just looks like whatever tools he has, he knows the exact right time to use them.
 


Eat a dick Brophy!

Norris trophy, MY ASS!

I have Phaneuf projected as going -164 this season. AHEM, that is +0/-164.

He better make some big hits and score alot of big powerplay goals this season.
 


As such, a shutout would absolutely kick ass tonight...

Be careful what you wish for.

(In other news, I just came home from pub trivia at 1:30 am, checked the hockey scores, and was about to close the window when I noticed that a bunch of the games were still in progress. Apparently I live in New Brunswick now.)
 


In other hilarious news, Budaj is sucking balls for Colorado tonight. No one saw that coming.

Jer cough!

No, I mean, I gotta breathe for a second.

Budaj still has a chance for the W though, Kent. The W!

W's are all that matter.

Good goalies find ways to win, no matter what the numbers tell you.

THEY WILL THEMSELVES TO VICTORY!

Just like Fuhr.
 


Good goalies find ways to win, no matter what the numbers tell you.

THEY WILL THEMSELVES TO VICTORY!

Just like Fuhr.


hahaha...I heard Sutter pedddling that BS the other day. "Yeah will Kipper had 39 wins last year, so...there are...like...30 other goalies that wish they could be him."

Shut up. Just shut up.
 


Pardy's 2nd intermission interview reminded me of the first officer that Connery & Costner tried to recruit at the shooting range in The Untouchables.
 


haha..."the big stat there is wins".

Oh wow.
 


How did NHL.com actually make their game summaries worse for this season?

http://www.nhl.com/ice/boxscore.htm?id=2008020006

My favorite part is under "other facts", where I found out that apparently zero people were in attendance in Colorado tonight.
 


Humiliation
 


Sweet angle there.
 


I love goons. They are so useful.

What? Roy just took a useless penalty?

Im shocked.
 


Iginla with his best EV shift of the night -- next to Cammalleri and Langkow, no Tooz.

I'm fairly (over 50%) certain that the Bertuzzi thing won't work out at all, but I'm seriously curious to see how soon Keenan abandons putting him out with Iginla.
 


Conroy on the PP.

I've had just about enough of this.
 


If Robyn Regehr really wanted to be a Flame he would have divorced his pregnant wife and would have been in Vancouver tonight to help prevent this humiliation from ever happening.
 


Apparently nobody gave the memo to the Canucks that they couldn't score this year. I'm impressed.

As much as I hate when the Oilers are playing against Burrows, he's the pride of the Manitoba Moose farm system. He's the poster child for the kind of player a great farm team can find and develop.

Kent W. and Kyle: man. You guys sound like Oilers fans the way you're ragging on your players. Stop it, that's our turf.
 


Okay, I've changed my mind. This is awesome.
 


Actually, I dont blame Conroy for Conroy...I blame Keenan who seems to think Craig is still 32 years old.
 


Kent W. and Kyle: man. You guys sound like Oilers fans the way you're ragging on your players. Stop it, that's our turf.

I am an Oilers fan which probably explains it.

Fucking sweet d by Vandermeer there as well.
 


I blame Keenan who seems to think Craig is still 32 years old.

And that Kipper's still a good goalie.
 


I'd pay $10 000 to be in the living room with Matt right now.
 


Oooooh.

Kill Phaneuf. Please.

He's a keeper. And Raymond won't see Manitoba ever again.
 


So have I mentioned that I love hockey?
 


Really? Phaneuf with a clean hit, and Bernier has to fight him? This is "The Code"? I think "The Code" should dictate Bernier punching Sedin in the face for crossing the ice with his head down.


Mark Lee just said Bernier had "moxy." My life is complete.
 


Phaneuf!
 


In other hilarious news, Budaj is sucking balls for Colorado tonight. No one saw that coming.

Kent, by no one, you do mean everyone, right? Just checking.

Actually, I dont blame Conroy for Conroy...I blame Keenan who seems to think Craig is still 32 years old.

Keenan's straight from the Ted Nolan school when it comes to handling youngsters. He is going to default to his veterans.

Someone needs to tell him that it's not 2004 and Craig Conroy is a 3rd line center. At best.

I'm not going to lie, I'm sort of enjoying this, but it's a double-edged sword, because I hate the Canucks more than I hate the Flames.
 


Is there a full moon tonight?
 


6-0. Time to pull the goalie?


You know what's going to be even better? When all the Canucks trolls show up here screaming "Bobby Lou!"
 


Oh my dear lord. When RICK RYPIEN scores on you, you fucking pull your goalie, cut your losses and get outta Dodge.
 


YES!!! Pardy gets beat while Sarich falls down!! AND THE CROWD GOES WILD, THE COMPLETE ASS RAPING IS COMPLETE!!
 


hahaha...this is an absolute farce.

Pardy and Sarich on the PP? Brilliant.
 


The truly scary thing about this game tonight?

Vancouver has 9M worth of cap space left.
 


Well, the team hasn't played well, but I have no idea what Keenan is doing behind the bench tonight. I'll have to look at the numbers, but the management looks almost totally arbitrary.
 


I'm looking forward to Kipper pulling a Roy here on Keenan. Sutter isn't sitting by the bench, is he?
 


6-0. Time to pull the goalie?

He's already building his case for making McElhinney the starter. (hopefully)
 


I feel horrible for Kipper tonight. No way he was one of the 10 worst Flames.
 


Phaneuf left his feet to borderline elbow Sedin in the face. But that's okay, because he didn't get a major penalty. Sorry, Andy. That was a minor cheapshot.

(P.S.: You're right about one thing. Whichever Sedin you were, keep your head up, you idiot.)
 


Well gentlemen.I am pleased with the result.

-Billy-
 


I feel horrible for Kipper tonight. No way he was one of the 10 worst Flames.

Not at all.

Not sure where to start talking about this one. It was all bad.
 


Ole Ole Ole Ole Ole Ole Ole Ole Ole Ole Ole Ole Ole Ole Ole Ole Ole Ole Ole Ole Ole Ole Ole Ole Ole Ole Ole Ole Ole Ole!!!!!!!!!!

I can barely type, the tears are flowing on my keyboard!

Did you see Rypiens goal? did you see it???

Where is the Canucks offence gonna come from???? WHERE???

Bwa ha ha ha ha!!!!
 


(P.P.S.: BOBBY LOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU. Sorry, I had to.)
 


I'll have to look at the numbers,

Here's the shift chart from tonight
 


And re: Keenan, obviously at a certain point he just decided to try some things. Seems reasonable to me.

Sooner than later, *most* of these usage things work themselves out (no Conroy/Bourque on the PP, Bertuzzi stinks at EV, etc.).
 


I can barely type, the tears are flowing on my keyboard!

Bwa ha ha ha ha!!!!


I felt the same way when the Oilers knocked the Canucks out of the playoffs last year.

Should be an interesting game Saturday night.
 


The Canucks are on pace to score 492 goals this year :)
 


All the guff about Tanguay and huselius "being soft" and "not competing every night" was hopefully exposed a bit tonight as the fraud it was.

Huselius and Tanguay weren't the reasons this team was mediocre last year and replacing them isn't going to turn the club around.
 


And re: Keenan, obviously at a certain point he just decided to try some things. Seems reasonable to me.

Sooner than later, *most* of these usage things work themselves out (no Conroy/Bourque on the PP, Bertuzzi stinks at EV, etc.).


I guess. I find some of his decisions...confusing. he ended up sitting Moss for most of the game for no good reason that I could see, for instance.
 


Indeed, Kent. The (er, our) fear with the offseason changes was that they were short on EV difference makers. Obviously we weren't terribly placated tonight.

Though aside from shitty hands, I basically liked Bourque. And as much as the Tooz might disappoint, Cammy looked like a player.
 


If Keenan has one problem that bothers *me* (as opposed to stuff in his history, stuff I don't care about, and stuff I don't believe), it's that he seems to think it's not enough to actually be physical -- i.e. be willing to use your body to gain an advantage wrt possession etc. -- you have to look like you enjoy it, or, it has to look rough. I don't get why he doesn't rate Moss.
 


Meta: every summer I neglect the site, and every fall I think, Fuck! I hope people are still interested in coming around.

Considering this is G1 and that we have more Oilfan readers than Flames fans, looks like we might have another good season. Great to see you back, folks.
 


I don't get why he doesn't rate Moss.

it doesn't make a lick of sense. And he continued going with Conroy tonight, and that guy was just so obviously struggling.
 


The oilers have the best blogs around. There's no denying the greatness of the oilogosphere (and matt).

Even though I follow canucks, i mostly read oil blogs. I'm surprised that there isn't a term yet in the glossary to describe hick canucks fans (prolly from the interior or yaletown) trolling the comments when the nucks do good and disappear whenever they lose. The glossary is lacking. just saying...


oh yea... BOBBY LOU!!!!
 


"Bobby Lou-sers"
 


"Jim Hughson"
 


Hey Andy, did you hear Hrudey drop the F-bomb last weekend after Millbury needled him a bit too much? All three of them tried to laugh it off, but it's obvious they don't see eye to eye on much (this is Mike Millbury, after all).

I think I'm going to love the fireworks that come out of that combo.
 


I thought Marc Crawford was pretty decent... he needs to cut down on his "unfortunately"s by about 80-95%, but OK for insight. (Yes, these things are relative.)

Mark Lee, on the other hand, is like a 3-year-old in a room full of many many things that make lots of different noise. "Haha, this thing is loud, I'm going to bang it over and over again." Until he moves on to something different, and you're relieved because you got sick of the first noise a lot sooner than he did. But soon enough, the second noise is now annoying in the same manner as the first one, and again you're sick of it before he is.

And you find yourself wondering, "What is it inside that brain that decides that he's finally made enough racket with thing A/B/C/etc.?"
 


Also, I was going to make a version of this joke in the comments, but Lefebvre's was funnier, briefer, and more prompt:

Coming soon to a cookbook near you — Mark Lee's Shuffled Salad.
 


I feel horrible for Kipper tonight. No way he was one of the 10 worst Flames.

I mean, he might look out-of-condition and give up a bunch of soft rebounds but he's still KIPPERRRR.
 


You do a fine Kipper apologist CC, I'm just not sure what that has to do with me.
 


I'm surprised that there isn't a term yet in the glossary to describe hick canucks fans (prolly from the interior or yaletown) trolling the comments when the nucks do good and disappear whenever they lose.

Vancouver doesn't matter enough for any of us to bother.
 


Andy, I'm seriously sorry for slamming you on this site before, please forgive me.


You won my heart in the comments tonite. This is what the BoA is all about folks!
 


woo! just saw the score.....

Oilers, half game up. Good stuff.
 


"I'm surprised that there isn't a term yet in the glossary to describe hick canucks fans (prolly from the interior or yaletown) trolling the comments when the nucks do good and disappear whenever they lose."

I tend to use anonymouse.
 


This is what the BoA is all about folks!

Kicking Matt and Kent when they're down?
 


Kicking Matt and Kent when they're down?

Cripes, that made me laugh out loud.

I need a drink and we're one game in.
 


I need a drink and we're one game in.

It's past noon on the Friday before a long weekend. You're cleared for take-off....
 


You did call a shutout Matt so not all bad.

Right?
 


Best of luck to the Calgary Flames this season.
 

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