Flames Game Day Talk 2008-09

The New York Rangers are atop the Atlantic Division, but lately they've needed extra time to pull off any sort of victory. The Calgary Flames, on the other hand, have been taking care of business in regulation.
The Flames will look for their fifth win in six games Sunday at Madison Square Garden against the Rangers, who are trying to rebound after their second lopsided loss in less than a week.
Calgary (15-10-1) looked to be headed in the right direction in late October, when it won six in a row after a 1-3-1 start. The Flames responded with five losses in their next seven games, but have played like a different team since then.
Using a stifling penalty kill and some timely goal scoring, Calgary is 6-2-0 in its last eight contests. After a 3-1 loss to Dallas on Tuesday, the Flames came out flat Friday in St. Louis, falling behind 3-1 after two periods.
Power-play goals from Jarome Iginla and David Moss tied the score in the third, though, and Michael Cammalleri's 10th of the season won it in overtime.
"It's definitely a positive and you want to be able to contribute," said defenseman Dion Phaneuf, who assisted on all four goals. "It was a huge win for our team. We didn't get off to the start we wanted. We were down 3-1 and to come back, it's a huge win."
Iginla scored for the first time in four games, and a meeting with the Rangers (18-9-2) might be another big offensive opportunity for the only player in the Western Conference to score 50 goals last season. Iginla scored twice in a 4-3 win over New York on Jan. 2, and has seven goals and three assists in his last six games versus the Rangers.
Despite allowing two power-play goals in St. Louis, the Flames' penalty killing has been the key to their strong play of late. Those were the only two goals Calgary has allowed in its last 24 times short-handed, a 91.7 percent kill rate that's second in the league since Nov. 18.
The Rangers also know how to kill penalties, considering they have an NHL-best 90.1 percent success rate. Lately, though, they're having trouble stopping teams at even strength.
New York rebounded from a 4-0 loss to Florida with a 3-2 shootout win over Pittsburgh on Wednesday, but the next night in Montreal was another tough one for goaltender Henrik Lundqvist.
Lundqvist was pulled for the second time in five starts in the loss to the Panthers, then stayed in Thursday despite allowing six goals in a 6-2 defeat to the Canadiens.
"If you compared the two teams, one looked like an NHL team and the other like a non-NHL team," Lundqvist told the Rangers' official Web site Thursday. "I don't know what was missing. A lot of things, I think. They were all over us."
Despite Lundqvist's recent struggles, he remains one of the league's elite goaltenders, and his 2.33 goals-against average isn't far off from his 2.23 GAA last season.
He's tied with Calgary's Miikka Kiprusoff with an NHL-high 25 starts, and Lundqvist has continually helped the Rangers pick up an extra point. New York is 6-4-0 since Nov. 15, and five of those wins have come courtesy of a Lundqvist-led shootout victory.
Calgary, visiting MSG for the first time since January 2006, hasn't been involved in a shootout since Feb. 5.

Associated Press​

Calgary goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff's impressive play on his team's road trip isn't all that surprising. The play of right wing David Moss has been, however.
Kiprusoff looks to continue his stellar play on Wednesday night as the Flames seek their first road win against the Montreal Canadiens in nearly eight years.
The Flames (16-10-1), tied with Vancouver for first place in the Northwest Division, have won five of their last six and seven of nine, including a 3-0 victory over the New York Rangers on Sunday.
Jarome Iginla, Moss and Rene Bourque all scored, while Kiprusoff made 31 saves for his 29th career shutout. Kiprusoff has started 12 consecutive games and 26 of Calgary's 27 contests this season. He 5-1-0 with a 1.83 goals-against average in his last six games overall, and 0-2-0 with a 4.06 GAA in two career starts at Montreal.
"I like to play," he said. "I'm kind of used to it now and I know what I have to do to get ready night after night."
Kiprusoff isn't the only Flame on a hot streak. Moss has scored in four straight games and five of his last six, giving him eight goals for the season - doubling his total from 2007-08. He has 22 goals in his three-year career.
"He has certainly become a lot more confident the last four or five games," coach Mike Keenan said. "It's always that fine line of, 'Play me more and I'll play better, and play better and I'll play you more.' He's earned it."
With Sunday's win, the Flames improved to 2-0 on this four-game road trip, which closes Wednesday against defending Stanley Cup champion Detroit. Calgary has won four straight on the road, posting two shutouts during that stretch. That success comes after it started the season 3-6-0 in away games, allowing an average of 3.7 goals.
This is the Flames' first visit to Montreal since the Canadiens (15-6-5) won 5-4 on Oct. 17, 2006. Montreal has won three straight over Calgary at home since a 3-1 loss on Dec. 13, 2000.
The Canadiens are looking to bounce back after their three-game winning streak was snapped Saturday in a 2-1 overtime loss to visiting New Jersey. Rookie Matt D'Agostini scored for the third straight game, but the Devils scored a power-play goal 31 seconds into overtime.
Montreal went 0-for-5 on the power play, and is 1-for-19 in the last five games. Its opponents, meanwhile, are 4-for-17 during that stretch.
"Every penalty is tough," Canadiens coach Guy Carbonneau said. "The only good one is when you save a goal, in my book. All the other ones - you know, especially at this time of the game, when they just called one on them, you know that they're going to try and even out."
This will be the first game for Montreal's Alex Tanguay against his former team. Tanguay, acquired from Calgary on June 20 for two draft picks, has nine goals and nine assists this season after spending the past two years with the Flames.
The Canadiens have completed four games of their franchise-long seven-game homestand. They are 8-2-3 at home and haven't lost in regulation at the Bell Centre since a 2-1 defeat to Philadelphia on Nov. 14, going 3-0-3 since.


Associated Press​

Dec 10, 2008, 5:30 PM MT

After concluding last month with disappointing results, the Detroit Red Wings have turned things around at the start of December behind strong play at home.
The Red Wings aim to keep things going Wednesday night as they seek to complete a perfect four-game homestand with a matchup against the Calgary Flames.
Detroit (18-4-4) rolled to a 7-0-1 mark in the first three weeks of November before falling in three of last month's final four games (1-2-1). The Red Wings have bounced back since the calendar turned to December, though, winning three consecutive one-goal decisions at Joe Louis Arena.On Saturday night, they rallied back from a two-goal, second-period deficit for a 5-4 shootout victory - their fourth straight at home overall - over Chicago.
"It was nice, especially after that third goal, to be able to battle through," said backup Ty Conklin, who made 28 saves through overtime then turned aside all three attempts he faced in the shootout.
Valtteri Filppula and Jiri Hudler each had a goal and an assist in regulation, while Pavel Datsyuk scored the lone tally in the shootout for the Red Wings, who will now try to continue their recent success against Calgary (16-11-1).
The Red Wings have won four of their last five matchups with the Flames overall, including a 5-2 road victory on Nov. 22. They've dominated Calgary even more at Joe Louis Arena, where they've beaten the Flames four straight times and in nine of the teams' last 11 meetings.
The Flames' Miikka Kiprusoff made 32 saves versus the Red Wings in November, but fell to 6-8-1 with a tie lifetime against them.
Kiprusoff has started each of the Flames' last 13 games, and helped Calgary win the first two of its current four-game trip and five of six overall entering Tuesday night.
He made 27 saves Tuesday, but they weren't enough in a 4-1 loss to Montreal. Only Dustin Boyd - in his first contest back following a five-game absence due to a shoulder injury - was able to get the puck past Canadiens goalie Jaroslav Halak.
"He was very, very solid in net for them and probably was a difference maker," Flames coach Mike Keenan said.
Calgary killed off all three penalties it faced Tuesday, making it 26-for-28 on the penalty kill in the last 10 games. Detroit, though, has converted a league-best 30.3 percent of its power-play opportunities.
Captain Jarome Iginla, leading Calgary with 14 goals and 32 points, has four goals and eight assists in his last 10 contests. He has 13 goals and 40 points in 45 career games versus the Red Wings.
Detroit center Henrik Zetterberg, who has at least one point in 18 of the 24 games he's played in 2008-09, has nine goals and eight assists in 19 career games against the Flames.


Associated Press

As much as I would like the team to win this one I can't see it.​

Flames-Wild Preview

Dec 17, 2008, 6:00 PM MT​

Mired in a five-game losing streak, the Minnesota Wild hope their struggling offense will get a boost from franchise scoring leader Marian Gaborik.
Gaborik is expected to be back on the ice for the first time in more than two months on Tuesday night as the Wild (15-13-1) play host to Jarome Iginla and the Calgary Flames.
Gaborik has been out since Oct. 14 with a lower-body injury. He missed 27 seven games, during which the Wild went 13-13-1, and he's set to rejoin them as they've scored five goals during their slide.Gaborik, who led Minnesota with 42 goals and 83 points last season, had one goal in two games before being sidelined.
"More than likely I'll go," Gaborik said, adding: "I think I'm at the point where I can go out there and play a game. I don't think it will get any better. Obviously sometimes I feel discomfort, but I think by playing games it's going to get there. To get out there and get into game shape, I'm looking forward to it."
Gaborik - who's 13 games short of 500 - has spent his entire eight-year career the Wild, leading them with 207 goals and 208 assists.
With Gaborik's expected return, the Wild now will try to make a move in the Northwest Division standings. They're tied with Colorado for third place, both just one point in front of last-place Edmonton.
However, Wild coach Jacques Lemaire cautioned against high expectations for a team that has scored the fewest goals in the Western Conference (76).
"A lot of people, they figure (Gaborik's) going to come back, he's going to settle every problem we have on this team. We're going to start to score five goals five-on-five and six on the power play," Lemaire said. "It won't happen.
Minnesota has never lost six straight. It last went winless over six games during the 2003-04 season, going seven games without a victory by recording four losses and three ties.
The Wild are 6-4-2 at home against the Flames (17-11-3) over the last three seasons. Gaborik has five goals and 11 assists against them in the last 10 games.
Calgary comes into this game after snapping a three-game (0-1-2) winless streak with a 6-3 victory over St. Louis on Tuesday. That allowed the Flames to move into a tie atop the Northwest with Vancouver, both six points ahead of Minnesota and Colorado.
Iginla recorded two goals and two assists, matching his career high for points in a game. It was his first multi-goal game since scoring two against Nashville on Nov. 6, and came after he recorded one assist during Calgary's winless streak.
"He had a great game," Flames coach Mike Keenan said . "He had a leadership game and you expect that from your best players. He was engaged tonight, and it looked like that right from the start."
Iginla leads the Flames with 16 goals and 37 points. He is one point shy of 800 for his career.
Iginla also has a five-game points streak in Minnesota, scoring four goals with three assists.


Associated Press​

Blackhawks-Flames Preview

Dec 19, 2008, 7:00 PM MT​

The Chicago Blackhawks may have raised some eyebrows when they fired coach Denis Savard four games into the season and replaced him with Joel Quenneville.
The move, though, appears to be paying off handsomely.
The surging Blackhawks look to extend their longest winning streak in nearly seven years on Friday night when they meet the Calgary Flames.
Chicago (16-6-7) opened a three-game swing through western Canada with a 9-2 rout of Edmonton on Tuesday for its fifth straight victory. Troy Brouwer had two goals and an assist and reigning Calder Trophy winner Patrick Kane added a goal and two assists for the Blackhawks, who are 6-0-1 this month after closing November with a three-game skid.
"We really wanted to come out and have a good first game on the road because we have three here before Christmas," Brouwer said after his first career multigoal game. "Just get the first one out here and get on a roll for the next two."
Chicago, which ends its road trip on Saturday in Vancouver, is riding its longest win streak since winning six in a row from Dec. 26, 2001-Jan. 6, 2002. That run came during the last season in which the team made the playoffs.
Quenneville took over for Savard after the Blackhawks got off to a 1-2-1 start. Since then, Chicago has gone 15-4-6, and is posing a legitimate challenge to Stanley Cup champion Detroit in the Central Division.
"It's been a fun little run we're on right now," said Quenneville, whose team has scored 33 goals over the last seven games.
Nikolai Khabibulin stopped 31 shots against Edmonton, and could make his second straight start in this game. He's won his last three starts in Calgary, improving to 13-3-0 with a 2.05 goals-against average in his career there.
Andrew Ladd, who had two assists against the Oilers, is the Blackhawks' leading scorer this month with three goals and eight assists. Ladd has 19 points this season, and has never had more than 30 since breaking in as a rookie in 2005 with Carolina.
The Blackhawks have won three straight in Calgary, and defeated the Flames 6-1 on Nov. 9 at Chicago in the only meeting this season. Kane and Martin Havlat each had a goal and two assists in that game.
With this contest, the Flames (18-11-3) begin a season-high five-game homestand that will carry them through New Year's Eve.
Calgary returns to Pengrowth Saddledome after sweeping a two-game road trip. The Flames beat St. Louis 6-3 on Tuesday before posting a 3-2 overtime victory against Minnesota on Wednesday.
Todd Bertuzzi's tally 3:48 into the extra period off a feed from Daymond Langkow snapped a 20-game goal-scoring drought.
"It was a good veteran move by Daymond Langkow," said Bertuzzi, who had not scored since Nov. 2. "He made a smart play, dove for it, got it over, and that's obviously a nice two points to go home with."
Miikka Kiprusoff stopped 25 shots to improve to 7-2-1 with a 2.17 GAA in his last 10 starts. However, he tied a season high by allowing six goals versus Chicago last month.
Jarome Iginla failed to record a point against the Wild after tying a career high with four in the win over the Blues. The Flames captain leads the team with 16 goals and 21 assists, but has one point in his last four games against the Blackhawks.​

Associated Press​

Ducks-Flames Preview

Dec 23, 2008, 7:00 PM MT​

Sharks-Flames Preview

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Jan 6, 2009, 8:00 PM MT​

San Jose coach Todd McLellan doesn't expect the Sharks to be perfect, but he doesn't want to see too many repeats of his team's latest effort.
The NHL-leading Sharks look for a more complete performance Tuesday night when they open a three-game road trip against the Calgary Flames in a matchup of division leaders.Since winning a season-high nine straight from Nov. 13-Dec. 4, San Jose (29-4-5) has cooled off somewhat, going 7-1-4 and alternating wins and losses in its last four games.
In Saturday's 5-3 victory over the New York Islanders, Mike Grier scored twice - his first two-goal game since Jan. 4, 2007 - as the Sharks improved to 19-0-2 at home. The win, however, was less than satisfying for San Jose's coach.
The Sharks held a three-goal lead in the third period, but New York cut the deficit to 4-3 with 1:03 left before Patrick Marleau scored his 19th goal of the season into an empty net with 10 seconds remaining.
"It's unacceptable that we were up 4-1 with about 3 minutes left in the game and on the power play and we give them a short-handed goal," McLellan said. "We have a lot of learning to do as a hockey club, learning how to win. ... It's been creeping into our game a little bit. It's something we have to work on."
San Jose earned at least a point for the sixth straight game (4-0-2). With 63 points, it's one ahead of Boston for the top record in the league.
To maintain that standing, San Jose needs to improve its play away from home. All four of its regulation losses have come on the road, where it's 10-4-3 on the season.
The Sharks have gone 1-1-3 away from HP Pavilion following a season-high five-game road winning streak from Nov. 16-Dec. 15. They're 2-7-0 with a tie in their last 10 trips to Calgary.
Since San Jose won 6-1 at home over the Flames on Nov. 13, Calgary has gone 14-4-3 to move atop the competitive Northwest Division.
The Flames (23-12-4) had won five in a row and had earned points in 10 straight before a 5-2 loss at Chicago on Sunday. The defeat was their first in regulation since falling 4-1 at Montreal on Dec. 9.
"Anytime you've been winning - and we've been moving along pretty well - a loss is hard to swallow," said Flames captain Jarome Iginla, who leads the team with 18 goals and 28 assists.
Calgary will try to bounce back in the opener of a three-game homestand. It's won a season-high four straight at the Pengrowth Saddledome, its longest run there since an eight-game win streak from Jan. 4-Feb. 3, 2007.
Miikka Kiprusoff has gone 13-4-3 with a 2.74 goals-against average while playing all 20 of the Flames' home games. The league leader with 23 victories, Kiprusoff made his 10th consecutive start Sunday, allowing four goals on 28 shots before Curtis McElhinney came in for the third period and stopped all seven shots he faced.
Former Shark Kiprusoff is 8-6-1 with a 2.98 GAA in 15 games versus San Jose.
Joe Thornton leads San Jose with 37 assists and 46 points, and has a goal and 10 assists during a six-game point streak.
The Sharks' Evgeni Nabokov - second in the NHL with 21 wins - has posted a 3.86 GAA in losing his last three games against the Flames. He didn't face them in November.​

Associated Press​

Blues-Flames Preview

Jan 13, 2009, 7:30 PM MT​

Flames-Sharks Preview

Jan 15, 2009, 8:30 PM MT​