t.k...ohhhhh !!! flames v. nucks postgame

i really don't have much to write today, but when tom kostopolous dropped kevin bieksa last night with a one-punch, i knew i couldn't NOT lead with the t.k.o reference in the title. duh.... this is journalism, kids: if you see an opportunity to throw a solid pun in the headline, you are expected to take it....

bieksa didn't return to the game and it sounds like perhaps his face was too swollen and sore to play on. look, i don't like seeing guys get hurt in games (even guys i detest, at the hands of tKo), and it would honestly be a shame if bieksa had some bones crushed by the bullseye of a blow, but if bryan mccabe can break his jaw and miss only a single shift, then you have to wonder if KB is really cut out to be a pugilist. no, i know he's not labelled the 'team goon', but neither is kosto.... and i'll be the first to say it: it's kindof a blessing that our current heavyweight took (what looks to be) a career-ending duncan macintyre knuckle sandwich, and some actual hockey players have competantly filled his roster spot. i don't think i know a single person who doesn't wish raitis ivanans the very best for a normal, concussion-free life, but i also can't name a soul who wants him to return to the ice to play out the remainder of his two-year contract with calgary....

moving on.

the flames played a nice little game last night and, even though nobody gave them a chance in hell to win on the second night of a back to back with a struggling netminder starting versus the most formidable opponent, they stayed with it til the bitter end. regehr seems to really step up to the major matchups and he was focussed on taking down the competition in a very literal sense. the remainder of the flames D was steady, for the most part, including the babchuk-pardy pairing and cory sarich, who had a refreshingly solid night. brendan morrison was on the wrong side of a couple of godawful giveaways, but is still doubtlessly a preferrable centre to jokinen on the club's top line....

not to say the flames deserved a win in this one. they were outplayed in the first two, by my eye (and kent's scoring chances, and the corsi metrics tell the same tale), and rebounded a bit in the third ----a total surprise based on fatigue (2nd game in 24 hrs). in the last minutes of the shootout, with a contested goal being discussed in the toronto warroom, and the fans on the edges of their seats, i was convinced the final call would go to the home side. why ? because even though it was blatantly obvious to everyone with eyes and a sense of logic that the puck was in luongo's pads, and luongo's pads were well across the goal line, i thought the "conclusive" evidence to overturn the on-ice call would be lacking. thankfully, the hockey gods intervened and the game was won despite luongo's best attempt at deception.

and lastly, when olli jokinen hit the post in his shootout attempt, i realized that he is single handedly bringing to consciousness the existence of this website, so i will add to his title: official nhl tester of post and crossbar integrity, and hitthepost.ca chief spokesman/mascot. also ? it doesn't hurt that i actually really like this song.

:)