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For the 4th and final time this season, the Flames hooked up with the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday night at the Saddledome.  For a 3rd time this season, the Flames beat the Calgary Flames, on this night by a 2-1 score.  It’s the third straight game between these 2 teams which ended in a 2-1 score, with Calgary winning 2 of those 3 games.

It was a physical affair and it started early, with Dion Phaneuf running Anze Kopitar into the end boards at 5:26 of the 1st period.  The officials gave Phaneuf a 5 minute major for boarding and added a game misconduct, but after the game there didn’t seem to be many people who agreed with the call.  Head Coach Brent Sutter said there shouldn’t have been a call, as the linesman waved off icing and it was a battle for the puck.  Phaneuf wouldn’t say much, just that it was a fast play with 2 guys going into the boards.  And Kopitar didn’t seem too unhappy or anything like that, so it seems as if there won’t be anything more coming from the incident.

Terry Murray and Sutter got into it on the benches…and Brent made it very clear that he’s going to stick up for his players.  He said sometimes he’s a calm guy, but when it comes to his players he’ll always defend them, and made a point to reiterate that.  It was an emotional game the entire way, with a ton of physicality and bad blood.  It’s a shame the Flames and Kings don’t play a couple more games.  I asked Craig Conroy after the game why that is…he just said with the close nature of the standings, all of the games they play have the potential to be that tight.

Speaking of Conroy…he scored his first goal.  And got a well deserved standing ovation from the Dome faithful.  Good for him, damn classy act by the Calgary faithful, and lets home Conroy gets on a roll.  Love that guy.

Powerplay was no good.  0 for 5 on this night, and it could have really put the game away a couple of times.  Over their last 4 games, they’ve had 16 opportunities on the man advantage and scored just once.  That’s clicking at 6.3%.  It CAN be better, it had gone 4 straight games with a PP goal very recently, but tonight it wasn’t so good.  PK has really been awesome lately though.  Now 19 for 20 at 95% over the last 5 games.

Follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Steinberg960.

The Calgary Flames were not good on Sunday night in a 5-1 loss at the hands of the Vancouver Canucks.  But they were much better the following night, and they had a nice response in taking a 4-1 win over the Oilers in Edmonton.  It was good to see the Flames bounce back after a bit of a slow start and really put this thing away in the third period, en route to their 12th road win this season.

We thought it might be a really rough and chippy start to this one.  That wasn’t the case, and in fact the Oilers were able to score the first goal on a Ryan Potulny tip off a Jason Strudwick shot.  After that, Edmonton did a nice job pushing the pace, and it wasn’t until late in the opening frame when Calgary’s play really started to come.  In fact, as I wrote down in my notebook that “Calgary was starting to come along”, they got a powerplay and scored on it.  Now, that goal was waved off…but give Calgary credit, they scored again in the first to have this game tied 1-1.

Calgary scored on the PP in the second, and lead into the 3rd…and really put this one away in the final frame.  Calgary is now 16-0-1 when leading after 2 periods of play, and I really liked their killer instinct.  They scored twice, and really pushed Edmonton out of this hockey game.  Now, the Oilers aren’t great, but oh well…the Flames did what they needed to do and that was important.

Follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Steinberg960.

Calgary fell 2-1 in a shootout to the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday, as the Flames finished off their pre-Christmas schedule.  It’s now losses in 5 of 6 games and 6 of 8 overall, as the Flames struggle with an extended slump for the first time this season.  Mark Giordano tied the game in the 3rd period off a faceoff win from Daymond Langkow, which sent this game to extra time.

It was a pretty hard fought game on both sides, as Brent Sutter pointed out following the game it was a game fought in the trenches.  I liked the effort from the Flames for the most part, as it wasn’t as if they played poorly in this hockey game.  In fact, there were times when the Flames were really effective and dangerous.  But there were also times when St. Louis was pretty darn effective…shots finished 27-24 in favor of the Blues.  Both goalies were fine as well and this was a game where both teams were just fine playing a close hockey game.

Calgary had a little bad puck luck, as there were some really quality scoring chances that they were unable to convert upon.  The only thing I really didn’t like in this game from a Flames perspective was the urgency to start the 3rd period.  They were down 1-0 and had managed just 2 shots on net around the midway mark of the final frame.  But they rectified that with the Giordano goal, and other than that, there were some things to like in this one for the Flames.

Interesting fact…there were 4 powerplays on the night, and yet between the 2 teams, there were just 2 shots on those man advantages.  They both came from the Flames while St. Louis didn’t manage 1 shot on net…in fact, they were -1 as the Flames had one shorthanded shot.  Calgary’s PP snapped their streak of 4 straight games with a goal, but in their last 5 games, Calgary’s powerplay has gone 4 for 13 at 30.8%.  The PK was perfect again for a 3rd straight game, in that span they’ve killed off 8 penalties successfully.

Calgary gets back in action Sunday, they take on the Canucks at the Dome.  Follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Steinberg960.

It was a hard fought, very physical game on Thursday night as the Calgary Flames snapped a 3 game losing streak with a 2-1 loss over the Los Angeles Kings.  It’s LA’s 8th straight loss at the Saddledome and Calgary’s second win this season over the Kings.  The physicality of this hockey game was the most intriguing thing coming out of it and a big reason why Calgary came out on the winning end.

The Flames were physical from the very get-go and it became more of a factor as the game progressed.  The most noticeable battle was between Calgary’s Mark Giordano and LA’s Dustin Brown.  The 2 of them were taking runs at eachother the entire night, with Giordano coming away as the victor in their little game with a game.  Every time the 2 of them were on the ice, it seemed like they were physically engaged, and one of Giordano’s hits lead to an LA penalty when Raitis Ivanans jumped him immediately following.  But Calgary’s physicality really wore down the Kings as the game went along, with Giordano and Eric Nystrom and Robyn Regehr and Adam Pardy all really pushing the physical pace.  That was a big part of the win.

Mike Rogers said on the postgame show he was a little disappointed with Calgary’s 3rd period, which is probably fair.  The Flames were outshot 16-3 in the final frame, and the Kings dominated the final 8 or 9 minutes after Corey Elkins got them on the bored at 11:06.  From there, Miikka Kiprusoff had to make big and timely saves, as the Kings were continually buzzing around the net.  Head Coach Terry Murray was very impressed with the fight his Kings showed, and his opinion was had it not been for #34, they might have come away with a win.  Give the Kings credit, because they really did turn this game around…it’s not as if they played poorly in the opening 2 periods, but they elevated in the 3rd.

Even though the third wasn’t perfect for Calgary, they still were effective.  They scored the winning goal 62 seconds into the period, and while they were outshot as the period went along, sometimes you have to whether the storm.  When you have a goaltender like Kiprusoff, that can happen once in a while…now, Head Coach Brent Sutter won’t like everything in that third, but the team did close the game out and improve their record to 15-0-1 when leading after 2.

The opening 40 for Calgary was impressive and much better than the previous 3 games.  The Flames were physical, as we mentioned, but the little things were being done.  Calgary was winning puck battles, was great with their back pressure through the neutral zone, and the forwards were well positioned to let the blueliners step up and really push the physical play.   Calgary’s cycle was real good offensively and the Flames made it difficult for LA to get shots in, blocking 14 on the night.

Finally, Calgary’s PK has to be praised.  They were perfect on this night, going 3 for 3 and the PK was very good at a key time of the game.  After the Kings had scored to get within 1, they had a powerplay almost immediately following which was killed off very impressively.  Calgary’s job of taking away the middle of the ice was especially good while down a man.  Overall, Calgary’s PK has allowed just 2 goals over their last 5 games in 22 opportunities.  Over their last 14 games, Calgary’s PK is clicking at 90.4%.

The Flames welcome Nashville Saturday afternoon.  Follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Steinberg960.

A 4-3 loss on Tuesday night in St. Louis served as a 3rd consecutive loss for the Calgary Flames, and it was a disappointing night for the team.  They showed a lot of grit and determination throughout the night, and seemed to be improved from the 2 previous efforts, but the Flames fell flat in a third period when the game was still on the line.  That’s something we’re not used to seeing.

Curtis McElhinney got the start in net for the Flames, and while he wasn’t outstanding, the finger can’t be pointed at him for the loss.  With the game still close, he made some real big saves in the third period, and gave the team a chance to win.  The Flames showed a little more intensity and a little more emotion for most of this hockey game, and actually seemed to really move towards taking things over a couple of times.  But with the game tied 3-3 after two periods of play, they kind of let down in the final frame.

Head Coach Brent Sutter said “we let off the gas in the third period,” and that’s probably the best way to phrase it.  While they were outshot in every period of this game, they managed just 4 in the third period.  The Blues were able to put 10 on net in the 3rd period, and generally outplayed the Flames.  Calgary had been finding success working for scoring opportunities, but the final frame saw them far too easily pushed to the outside.  Even with a 6-on-4 powerplay late in the game, Calgary couldn’t find a way to get a shot from a quality scoring area.  Credit goes to the Blues, absolutely.  But Calgary needed to a better job of forcing the issue in the 3rd.

It’s one of those games that you like some of Calgary’s game, probably most of what you saw in the opening 2 periods.  But a couple of lapses in those 2 periods, and a 3rd period where the Flames were outplayed, and the Blues were able to find a way to win this hockey game.  I think we all would have liked to see Calgary force the issue physically a little more in this game.  There were times when this game was very physical, but the Blues did not show a whole lot of ability to cycle the puck.  When Calgary WAS playing physical, they were able to really impose their will and gain some success.

Really liked Phaneuf tonight…26:40 of ice time and it was solid from start to finish.  He was physically engaged, he was well positioned, and he was a high impact player.  Good to see Boyd crack the scoresheet with a goal, he was also very good in 9 minutes of ice time.  Another solid night on the blueline for Mark Giordano, while Eric Nystrom sparked things a couple of times with a good, physical shift.

Calgary is back at home on Thursday against LA.  Follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Steinberg960.

For a 3rd straight time this season, and a 5th time overall, the Calgary Flames fell to the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday night.  The final score was 3-2, which has been the score in every meeting between the teams this year.  It would seem this loss won’t sit well with Brent Sutter and the rest of the coaching staff for the Flames, after a lackluster effort at home to Minnesota on Friday.

Once again, it just seemed like something was lacking for the Flames on this game, and it took them far too long to really get back to what we’re used to seeing from them.  The Flames were outplayed and outworked in the opening 20 minutes, as Colorado controlled the first period with 5 powerplay opportunities.  The Avs also outshot the Flames 20-6, the second straight game Calgary has surrendered 19 or more shots in the opening frame.  What’s weird is that it didn’t seem to get better in the 2nd period…the Avs scored to make it 2-0, but Calgary was able to score 1:17 later, and you thought maybe they’d get themselves back on track.  But that wasn’t the case, because after Bourque’s goal, the Flames went back to what was not very good prior.  That was a little surprising, as you would have thought the Flames might have used that to get back on track.  And, of course, a few minutes later Darcy Tucker scored the winning goal.

Mark Giordano scored a powerplay goal for the Flames in the 3rd period at the 13:16 mark, and after that, the team really started to come on…but sometimes, you can’t rely on a late surge to tie things.  Speaking of that Giordano goal…it came on the PP!  I kind of forgot what a Flames powerplay goal looked like.  But, all sarcasm aside, lets hope that marker helps to snap the team out of a funk on the man advantage.  It was Calgary’s first PP goal in 24 opportunites.

Give the Avs credit though…they were frustrating to play against as usual, and opportunistic as usual.  They ended up outshooting Calgary 35-21, and were very impressive for stretches offensively.  Once again, you can tell this is a very well coached Avs team, as Joe Sacco has everyone playing a very simple, effective system.  And when Calgary tried to get any traction of their own offensively, the Avs were there to get in shooting lanes and make it a real challenge for Calgary to get pucks through.  The Avs blocked 17 shots, and now have blocked 582 for the season…second in the NHL.  Brett Clark blocked 4 shots, which adds to his league leading total…he’s now been in front of 108 pucks.

Positives…well…Miikka Kiprusoff.  32 saves and he was great again…he was the only reason the Flames still had a chance to tie this game in the 3rd period, because once again, his saves were instrumental in making sure leads didn’t get too big.  There was an opportunity in the first period for this game to get away from Calgary, but thanks to #34, that didn’t happen.  The PK was also very good, killing off 5 of 6 Colorado powerplays.

The Flames try and get back on track Tuesday in St. Louis.  Follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Steinberg960.

It was a waste of a quality start from Miikka Kiprusoff…that seemed to be the refrain from Calgary Flames players and coaches following Friday’s 2-1 overtime loss at the hands of the Minnesota Wild.  It’s only Minnesota’s 4th win in Calgary ever…and it was a pretty impressive performance from the visitors.  But the overwhelming theme was the play of #34 in net…he made 44 saves in a losing effort.

Kiprusoff was incredible on Friday…it started with the Wild peppering the Flames net in the first little bit of the 1st with a lot of shots, but not a ton of quality opportunities.  But as the opening frame rolled on, the chances started turning into better scoring opportunities…and Kiprusoff continually raised his game.  He made 19 saves in the opening frame, and then 10 and 14 in the second and third periods respectively.  The pucks that got past him?  A weird bounce off the end boards and a 3-on-1 break in overtime.  Other than that…unreal.  Assistant Coach Dave Lowry said following the game that “our goaltender gave us a chance to win…it’s a shame to waste a start like that.”

Now, granted…the Flames did salvage a point from this game.  They were outplayed for most of this hockey game, and relied on their goaltender far too much.  But they scored a goal in the third period, and even after a subpar performance, they leave the game with more points than they entered with.  If Calgary can come out with a “back to what we’re used to” game on Sunday in Denver, getting a point here looks a whole lot better.  However, none of that covers the fact that this was not a solid effort for Calgary.

Why was it a subpar effort?  From what we saw and from what we heard from the coaches and players…a few things.  Assistant Rob Cookson said in the Hot Stove Lounge it might have been a case of getting so prepared to play the FIRST game back off a road trip, that you have a little lull in the second game back.  The second reason, which Cookson also pointed towards, was the Flames falling into the type of hockey Minnesota was playing.  They were playing tight checking hockey and not giving the Flames much…and Calgary kind of let that happen.  The Flames weren’t able to establish a physical prowess, and had they done that, it might have started to change the way things were going.

But give the Wild credit…they fired 46 shots on net, and created some quality scoring chances.  They were full marks for the win.  The only other thing that was pointed to on this night by the players was, not surprisingly, the powerplay.  Another goose egg on the man advantage…they haven’t scored a PP goal in 5 games and have just 9 over their last 21 (in 77 opportunities).  On the flip side, Calgary’s kill remains stellar, killing off 5 tonight including a lengthy 2 man.  Over their last 11 games, Calgary has gone 35 for 38 on the PK.

Calgary’s in Colorado on Sunday.  Follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Steinberg960.

It’s been a while since I’ve done one of these…glad I’m doing it again.  We get set for a really nice fight card on Saturday night in Memphis, as the Ultimate Fighting Championship presents UFC 107.  A great main event headlines what should be an outstanding night of fights.

I’m jacked for 4 fights in particular.  First, I’ve become a really big fan of Jon Fitch lately.  His last 2 fights have showed me a lot, because you can tell he’s learned and improved since his UFC 87 loss to Georges St. Pierre.  His wins over Paulo Thiago and Akihiro Gono have been impressive, and I like where he’s at right now.  Fitch fights Mike Pierce at 170 pounds, and if he wins, it’ll improve his UFC record to 10-1.  When I talked to him yesterday, you could tell how focused he was on this fight…but he also said that he wants another shot at GSP.  I liked how he went through how that fight made him stronger, and how, in his words “he’d kick his ass back then”.  If he keeps winning, they’re going to have to give him another top opponent.

The Kenny Florian-Clay Guida fight has the potential for all kinds of fireworks.  Both guys are coming off losses and have something to prove.  For Florian, he needs to prove that his unimpressive showing against BJ Penn was a blip on the radar.  Guida is out to avenge what he thought was a poor decision when he dropped a split to Diego Sanchez.  What we’ve come to expect from Guida is furious, high paced action.  As he pushes that pace, I think Florian will be ready and able to withstand and fight right back.  Ken-Flo finishes fights, and I think he takes a submission win over Guida…but it’ll be damn good up until that point.

There’s some bad blood brewing between Frank Mir and Chieck Kongo as they get set to tangle in the heavyweight division.  Mir has made some comments about Kongo, and that means we could see some fireworks.  And just like the last fight, both are coming off losses where they were over-matched.  Mir got dominated by Brock Lesnar while Kongo was exposed while dropping a unanimous decision to Cain Velasquez.  But to me, until Kongo shows me that he is not a one dimensional fighter, I think Mir wins this fight.  Mir can stand, but it will most likely go to the ground eventually, where Mir will dominate…from top position or fighting off his back.

Finally…the main event.  Just how explosive could this Diego Sanchez-BJ Penn bout be?  I’m stoked, because I really don’t like either fighter…and there’s a possibility they will just go out and tear down the walls.  Diego’s last fight was that thriller of a win over Guida, and that was filled with epic exchange after epic exchange.  Diego’s been talking smack, saying that Penn is afraid…but BJ does not back down in fights, and he’ll be ready to meet Sanchez in the middle of The Octagon on Saturday night.

But I’m STILL not sold on Sanchez as a top flight guy.  Clearly a win here and I’ll be forced to eat my words.  BUT, he’s too erratic and too inconsistent to me…and that is not the formula to beat The Prodigy.  I see this going 5 rounds, and I see Penn winning a unanimous decision.

Should be good, I haven’t been this jacked for a card since 100.  Follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Steinberg960.

After a 2-1 loss in Los Angeles on Monday night, the Calgary Flames once again had a nice response Wednesday at home to the Atlanta Blackhawks.  The Flames took a 3-1 win and improved their home record to 8-5 on the season, looking good after a sloppy first period of play.  The Flames moved back into top spot in the Northwest division as well, as Colorado fell 1-0 in Minnesota.

It was the first home game for the team in 2 weeks, as they went 4-2 on a season-long 6 game road trip.  Whether it was because they were back at home or not, it was an interesting first period, as Atlanta got off to a good start right from the get go, almost scoring in the opening seconds.  At one point, Atlanta held a 7-1 shot advantage, yet shots finished 11-9 in favor of Atlanta after 20.  As that opening frame rolled along, the Flames started to get their legs and started playing their game…it carried over into the second period, and that’s when Calgary did most of their damage.  In the final 40 minutes, the Flames had some real nice stretches of time where they were deep in Atlanta territory for long periods of time.  Sometimes it takes a little time to get things going, and it did tonight.

Miikka Kiprusoff is a stud, lets face it.  The fact that he can be as outstanding as he is when getting shelled is impressive…the fact that he’s just as good when he’s going for long stretches with a lot of action is even more impressive.  He made some outstanding saves on this night, including 2 on Ilya Kovalchuk…one that is very notable.  The guy makes sure leads stay leads, and is able to make sure deficits don’t get too large…he made 24 saves in a win over Atlanta.

Good to see Rene Bourque score that empty netter to put this thing away.  He was 100% snake bitten in the 2nd period, with three prime scoring opportunities not cashed in upon.  He missed a wide open net off a rebound, where he shot the puck halfway to Saskatchewan…yet it still missed.  He’s gradually getting back into the swing of things after missing a good amount of time.

Interesting story developing on the special teams front for the Flames…the powerplay is limping along, having scored just 7 times in 74 opportunities over the last 20 games.  In the last 4 games, Calgary has gone 0 for 16 on the man advantage…it has to be better.  However, the penalty kill has been incredible…the numbers and from what you see on the ice.  It is very rare to see the opposing teams get anything good going for too long when up a man, and Calgary has now allowed just 3 powerplay goals in their last 10 games…on 33 opportunities. That’s 91%.

The Flames win at home, they bounce back from a loss…and now they get set for the Wild on Friday night.  Follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Steinberg960. 

It wasn’t the desired finish to their 6 game road trip for the Calgary Flames, yet I think a lot of people will still be thinking positive coming off a 2-1 loss in Los Angeles on Monday night.  It ends a great trip for the Flames as they finished 4-2.

There’s a lot to like for the Flames coming out of this game, and clearly coming out of this road trip.  In this game particular, Calgary played a pretty solid game.  They controlled most of the 1st period and were hard to contain in the final frame, running into a very good Jonathan Quick in net.  They were generating scoring opportunities, and were doing some really good work down low.  Defensively, they held Los Angeles without any sustained possession for some good spans in this game.

But I felt that Calgary could have done those things a little more, in terms of quantity.  The 2nd period turned into too much or a loosey-goosey type game, and there were some spans where Calgary got away from their hard working, physical forecheck.  This hasn’t really happened since those 2 games at the Dome, where the Flames lost to Colorado and Chicago.  The Flames are hard to beat when they’re doing those things consistently…but when they don’t do it for 60 minutes, teams will be able to jump up and bite them.

The other thing would be the powerplay…0 for 4 on this night, and 9 for their last 70 overall spanning 19 games.  That’s not good, and I think we’ve all said what needs to be said on this.  I still think it’s going to turn around, I really do…it’s just happening a little slower than I thought it might.

The Flames finish their road trip 4-2, and there are a TON of positives coming out of thier season long trip.  Overall, Calgary is 18-8-3, and 11-3-3 on the road; they’re back at home Wednesday against Atlanta.  Follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Steinberg960.