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Flames Game Day Talk 2008-09

8804 Views 74 Replies 6 Participants Last post by  Sherek X, 
flyerfan2
AV's @ Flames

Avalanche-Flames Preview


By LAURA MEDINA
STATS Writer
The Colorado Avalanche certainly want to extend their winning streak, but doing so at the expense of a division rival would be even sweeter.
Seeking their fourth straight victory, the Avalanche open a home-and-home set against the Calgary Flames on Tuesday night at Pengrowth Saddledome.
After a five-game skid from Oct. 28-Nov. 6, Colorado (8-8-0) has won three straight one-goal games, but still remains at the bottom of the Northwest Division.
On Saturday, Darcy Tucker scored with 10.7 seconds left in regulation, and added the winner in the fifth round of the shootout to lift the Avalanche to a 3-2 victory at Edmonton.
"We didn't play our best game," said Tucker, who has three goals in four games. "(Edmonton) played a pretty good hockey game for the most part and we just found a way to win it and sometimes you just need to find ways to win games when you haven't played your best."
The Avalanche will need to play better versus the Flames (9-8-1). Colorado won five of eight from Calgary in 2007-08, but has lost the first two meetings on the road this season. The Avalanche dropped a 5-4 decision on Oct. 14, then fell 3-0 two weeks later to give the Flames their only shutout win of 2008-09.
The teams, which meet again on Thursday in Denver, are separated by three points in the tightly-packed Northwest.
Calgary plays three of its next four at home, where it is 6-2-1. The Flames have won three straight and are 10-2-2 against the Avs at the Saddledome since 2005-06.
But the Flames are coming off a 6-1 loss to league-leading San Jose on Thursday, and have dropped five of seven after a season-high six-game winning streak.
"We're very disappointed, but we have a huge opportunity with back-to-back Colorado and back-to-back Vancouver (Nov. 27-29)," Craig Conroy told the Flames' official Web site. "Those are huge games and opportunities for us."
Michael Cammalleri - second on the Flames with 15 points - scored against the Sharks. He has a goal and three assists versus the Avalanche this season, giving him five goals and 13 assists in 16 career meetings.
Paul Stastny leads Colorado with 12 assists and 15 points, and will be playing his first game after signing a five-year contract extension on Monday. In 17 career games against Calgary, he has 11 goals and 12 assists.
It's unclear if the Avalanche's Joe Sakic will return after missing the last two games because of a strained back. The longtime Colorado captain is third on the club with 12 points, but his 40 goals and 103 points against Calgary are the most he's had against any opponent.
Peter Budaj has compiled an outstanding 0.96 goals-against average during the Avalanche's winning streak, but is 4-6-1 with a 3.96 GAA in 13 career matchups versus the Flames, including both defeats this season.
Miikka Kiprusoff, meanwhile, is 2-4-0 with a 4.91 GAA in his last six starts for Calgary. He's beaten the Avs twice this season to improve to 5-1-1 with a 1.88 GAA in his last seven starts.
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Stars-Flames Preview


Mar 18, 2009, 7:00 PM MT

Olli Jokinen has provided more offense than expected since joining the Flames. Team defense, however, has been a big disappointment lately and Calgary's lead in the Northwest Division has shrunk as a result.
The struggling Flames hope to rebound from one of their worst performances of the season Wednesday night when they open a three-game homestand against the Dallas Stars.
In need of an offensive boost for the stretch run, the Flames (40-23-6) acquired Jokinen from Phoenix at the trade deadline for forwards Matthew Lombardi and Brandon Prust and a first-round draft pick.
The deal couldn't be working out any better for Jokinen, who has eight goals and 10 points in his first six games with Calgary.
Jokinen was one of the few bright spots for the Flames in an 8-6 loss at Toronto on Saturday, as he collected three goals and two assists.
"It's a good hockey team and I'm playing with good players like Jarome (Iginla)," Jokinen told the Flames' official Web site. "I get a lot of chances and I feel a little bit lucky, the puck's been following me."
Iginla and Dion Phaneuf each had a goal and set up two others for Calgary, which lost four of the final five contests on its seven-game trip. That slide - coupled with Vancouver's strong play - has pulled the Canucks within three points of the Flames in the Northwest.
One area where the Flames haven't had much concern for years is in net, where Miikka Kiprusoff has established himself as one of the league's best.
Kiprusoff, though, has struggled lately, going 3-2-0 with a 4.57 goals-against average in seven starts since March 1. He allowed six goals on 22 shots Saturday before he was replaced by Curtis McElhinney early in the third period.
Coach Mike Keenan took the blame for starting Kiprusoff two nights after he faced 45 shots in a shootout win at Detroit.
"He'd like to have a better game I'm sure, but I think it was probably my fault for even playing him tonight because of what he had to go through and the work he had last game," Keenan said. "I take full credit for probably starting the wrong goaltender."
Kiprusoff figures to be back in net Wednesday despite losing his last four starts (0-3-1) against Dallas, including a pair of 3-1 defeats to the Stars this season....more​
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Blues-Flames Preview


Mar 20, 2009, 7:00 PM MT


The St. Louis Blues' performance on a western Canadian road trip is not helping their chances of reaching the postseason.
On Friday night, the Blues could be without star Keith Tkachuk as they hope to salvage a win on the swing while looking to avoid an eighth straight road loss to the Calgary Flames.
While Northwest Division-leading Calgary (41-23-6) tries to maintain the third spot in the Western Conference, St. Louis continues to make a push for its first playoff appearance since 2003-04....more​
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This is a MUST win for the Flames, every game is a must win from now on!!!
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Red Wings-Flames Preview


Mar 23, 2009, 7:30 PM MT

When they faced the Calgary Flames earlier this month, the Detroit Red Wings were playing their worst defense of the season.
The Red Wings have tightened their defense up during a recent win streak and with help from their league-best offense, remain in contention for the Western Conference lead.
Detroit will next look to take advantage of the Flames' continuing defensive struggles as it searches for a fifth straight victory and a season-high sixth consecutive road win Monday night in Calgary.
After yielding eight goals twice in their previous five games, the Red Wings blew a three-goal lead March 12 at home by allowing the Flames to score four straight times. They earned a point on Daniel Cleary's goal with 42 seconds left in regulation, but lost 6-5 in a shootout to Calgary.....more​
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This is a bad team to start winning again.
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Flames-Penguins Preview


Mar 25, 2009, 5:30 PM MT

The Pittsburgh Penguins may have squandered their chance for home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs with a loss in their most recent game.
The Calgary Flames, meanwhile, may have taken a big step toward beginning the postseason at home.
On Wednesday night, the Penguins will try to bounce back from their first regulation loss in a month as they host the Northwest Division-leading Flames, who will try to build off the momentum of their win over the defending Stanley Cup champions with a victory over last season's other finalist.
Pittsburgh (39-27-8) was tied with Philadelphia for fourth place in the Eastern Conference when the Flyers visited Mellon Arena on Sunday. The Penguins had gone 10-0-2 in their previous 12 games to get into that position, but Philadelphia handed them a 3-1 defeat.
The Flyers also beat Atlantic Division-leading New Jersey on Monday, putting them four points up on Pittsburgh with two games in hand.
"The win would have been nice," Sidney Crosby told the Penguins' official Web site after extending his point streak to 13 games with an assist. "We played hard and they had some good bounces and goals but I thought we did a good job of carrying the play for most of the game. ... They're a good team and we'll just move on." ......more​
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If the Flames are going to make an effort towards improving their defensive game, they'd better do it now. This isn't going to be like the game against Detroit where you can take advantage of a swiss cheese goalie and ride that to a win. The Flames are going to have to make a real team effort to pull this one off. I very much doubt Calgary will be able to mount up a 3 goal lead to lean back on and almost blow this time.

I say it will be a 4-3 win for Calgary
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Therapist_Joe
After watching the last few games I've really lost hope for Keenan because of the way he's had the team playing down the stretch. They've been losing puck battles and races and are getting out worked. The powerplay isn't the same and there's no reason for it other than him. IMO he has one of the best rosters (not to mention it's well balanced) in the league in frount of him and they're getting out worked nearly every game now.

I really hate to say this, but it really looks like Keenan has to go. He's not addressing any of the teams needs. They're focasing on the wrong areas of their game. They're heading in the wrong direction and they need a change.

Sutter can't hesitate because he's running out of game in the season. He`s put a lot into this year and he can`t have a team playing inconsistant and less than .500 going into the playoffs.
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I agree with ya, but I think the entire coaching staff needs a change. If we go out first round again I would like to see a new coaching staff in place.

I think this has been the teams problems for years now.
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Therapist_Joe
Sherek X said:
I agree with ya, but I think the entire coaching staff needs a change. If we go out first round again I would like to see a new coaching staff in place.

I think this has been the teams problems for years now.
Click to expand...
I am a big fan of Playfairs style and I think he's got a lot of potential to coach the team for a long period of time somewhere down the road. I also have a feeling he contributed a lot more than keenan has this year.

Playfair diserves to keep his job but I think Sutter's better suited to step in as head coach because Sutter's smart enough to coach a similar style to Keenans. Don't get me wrong, I loved the style that Playfair had back in 06, but that style is such a contrast to the one this year. I really think Sutter's disiplined system is the best thing for the team.

As for Rich Preston, I'm not really sure, he's been with the team a long time and has managed to not say really anything to any media. It's tough to get a read ona coach who always answers questions the same every time, he's never been on with Rob Kerr (much unlike Playfair).

Last week I was really thinking about future coaching possibilities. Here's what I came up with; Dave Lowery has a shot of coaching next year. He's done an amazing job for the Hitmen this year; he's coached a team that was suppose to be rebuilding this year into the top team in the CHL going into playoffs. One more reason why he could be coach for the flames next year is he's got a strong connection with Sutter as well as Playfair. He's also learnt most of his coaching stratagies for the Flames franchise. He's going to get a shot at coaching in the NHL soon because he's almost a steal for the CHL coach of the year.
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Sharks-Flames Preview


Mar 30, 2009, 7:30 PM MT​

Calgary (43-26-6) is trying to hold off Vancouver in the race for the Northwest Division title and third seed in the conference. If the Flames fall out of first place in the division, they could be in danger of losing the fourth spot in the conference - and home-ice advantage in the opening round - to Chicago.
Calgary is 25-9-4 at home.
The Flames look to build on Saturday's 3-2 win over Minnesota after being shut out in consecutive games. They're 4-7-0 in their last 11.....more​
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Therapist_Joe
Sherek X said:
Sharks-Flames Preview


Mar 30, 2009, 7:30 PM MT​

Calgary (43-26-6) is trying to hold off Vancouver in the race for the Northwest Division title and third seed in the conference. If the Flames fall out of first place in the division, they could be in danger of losing the fourth spot in the conference - and home-ice advantage in the opening round - to Chicago.
Calgary is 25-9-4 at home.
The Flames look to build on Saturday's 3-2 win over Minnesota after being shut out in consecutive games. They're 4-7-0 in their last 11.....more​
Click to expand...

I've heard somewhere that we'll have the same reffs as Saturday night, hopefully they've solved whatever issues they had with Glencross...
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Flames-Stars Preview


Apr 2, 2009, 6:30 PM MT

After holding a comfortable lead in the Northwest Division just a few weeks ago, the Calgary Flames are now playing catch-up while also trying to avoid falling out of contention for the Western Conference's fourth seed.
Calgary will try to snap out of its recent slump and get a rare win in Dallas on Thursday night when it visits the Stars, who are nearing elimination.
The Flames (43-27-6) are battling Vancouver for the Northwest title and the third seed in the West's playoff race. They are now one point below the Canucks in the division standings after leading them by 10 as recently as March 6....more​
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shady82
wow, the Flames are going to have it in tough tonight. They are only dressing 18 players, instead of a teams usual 21. Due to so many injuries on D (Giordano, Regher, Aucoin, Sarich) they had to call up Negrin and Pelech. But since Regher and Aucoin aren't on the IR their salary counts against the cap and now the have to send Boyd and Peters to Quad City. Which means we play with 3 lines plus one player tonight. 10 forwards, 6 Dmen.
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So what's the scoop how long are our guys out Shady?
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Therapist_Joe
Sherek X said:
So what's the scoop how long are our guys out Shady?
Click to expand...
I know Regehr and Aucoin are day to day still...
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Kings-Flames Preview


Apr 6, 2009, 7:30 PM MT

The Flames continue their battle for playoff position when they try to complete a season series sweep of the lowly Los Angeles Kings on Monday night.
Calgary (44-28-6) is in good position to win the Northwest Division despite being locked in a tight battle with Vancouver for the title. Three of its four remaining games are against teams currently outside the Western Conference playoff picture and its other one is against the Canucks....more​
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Therapist_Joe
With a win tonight and a regulation win tomorrow the div will be clinched. :beer
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S
We can only hope for the best, looks like the Flames are ready!
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S
One more win Tuesday the the N.W. belongs to Calgary!!
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