flames v. buds: GiOOOOOOOO

my old-school 03/04 era jersey is just plain bad luck. my current era RBK super-high-tech-technically-crafted-space-age-material jersey, on the other hand, is a solid 2-0 this season in live play.

so the big question is, do i get #5 "GIO" on the back, or do i wait one more season to see if my boy john armstrong can make the jump ??? i'm closer to taking the plunge, in this capacity, than i have ever been in my life.... gio seems to be producing and improving every game and i'm getting a bit caught up in it all...

i'm seriously loving the current blaze coverboy (see below). my dad bought me the magazine cause i was ever so excited to see gio on there..... it was embarassingly girlish. :)

gio started the night with aucoin (his usual post) but ended up playing with dion after only a few shifts. much to my surprise and pleasure, this pairing was quite steady through the game, and i would imagine it sticking until vandermeer's return.




(this might be the worst post i've ever written, all-time. i'm aware. there is no need to point out that the words written above are just a sorry excuse to post the photo and to re-itterate how much i'm appreciating #5 in the lineup...)
:P

flames v. buds: remembering...

i'm going to say this once, and then we'll try to pretend it never happened, okay ? there was a short but passionnate period of my life where i really kinda liked the toronto maple leafs....

i'm gonna guess it was 2002-2003, about a year into my back-and-forthing between toronto and calgary, where my toronto roommate was about the biggest leafs fan ever and the team was kindof exciting. exciting in the way that you never really knew if aki berg would be out of position, if the "bay street bullies" would run over the competition or if domi would just look like a brute (see: arvedsson). exciting in the way that "lumme," "pilar," and "svehla" were really fun to yell out loud when one of them bobbled a play. exciting in the way the team could as easily notch a W as they could an L, depending on whether or not guys like mogilny or antropov or roberts had an afternoon nap and showed up to play on gamenights.... and, of course, they always had sundin....

i'm pretty sure it was early 2003 and i was working on a job, and we'd set up an office in a suite at a high-end hotel downtown in calgary. one afternoon, i saw bryan mccabe at the front desk in a really sharp suit, punctuated with his bright blue mohawk. the next morning i heard a story about a 2am brawl between eddie belfour and tie domi that (apparently) happened in the front lobby [i believe it had been a leafs' down-day]... the following night, the buds fell to the flames 4-3 in overtime....

well the 08/09 leafs have no sundin, no bay street bullies, and "colaiacovo" is the most fun name to yell out really loud.... but, like the 02/03 misfits, they've cobbled together a competent group of no-name hockey players under hard-nosed coaching. and, although the expectations of this group are decidedly low, they've certainly been grinding out some victories against cup-contending teams.

as for the flames, well --it's not looking good. in addition to the flu (yet again) rolling its way through the lockerroom, there are injuries to lombardi (still), vandermeer (presumeably), and phaneuf (debateably). if phaneuf and vandy are both out, well i'm not exactly sure who will be the sixth Dman tonight, but it sure doesn't bode well.... my bet is that one or the other (or both) will dress, but will struggle... meanwhile, it makes me cringe to imagine anders eriksson currently on a plane.... *sigh* and i'm not even gonna touch on the flames' current offensive and special teams woes....

i was really looking forward to attending this game, up until i realized that my team is actually the underdog.....

Why it just isn't happening

So, 3-1 Hawks after two periods tonight, after some typically horrendous defensive-zone coverage by onetime top "defensive forward" and Duncan favourite Craig Conroy, Jarmoe-style Jarome Iginla and, most damningly, asinine "decision-making" by the old-timey "hockey men" behind the Calgary Flames' bench.

I was "inspired" to write this after the Comcast SportsNet Hawks announcers, Pat Foley and Ed Olczyk, wondered why it was that Dustin Boyd and David Moss, clearly the best Flames players on the ice all night, hadn't been sent out on the ice since generating Calgary's best scoring chance of the night. Several shifts in between had taken place, and they sat on the bench while Jarmoe, Bertuzzi and Old Man Conroy were sent out to screw things up.

Of course, the Hawks soon scored their third goal (with Conroy rambling around by the circle while Martin Havlat skated and passed at will), then the Flames only get "back in the game" when Moss and Boyd are allowed back on the ice, and Boyd generates something with an inspired drive to the net.

Meanwhile, the Flames defence has looked confused all night. No wonder, since they've gone out in just about every conceivable combination. It's not as though defence pairings get to know each other and play most comfortably together or anything. But, hey, they haven't looked great, so time for Mike Keenan to "shake things up." I mean, why not send out Jim Vandermeer to miss passes at the point on the power play? At least it's a little blueline earthquake to whip 'em into shape.

But anyway, back to specifics about Mike Keenan and his merry band of Darryl Sutter acolytes. They're not useless. If they weren't, the Flames wouldn't win games. But what they are, is completely without creativity. Line-juggling isn't creative. It's mostly meddling. Ice-time distribution is an art, and art requires creativity. But in a game like today's, It takes a 3-0 score and almost two full periods for them to get their due. Dion Phaneuf plays 30 minutes every night, then looks visibly tired in back-to-backs. Miikka Kiprusoff gets send out over and over until he's too tired. The "energy line" gets sent out in the wrong situation to generate "energy" — when you're down 2-0 is not the time for that.

This isn't to say all is lost, because the Flames clearly don't just-plain-suck. Teams that win six in a row generally have something to them, and the Flames have great players who will win them games. Some nights, things will come together.

But some nights — many nights — things won't. And Darryl Sutter hasn't created an environment or hired a coaching staff that can work on the fly. Interviews aren't anything, but listen to Rich Preston the next time he chats with Roger Millions — he can barely speak. Mike Keenan stares at the camera and issues statements that are clearly meant not to be challenged.

Watching Patrick Kane celebrate his first goal tonight was a pleasure, because he was clearly just plain excited to be on the ice and playing for the Chicago Blackhawks. When was the last time you saw a Flame react that way?

I think it was 2004.

flames v. preds: the keenan line blender

it's a bit premature to say it, but i'd like to thank the powers that be for allowing mike keenan to finally realize craig conroy ain't doin' jarome any favours on the top line. while fans, pundits, and bloggers alike have been up-in-arms about it all season, #24 was apparently demoted yesterday to where he can feasibly be effective: the third line.

i'm sure we're all aware that the combinations mike keenan "tries out" in practice may not be the lines we see at any point during a game, but it's still good news that the line blender ended with him swapping his first and third line pivots yesterday. with lombardi out, it absolutely makes sense to have dustin boyd taking some turns with the top unit. additionally, with the way that david "fleury hates me" moss and glenX have been playing of late, i could see them being a steadying influence on the team's oldest player.

the preds are coming off an embarassing shutout loss in vancouver, and i'd imagine them looking to score goals tonight --and lots of them. hopefully miikka got some rest, or (alternately) i look forward to seeing the kid start tonight... either way, i'd imagine 30+ shots directed at the calgary netminder.

i'm also hoping that the upwards trend that gio has taken continues. he looked an awful lot like tomas kaberle on the ice against the coyotes, in his puck movement and mobility... his decision-making looks to have improved in just a few short weeks, which by no means he's done making mistakes. it simply means that, coupled with regehr's "shutdown" skills and dion's "big hits and hard shots" skills, we may have found exactly what the we need in a blueliner. vandermeer and aucoin have also been earning their paycheques ---and hopefully sarich can just settle in for the long-haul. i'm already preferring this defensive corps to last year's, thousandfold.

for your amusement: read on

if you've ever wondered what a texting "conversation" sounds like between your hit the post hosts, i thought this might amuse....

i attended last night's match between the flames and coyotes, and just after settling in to watch the pre-game skate (beer and pocketdawg in hand, of course), i just HAD to tell duncan that regehr was warming up. he informed me that he was watching the US elections so i asked for him to give me updates...

puuuure tag-team real-world/hockey-world symbiosis. it's like a live blog only the next day and transferred from a different electronic medium altogether.

me in bold. duncan in italics.
please note that duncan also TEXTS with caps, whereas i am a big fan of the emoticon and end most texts with little kisses.... ;) [all times in MST]:

7:41 - regehr's taking the warmup... :-)

7:42 - Aces! I'm PVRing till 11 to watch election results. then FF thru commercials. Obama's won Ohio.

7:44 - keep me posted on elections ? roy is also taking the pregame skate. 23, 20, 25, 19 too... :-)
[nystrom, glenX, moss, primeau]

7:45 - No 29, though? Boooo!
[prust]

7:46 - him too... and 55 so who knows
[pardy]

7:46 - It's like playoff chess ... against the Yotes in November. Flames are so weird sometimes.

7:59 - ya but who's winning the election

8:00 - Obama's up 199-78 so far, but polls about to close in Republican heartland. Still, Obama's won Ohio and Penn, so writing is on the wall. Go Prust !

8:02 - wicked. let's hope the flames didn't sign the pact i made re: arizona ... :-) x
[note: my facebook status yesterday said "(WI) hopes that if someone from arizona HAS to win tonight, it's the coyotes !!"]

8:03 - reggie's in. x

8:26 - more please!

8:27 - Looks like Obama's going to win Arizona! CNN calls McCain situation "grim."

8:30 - awesome.... :-) gio gets a knee on knee .... seems to be ok. .... i love that kid ... x

8:31 - Who did it ? That bitch Jovo ?

8:35 - not sure. #13

8:41 - carcillo. 'course.

8:43 - ur pal connie has got to go....

8:44 - I know. But in fairness, he's distracted tonight, being american and all.

8:45 - i. love. me. some. gio....

8:46 - I love these cryptic game updates. At this point, i figure Gio has a torn ACL and a goal. and Conroy's playing for Phoenix.

8:54 - that's hilarious.... i don't want to give it away.... is obama president yet?

8:56 - Not quite. But he just won Virginia. Calif results coming soon, that's the kicker.

8:59 - as if he won't win cali

9:00 - But that'll tip it. 3 minutes to calling it for B.O

9:03 - done deal ? obama ?

9:04 - It's called. Everyone.

9:04 - so says CNN.

9:05 - Also Fox News, NBC, BBC, and my dog, Pluggers.

9:06 - wicked. i love your dog's new name.

9:08 - Sandra hasn't accepted her new name yet, but it'll come.

9:09 - she'll learn... :-) this is a decent game

9:11 - 13, 24, 23 seems like a good line, non ?
[cammo, conroy, nystrom]

9:12 - Wasting 13 a bit, isn't it ? With two stonehands ?

9:22 - i might have traded a flames win for an obama win

9:24 - 13. 24. 7
[cammo, conroy, bertuzzi]

9:26 - Better.

9:32 - this game has ceased to be good... 24 is pure liability

9:33 - He heard Obama won and can't keep it together.

9:34 - i guess...

10:13 - i want more of that gio. seriously. awesome game by #5


damn, i love me some gio....

Forget tonight's game, I want to talk about Owen Nolan and Krys Kolanos

So, Flames host the Coyotes tonight, trying to get back on track, Bertuzzi sucks, Kiprusoff will play his thousandth consecutive game, maybe Robyn Regehr and/or Matthew Lombardi will get back in the lineup, Daniel Carcillo will probably fight Brandon Prust, good times.

Actual analysis/previews can be found here and here and here.

What I REALLY want to talk about is this minor piece of news.

The Minnesota Wild on Monday placed right wing Owen Nolan on injured reserve with a lower body injury ... In a corresponding move, the Wild recalled center Krys Kolanos from Houston of the American Hockey League. Kolanos, 27, has seven goals and one assist in seven games with Houston this season.

Nolan's "lower-body" ailment will keep him out for more than a week, and I think probably comes as a surprise to nobody. What it really makes me think is the Flames were lucky to get a full year out of the guy in 07-08.

On the flipside of that story, the Wild have called up another guy the Flames owned rights to last year in Kolanos, who stands out in my mind for all the wrong reasons. When I saw the Quad City Flames play in Toronto last year against the Marlies, he looked like a guy with big leagues skills and an elementary school head. No effort, no determination, no urgency. He has seven goals in seven games for Houston of the AHL this year — which, I suppose, isn't that surprising considering his skill level and cup of coffee in the NHL.

So, I'm guessing his tenure under Jacques Lemaire will be short, and will leave Doug Risebrough wishing he had signed Jamie Lundmark instead. Leaving the Wild with not one, but two sloppy seconds from the Flames, sort of a reverse Sutter manoeuvre I'm quite pleased about.

Also, up until researching this stunning piece of bloggery, I was unaware that the Wild have a player named Cal Clutterbuck. How could I miss that? Clutterbuck!

separated at birth: 08/09 v.1

at left:
jim "bearcat" murray. trainer, sounding board, psychiatrist, and a cheerleader to the 1989 cup-winning calgary flames, onetime busdriver to the calgary centennials, recognizable local legend, upcoming hall-of-fame inductee, and all-round good guy.

at right:
a bearcat.


(thanks, dave).

:)

flames v. ducks: it ends tonight

flames v. ducks: will it end ?

okay, so i took the wrong tack on the whole 44 thing last night. the notable four that stood out was the flames' fourth LINE, not a score, or a jersey number (though jim vandermeer's high-end effort, ending in a zillion penalty minutes and an assist on a pinball-style goal, made him the busiest #4 of the night). my eye was caught by an article on the flames insider called "a four-midable presence" discussing nystrom, primeau, and prust, who were definitely solid last night. so solid, infact, the cbc marc/ks were calling it "the energy line," a title historically reserved for the third line... but i digress....

what i was HOPING to find over on cruikshank & lefebvre's blog is information on whether or not curtis mcelhinney will be making his first start of the year later this afternoon. but appparently keenan's gonna keep that on the down-lo till gametime. i can't decide whether i think he-who-must-not-be-nicknamed should get the nod or not. i would imagine that keenan would leave it up to his franchise netminder; if kipper wants to play, kipper will play. he's got a six-game streak on the line going into a rink where he's got an unfavorable record.... i'd say let the kid play and kippy can take HIS streak back to the 'dome to meet the dingos on tuesday...

we'll see i guess.

there are a couple of other things i'm taking away from last night's matchup. iggy's starting to look snakebitten and i'm not sure how much longer we can blame bertuzzi and conroy. bertuzzi is horribly lazy, without a doubt, and mostly unaware on the ice, but the foresight and no-look pass on last night's winning goal were outstanding.
conroy's last saving grace (faceoff%) plummetted and his on-ice minutes were reflected by keenan's awareness of it. i would imagine he might get some nights off when lombardi returns... moss/boyd/glenX didn't see nearly as much ice as i would've expected.... and dion's minutes really need to come back down to earth sooner rather than later....

most things trending towards positive, though.

finally, and on a completely unrelated subject, i woke from sleep this morning in the midst of a dream where i was roadtripping with robyn regehr somewhere in south america. he was talking on a cb radio. very strange, indeed....

;)

flames v. kings: 44 !!

so i have this really weird thing with the number 44. if you look closely, it appears underneath my skull-and-cross-hockey-sticks logo on my avatar, and i have it tattooed in braille on my wrist. it kindof all started with my time in england and the whole david blaine story (which you can read about on my eponymous blog, if you're so inclined), but has become this really bizarre numeral that appears with absurd frequency ---ridiculously so, of late.

the flames are down in so-cal and set to meet the kings tonight; a team that (like me) can't seem to get away from those digits.

on their webesite, the kings offer a family deal, where "each package includes four (4) tickets, four (4) hot dogs, four (4) sodas" [note: this package starts at a measly $83 bucks... you should see their smokin' bargains !!!]. they also have an election deal: "on november 4th we elect the 44th president of the U.S...[kings v. ducks]... limited number of tickets, select merchandise & snack items 44% off!"

yeah, right ?

even stranger is the kings' record this year. their last six games have ended in the following scores: 4-0, 4-3, 4-5, 4-0, 4-3, 3-4, with the kings coming out victorious in just two of those. strange, yes. but not altogether surprising that they're not posting wins, since they're just shy of the league-low cap hit at 45 million (technically listed at 45.445 in case you're keeping score). the kings are young and mostly inexperienced with extremely suspect goaltending (jason labarbera is handsdown my nominee for the "weirdest dude in the NHL" award).

on the other hand, the flames are riding into L.A on a 5-game winning streak. here's what i know about streaks: they end eventually. once a team gets to 4 or 5, it seems to me that mathematics are against them and the flames are definitely due for an L. also working against the flames is that dion is probably crashing at elisha's house, and cammo & connie are probably catching up with friends (read: drunk).
:P

in the end, i think it's pretty safe to say this one will end in a 4-4 tie after regulation, with #11 (kopitar) scoring 4 times, of course. i'm just hoping that it's the C's that net one sometime around the fourth minute of OT. and since there's no 44 on either team, i'll say the winner goes to former #44, todd bertuzzi, or maybe jimmyV (#4) will get his first of the year....

:)