It is what it is, but it is not a cliché

What a crazy season this has been. We're at the half-way mark already? That can't be right. I'd like to apologize for the infrequent postings to this blog, but the real world cannot be PVRed and life goes on. But in the meantime, Kent, WI, and Matt have all been prolific and analytical and highly entertaining.

I'm not sure many people predicted that by the midpoint of the season, the Flames would be a "top six" team in the league. And if they did predict that, they probably changed their mind after the infamous events San Jose beat-down on November 13th. They've pulled it off, somehow. The team has simply looked consistently good since November 13th, and even our 3rd and 4th lines are looking good.

What is notable about this season is how little our "top three" guys are contributing to this. In most years, Iginla, Kiprusoff, and Phaneuf are all-stars and there's a dropoff from there. This year, all three are arguably underperforming: Kiprusoff is getting wins, but he's still not performing like an elite goaltender in my eyes. Iginla has been good, but he hasn't been exceptional. Phaneuf needs to work on his aim and still work on his defensive coverage -- I don't think "lazy" is the correct word but on many goals, I see "#3" skating well behind the player that scored. The Flames' success has come from the hands of the team as a whole, and it's a great thing. The work ethic, speed, and skills of Rene Bourque and Curtis Glencross have, in my view, inspired this whole team -- I believe they supply additional motivation to the rest of the team. It doesn't have to be the Jarome Iginla or Dion Phaneuf show each night, and these guys keep proving it. The effort and consistency from everyone on the team, and the continued underrated efforts of Daymond Langkow, are ensuring that this team is ferocious and firing on all cylinders each night. Even Todd Bertuzzi, oft lamented by my fellow bloggers, has been playing fairly well all season. I still stand by my assertion that he's not even close to being the "biggest disappointment" on our team this year, in fact he's overperforming if you take into account his salary in my estimation...things are looking good.

But now we've had a break. The Flames have been sitting idle since Thursday, and now we're facing off against St. Louis tonight. It'll be all too easy to underestimate St. Louis (especially since they've lost their one-man-army in Lee Stempniak), combined with potential overconfidence from their recent record and 5-2 wins and the challenge of getting back in the saddle after a long weekend, this may be a bigger challenge than is expected. In a lot of ways, I'm looking at tonight's game against lowly St Louis as a barometer for future near-term success. If the Flames can shake off the little bit of rust, play competitively, and put in a solid game tonight I think we'll be okay. It's about forming those good habits again.

We can't forget that Vancouver isn't too far back. With Loungo back and Sundin on the team, they will get better. I'm glad we've extended the lead as much as we have with Loungo out and Sundin playing like a Maple Leaf, but that can be short-lived. Vancouver's a one-man show, and that one man has returned.

Pregame @ St. Louis: The kids are alright edition

Wait, didn't we just play these guys?

Anyways. I was impressed by the St Louis "who are these guys?" Blues. Fantastic, young team that can easily keep up with the Calgary Langkows.

The last time I watched us play the Blues was when I attended the Flames blogosphere meetup at Schanks; surprisingly, we won that game, but it was a lopsided effort on both ends. I don't doubt we'll see the same thing again. So yeah, seatbelts, fastening, all that good stuff. You know the drill.

Now! I also want to talk about St. Louis' division rivals the Blackhawks. It's been all over the internets; I just want to point out (again!) that they very quietly made a classy classy gesture for their GM... originally it wasn't publicized but it's a big deal now.
These are the guys who should be getting the bulk of the press about their off-ice lives, not the Sean Averys of the league.

Attention: ST

Anytime you and your brother want to go for a game in the 'Dome, feel free.

Actually, if it were up to me, you boys would never leave.

Breaking: Forsberg, Leopold, Foote injured; Breaking: Zyuzin a healthy scratch; Breaking: StL to play Cgy

While not exactly shocking, news of the injuries to Forsberg, Foote, and Leopold are great for Calgary. Salei also managed to break his orbital bone fighting Ott for the hit on Leopold. Leopold in particular has been amazingly injury-prone:

22-Jan-08 Missed 2 games (illness).
18-Jan-08 Illness, day-to-day.
29-Dec-07 Missed 4 games (leg injury).
19-Dec-07 Leg injury, day-to-day.
13-Dec-07 Missed 21 games (wrist surgery).
26-Oct-07 Wrist injury, mid-December.
16-Oct-07 Missed 2 games (hip injury).
12-Oct-07 Hip injury, day-to-day.
22-May-07 Re-signed by the Colorado Avalanche to a two-year contract.
09-Apr-07 Missed the last 25 games of the regular season (wrist injury).
17-Feb-07 Wrist injury, sidelined indefinitely.
26-Jan-07 Missed 17 games (groin).

Does a Moreau brother work as Colorado's strength and conditioning coach? In other breaking news, Andrea Susan has been a healthy scratch in Chicago. With a blue-line like Chicago has, that's quite a statement.

Calgary has the opportunity to catapult itself to the top of the division tonight (again). Minnie has 2 games in hand and is only 1 point ahead. While Calgary has points in six of the last seven games, the obvious lack of scoring is a major concern. Huselius needs to turn off the suck as well, he's been an offensive void lately -- is he trying to get moved out of town?

The one brightspot has been Kiprusoff. He's clearly stolen a few games for us, and we're going to need to ride that pony til it runs out of gas, 'cause it's all we got right now. I hate reverting to a Vancouver style of play (minus the award-winning level of goonery and douchebaggery), but if it's working, let's keep it up.

Prediction: 3-1 Calgary win (Hale, Lombardi, Kiprusoff) [Yes, none are likely to ever score an NHL goal...]. Stempniak.

Ok, everybody. Back on the bandwagon we go....

It's been a pretty good road trip, hasn't it? I asked the boys to go big or go home, and they went big! And how.

Added to the list of amazing accomplishments is Huselius' 5 pt night today, which rather makes me wonder if, um, Dave remembered to start him. Dave? Dave?

We'll find out.

I think what's impressed me most about this road trip is that we've heard the "YEAAAAAHHHHH BAAAAABY" twice on the radio. Twice. In a single road trip. In the middle of the season. Who would've thunk? First time for the Flames' barnburner in Tampa (I think Peter Maher wanted to do it in Tampa once, because he didn't get to do it in '04). Second was for Keenan's 600th win tonight, which is quite the milestone. Yupyupyup.

Stupid PPV.

I don't think all is rosy with the team. Clearly a number of players have got their groove back...there's still a pile of others who haven't. It's just as well we've remembered how to score, because Kipper hasn't always been dead on.

And I have this other burning question, which is, whether last year's Road Flames (BOOO!) have become this year's Home Flames.... I haven't really squinted at the numbers (I'm supposed to be pounding out a paper right now), but I think the team has been much more confident on the road this year than at home. Whatever.

Stay tuned! We get to arm-wrestle Columbus for a playoff spot next. It'll be a gooder.

Update: Is ... that.... the NHL Three Stars of the Week? And, OMG! Is that, Iggy, #1 man in the league? Well, #2 doesn't matter, that's just the first loser, hahahaha, but who's that in #3?

LUPUL!

Life is good.

Fantasy Standings! (and maybe a game I won't talkabout much)

Oh. December happened,and I barely noticed. And a bit of distraction is in order. These are the standings from the Flames blogosphere league:

1. woolly brained (me)
2. The Pant Weasels (Dave's brother)
3. The Hopelesses (MG)
4. Flaming C (Paul-Marc)
5. Craig Conroys (Duncan)
6. Completely Hammered (ST)
7. The Pantless Pirates (Dave)

I think we're being fair hosts. I've got the lead, while Dave's bringing up the rear. All good!

MG has had a strong month - I've only recently managed to take the lead from him, while Dave's brother and Mr. Flaming C have been hard on my heels the entire time.

I don't think Dave wants to talk about his month. He's getting completely hosed by injuries...at least that'stheexcusehe'sstickingto.

Flamesland is not looking so good lately. Ramholt has been sent down pretty unceremoniously, and Pardy is up, well, at least for the night. I'm looking forward to seeing what Pardy can do - of all the Ds at the prospects camp I thought he was the most solid.

Elsewhere, Dark Mutterings abound, and the Blues are here, just waiting to Stempniak us. Well, not much we can do about that, I suppose. Just hope that we can turn the corner. Ish.

I'll settle for Ish. How about a 2-1 game tonight, for the guys who need the win?

Please?

I'll make this quick

So, just WHO, in all their marketing wisdom, in the Calgary Flames organization thought it would be a good idea to put a PPV game on Grey Cup Sunday?

Just wondering.

Game has started (both of 'em)... off I go.

Deep thoughts for another day.

New Uniforms

Entering a code in NHL 08 unveils what appears to be new uniforms for all the teams, including those who have yet to unveil them.

Let's start with Edmonton's ugly threads. The orange striping looks mildly awkward, and I'm sure the fact that player numbers are to be appearing on the biceps will not help.

Next up is San Jose.

St Louis:

And Phoenix's jersey somehow became slightly less ugly:

Source: Calgary Puck.

Enough, already!

The guys on the radio likened this in their post-game to a zombie movie... it's not a bad metaphor for the game. It was ugly, and the bad guys kept on coming back after you thought them safely dead.

I do want to give some props to St. Louis. It's clear from the two games over the last week that this isn't the same team that started the year. Definitely a team that's rebuilding, stocked full of names that might not be horribly familiar to most of us, but they've definitely improved a lot. Kudos to Andy Murray - I've liked him ever since his turn as a rather wry colour commentator during the playoffs last year.

I'm a bit annoyed that we blew as many leads as we did - especially at home, I have this sense that yes, we should be able to put away a team like this, with a two goal lead in hand. I'm going to blame our coverage in the defensive zone again. It's a bit frustrating since we were well known for being good at this not that long ago.

Well... we can always look ahead. We have a phenomenal chance to put the Avs out of their misery in Denver Wednesday. Here's hoping the boys get it done.

1:45 AM Anyone know what to make of this?

Blue Monday

Yes, yes, I know...enough with the terrible puns already!

We're all a bit down again with their performance lately. I don't have much to say about Saturday night, except that I too dropped my dinner, and John Tortorella dresses every bit as badly as our Jimmy. I'd like to see some improved defensive zone coverage, especially in our own barn. Tampa managed to generate a lot of PPs and well, goals, because we simply weren't able to clear the puck efficiently.

Other local hockey news... you have to check out the Herald's post-game summary of yesterday afternoon's Hitmen game. Crazy attendance figures for a game in the juniors, vomiting (I feel your pain, Spence), and a goalie fight! What's not to like?

Umm. Back to the big boys. I'm still not that worried about playing the Blues, particularly at home. I can't help but emphasize how important it is for the guys to try and move up the standings a bit before the playoffs start - who really wants to play Nashville for starters? More to the point, who wants to play more teams after they play Nashville for starters?

There are some bright spots out there. I think the tandem of Stuart and Regehr is improving - Stuart had what I thought was his most impressive game so far Saturday night, with some amazing plays to help out Kipper. And will we see Friesen extend his goal-scoring streak to three games? A lot of people have been dumping on Friesen all year, though I've suspected for a while that it hasn't been completely deserved. One day, when I have more free time and the inclination to do a bit of number crunching, I'll present a deeper analysis. But Friesen has been quietly playing a lot of hard minutes on the PK, and I think he's a big reason why our special teams have improved this year.

What else, what else? Hale is getting better though not ready to play yet (or should I say, not hale yet? I kill myself, hahahaha), Conroy is reportedly out with an upper body something (Saturday night I thought it was a knee or somesuch). Hopefully Lombardi can retrieve some of his minutes and get himself out of the doghouse (or is that the igloo with the cute baby seals?).

That said, I think we can expect a strong game from the boys, especially because they lost on HNIC.

I'm going keep on predicting 5-2 for the good guys, until they win another one.

PS. One further lil' administrative note. We got off our lazy asses and finally signed ourselves up for some email action. Hate us? Love us? Let us know, at openicehits (-@-) gmail.com.

Blue Moon?

We beat the Oilers while on the road for the second time Saturday, and tonight we beat the Blues while on the road for the second time this season.

Pretty cool. We're not out of the bushes yet. While St. Louis has improved significantly since Andy Murray was hired, they're still not the type of team we're aiming for. I will be more convinced if say, we can beat Nashville on Thursday, or swallow alive another team close to that caliber.

There were some things I did like though.

Comeback kids While I predicted a 5-2 win, I didn't quite expect the Blues to get their two in the first period. Some tough luck with goaltending, but good on the guys for battling back for the 4-2 win.

The big guns For the first time in (I think) a while, the top line really did deserve top billing. The guys on the Fan 960 broadcast kept on emphasizing how Craig Conroy in particular had to get his game going after being relatively quiet - and they responded. The combination of Iggy/Conroy/Tanguay contributed to every single goal tonight.

And thanks for coming out All in all, the Flames played one of their most complete games in recent history. Good pressure throughout the game - the kind which you need if you're going to win consistently on the road.

Next up: A team that's scared me senseless since Christmas 2005. Then. I've been looking forward to the one after that since June 2004, I think. Time to get some back.

The Spirit of St. Louis (STL pre-game)

This is a big game for Calgary - not so much (I think) for the other guys.

I don't think I need to spend much time re-iterating all those things we need to watch. The Evil Twins. Defensive zone coverage. Killer instinct. Ad nauseam...

What's interesting to me is the story coming out of St. Louis right now. Any franchise that invites all guests under the age of sixteen to come in for free (as reported by the Herald this morning) and has days where they give away food for free is clearly not in good health.

At the same time, they made some shrewd trades over the deadline, and since Andy Murray was hired as head coach, have really begun to turn things around on the ice. They're still a puzzling team, with a lot of young guys. The goaltending has been hampered by injury issues all season long, and with the departure of Pronger, Guerin, Weight, and Tkachuk over the last couple of years, there really aren't any names you'd really recognize anymore.

For all intents and purposes, playoff spots in the West have already been locked up, so St. Louis has really nothing to play for besides pride, and perhaps the guys are already battling for spots on the roster. That said, their record has improved markedly over the last little while, and they will have momentum to build on next year, provided they can convince locals to come on out to the games.

I'm hoping our guys are hungrier. We got the worst deal the other night as Vancouver and Minnesota squeezed an extra point out between them, so we need to continue winning on the road. We beat Edmonton once going into Saturday and came out with two road wins against them - we have one road win in St. Louis so far this year. Let's make it two.

I want them to make a statement, preferably one that tells me just how far they'll go this year. 5-2 for the good guys.