Pat Steinberg's Blog

Gameday #55 at Phoenix

Pat Steinberg — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 18:32:32 +0000

After a huge win over the San Jose Sharks last night, the Calgary Flames have just as huge a game tonight against the surging Phoenix Coyotes. Seperated by just one point at the bottom of the Western Conference playoff race, Calgary will look to leapfrog both the Coyotes and the Minnesota Wild tonight; if things go their way, they could be in a playoff spot for the first time this season.

Calgary Flames 25-22-7, 10th Western Conference

Alex Tanguay-Olli Jokinen-Jarome Iginla
Mike Cammalleri-Blair Jones-Blake Comeau
Krys Kolanos-Mikael Backlund-Lance Bouma
Tom Kostopoulos-Matt Stajan-Tim Jackman

Jay Bouwmeester-Chris Butler
Mark Giordano-Scott Hannan
T.J. Brodie-Cory Sarich

Leland Irving

It’ll be Irving’s first start since early January in that debacle 9-0 loss to the Boston Bruins. He’s started a few games in Abbotsford since then, so he’s not totally coming in cold since that night.

Calgary’s powerplay has goals in four straight games and eight goals over their last 11, and I think a big reason for that is Alex Tanguay’s return and inspired play. As for the PK, they allowed a goal last night, snapping a string of 18 consecutive kills.

Phoenix Coyotes 25-21-8, 9th Western Conference

Ray Whitney-Martin Hanzal-Radim Vrbata
Lauri Korpikoski-Boyd Gordon-Shane Doan
Raffi Torres-Daymond Langkow-Mikkel Boedker
Taylor Pyatt-Kyle Chipchura-Gilbert Brule

Keith Yandle-Adrian Aucoin
Oliver Ekman-Larsson-Rostislav Klesla
Michal Roszival-Derek Morris

Mike Smith

The Coyotes have won three straight games heading into tonight; they’re a well put together team lacking a true heavy hitter at even strength. That said, they’re deep and give a team tough matchups line one through four.

Gameday #54 at San Jose

Pat Steinberg — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 20:00:59 +0000

For the second time this season, the Flames take on the Sharks in San Jose. The first time they met ended in a 2-1 shootout win for the Sharks, but it was held up as one of Calgary’s best performances of the season. They didn’t win the game, but they didn’t allow the potent Sharks to do much offensively, limiting them to just one goal in regulation.

Calgary Flames 24-22-7, 12th Western Conference

Alex Tanguay-Olli Jokinen-Jarome Iginla
Mike Cammalleri-Blair Jones-Krys Kolanos
Blake Comeau-Mikael Backlund-Lance Bouma
Tom Kostopoulos-Matt Stajan-Tim Jackman

Jay Bouwmeester-Chris Butler
Mark Giordano-Scott Hannan
T.J. Brodie-Cory Sarich

Miikka Kiprusoff

It’ll be Kipper going tonight, while Leland Irving goes for the Flames tomorrow night in Phoenix. It’ll be Leland’s first start since the debacle in Boston.

The Flames signed Derek Smith to a two year contract extension today. It’s a one way contract at $775,000 per season. It’s a good value contract for a guy who has done a nice job for the team this year, surprising many when he came out of nowhere to earn a spot.

San Jose Sharks 29-15-6, 3rd Western Conference

Andrew Desjardins-Joe Thornton-Joe Pavelski
Patrick Marleau-Logan Couture-Ryane Clowe
Jamie McGinn-Michal Handzus-Torrey Mitchell
Brad Winchester-John McCarthy-Benn Ferriero

Dan Boyle-Marc-Edouard Vlasic
Douglas Murray-Brent Burns
Colin White-Justin Braun

Antti Niemi

The Sharks have beaten the Flames in five straight meetings, with Niemi in net all five times. San Jose is 3-1-1 over their last five games and has played significantly less than any other team in the Western Conference.

Gameday #53 at Anaheim

Pat Steinberg — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 18:19:45 +0000

It’s the little shop of horrors once again for the Calgary Flames, as they just don’t win in Anaheim. The Flames start a three game road trip tonight at the Honda Center, and start a crucial week in their quest for the playoffs. Calgary plays four games in a six night span, with stops in San Jose and Phoenix following tonight before the Flames conclude their week Saturday at home to Vancouver.

Calgary Flames 24-22-6, 11th Western Conference

Alex Tanguay-Olli Jokinen-Jarome Iginla
Mike Cammalleri-Blair Jones-Krys Kolanos
Blake Comeau-Mikael Backlund-Lance Bouma
Tom Kostopoulos-Matt Stajan-Tim Jackman

Jay Bouwmeester-Chris Butler
Mark Giordano-Scott Hannan
T.J. Brodie-Cory Sarich

Miikka Kiprusoff

The Flames are scoring on the powerplay right now, which is helping their cause as things aren’t clicking at even strength right now. That’s going to need to continue, as the man advantage needs to be an important facet of Calgary’s game if they want to stay in the playoff hunt.

Anaheim Ducks 19-24-8, 14th Western Conference

Bobby Ryan-Ryan Getzlaf-Corey Perry
Niklas Hagman-Saku Koivu-Teemu Selanne
Jason Blake-Nick Bonino-Andrew Cogliano
Matt Beleskey-Rod Pelley-George Parros

Francois Beauchemin-Cam Fowler
Luca Sbisa-Lubomir Visnovsky
Toni Lydman-Sheldon Brookbank

Jonas Hiller

The Ducks are red hot, playing their best hockey of the season by far, going 9-2-2 over their last 13 games. Overall under Bruce Boudreau, Anaheim is 12-11-4.

Postgame: Strong Outing

Pat Steinberg — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 05:24:03 +0000

While the Chicago Blackhawks ran things at times in the first period on Friday night, the Calgary Flames were able to limit the damage fairly effectively and finished the opening frame even at a goal a piece. That allowed them to use a strong final 40 minutes, which helped them to a solid 3-1 win over the suddenly struggling Chicago Blackhawks. It snapped a three game home losing streak for the Flames and got them back within three points of a playoff spot.

What Happened

A pretty dominant first period for Chicago didn’t yield them the results they maybe deserved, thanks in large part to some blocked shots and good goaltending from Miikka Kiprusoff. Despite being outchanced 10-2 in the first period, it was the Flames opening the scoring thanks to Olli Jokinen, as his 13th of the season snapped a 15 game personal goal scoring drought at 12:24. Late in the period, Chicago would tie it, scoring their only goal thanks to Brent Seabrook’s fourth at 19:31.

The second period saw a complete reversal, with scoring chances favoring the Flames 11-2. They’d take the lead at 18:56 on the powerplay, with Jay Bouwmeester finishing off a rebound in front for his fourth of the season and a 2-1 lead. The man advantage was very good tonight, but, more on that later.

With the Hawks down a goal late, they did a decent job of chasing in the third period but still found themselves in penalty trouble, so weren’t able to keep that edge going. At 12:39, Alex Tanguay found Jarome Iginla on a clear breakaway, and the captain would make no mistake in undressing Ray Emery for his 19th, getting us to our final score.

One Good Reason…

…the Flames won? The powerplay. Momentum is an overused word in hockey, but I really do believe a strong powerplay can feed into what a team does 5-on-5. On this night, Calgary generated 12 of their 22 scoring chances on the man advantage, and while they scored just the one goal (which was also the winner), they set themselves up for some good play beyond that. The powerplay has scored six times in their last eight games, so while even strength scoring has been a struggle, they’re getting it done a man up.

Red Warrior

Alex Tanguay. He set Iginla up on his third period goal and was in on Jokinen’s first of the night, but it comes less because of points and more because of just how dangerous he was. While he finished underwater at even strength, as most guys did, Tanguay was the most dangerous player on Calgary’s powerplay. When the powerplay was the reason the Flames won, we’ll give the nod to #40.

Sum It Up

We talked about taking advantage of opportunities in FGD, and I felt the Flames did that tonight. They limited damage in the first period, stayed with their game, and started to take advantage of things from the second period on. The Hawks were clearly tired and not really into playing after falling down, and Calgary didn’t allow them to get back in this thing. When they did, Kiprusoff was there as he has been all year long. Now it’s into the House of Horrors, also known as the Honda Center in Anaheim on Monday night.

Gameday #52 vs. Chicago

Pat Steinberg — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 19:22:37 +0000

The Flames look to take advantage of some circumstances tonight as they welcome Chicago for the final time this season. The Hawks are coming off an embarassing 8-4 loss last night in Edmonton and have lost six consecutive games away from the United Center. On top of that, they’re coming in after a late game last night playing the second half of a back-to-back. Can the Flames take advantage?

Calgary Flames 23-22-6, 11th Western Conference

Alex Tanguay-Olli Jokinen-Jarome Iginla
Mike Cammalleri-Blair Jones-Krys Kolanos
Blake Comeau-Mikael Backlund-Lance Bouma
Tom Kostopoulos-Matt Stajan-Tim Jackman

Jay Bouwmeester-Chris Butler
Mark Giordano-Scott Hannan
T.J. Brodie-Cory Sarich

Miikka Kiprusoff

It’s been a fairytale run for Kolanos, who didn’t even know if his pro career would continue at the beginning of the season. Look for him to get powerplay time tonight as well, as he was working with the second unit in morning skate. The bad news is the Flames are now without Lee Stempniak six weeks thanks to a high ankle sprain.

Chicago Blackhawks 29-16-7, 6th Western Conference

Viktor Stalberg-Jonathan Toews-Patrick Kane
Patrick Sharp-Brendan Morrison-Marian Hossa
Marcus Kruger-Dave Bolland-Andrew Shaw
Andrew Brunette-Jamal Mayers-Michael Frolik

Duncan Keith-Brent Seabrook
Niklas Hjalmarsson-Nick Leddy
Steve Montador-John Scott

Ray Emery

The Hawks are 0-4-2 in their last six road games including their setback last night. Crawford was pulled for Emery in that one as the Oilers ran the score up. Neither goaltender has really lit the world on fire this season.

Gameday #51 vs. Detroit

Pat Steinberg — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 18:39:00 +0000

The Flames have already played the NHL leading Red Wings three times this season, and impressively, have walked away with regulation victories in two of those contests. Calgary will juggle their lines a tad prior to their final meeting with red hot Detroit as the Flames play their first game following the All Star break.

Calgary Flames 23-21-6, 11th Western Conference

Alex Tanguay-Mikael Backlund-Jarome Iginla
Mike Cammalleri-Olli Jokinen-Blake Comeau
Lance Bouma-Blair Jones-Lee Stempniak
Tom Kostopoulos-Matt Stajan-Tim Jackman

Jay Bouwmeester-Chris Butler
Mark Giordano-Scott Hannan
T.J. Brodie-Cory Sarich

Miikka Kiprusoff

So Tanguay and Iginla are back together for the first time since Tanguay’s injury, while Cammalleri joins the Jokinen line in an effort to maybe balance out the offence. Stajan and Bouma return after each missing one game with a minor injury. Calgary has 12 forwards and seven defensemen on the roster right now, so there is room for movement with players on IR.

Detroit Red Wings 33-16-1, 1st Western Conference

Johan Franzen-Pavel Datsyuk-Todd Bertuzzi
Valtteri Filppula-Henrik Zetterberg-Jiri Hudler
Drew Miller-Darren Helm-Dan Cleary
Cory Emmerton-Justin Abdelkader-Tomas Holmstrom

Nicklas Lidstrom-Ian White
Niklas Kronwall-Brad Stuart
Jonathan Ericsson-Mike Commodore/Jakub Kindl

Jimmy Howard

Detroit has lost just two times on home ice, however they sport a mediocre 13-14 record on the road.

Postgame: Not Much There

Pat Steinberg — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 05:10:03 +0000

When you’re generating as little offensively as the Calgary Flames have of late, there are going to be nights where allowing even one goal is going to be too much. Such was the case Tuesday night, as the Flames fell to the San Jose Sharks 1-0 in their final game prior to the All Star break. While they continue to do a good job limiting the opposition, they’re just not generating enough to put up wins at a sustainable pace.

What Happened

I liked Calgary’s start to this one, racking up a 6-1 edge in scoring chances before the Sharks decided to start skating again. Lee Stempniak likely had the best chance for Calgary in the first, on a wrap-around opportunity from Lee Stempniak while a Sharks flurry in front late in the frame had the puck glance off the post.

The second period was far less even, with the Pacific Division leaders taking things over withan 11-3 shot edge, four of those counting as chanecs. The ice was severely tilted in San Jose’s favor, with the Flames having a difficult time generating much of anything. A couple of Miikka Kiprusoff stops kept things scoreless though heading to the third.

After a couple of good chances to start the final frame, the game remained scoreless and settled into a groove once again. The deadlock was finally broken at 11:35, with Benn Ferriero putting home a puck that was stopped nicely on two occasiosn prior by Kiprusoff. Logan Couture did a nice job pushing the puck to a spot where Ferriero could finish the play off. From there, the Flames racked up a couple of quality chances in chase mode, but Antti Niemi did his job shutting the door en route to a 25 save shutout.

One Good Reason…

…why the Flames lost? They didn’t generate enough offensively. As Kent said in the scoring chances thread, it can become a dangerous game when trying to limit things at one end and doing much at the other. Good teams like the Sharks have the ability to battle through that, and despite a pair of posts prior, they were finally able to break through. Calgary has picked up some points while playing similar hockey as of late, so they were bound to come up empty at some point.

Red Warrior

No one on the top two lines, that’s for sure. I’ll go with Blair Jones, as I thought he centered Calgary’s most effective line at even strength with Alex Tanguay and Tom Kostopoulos on his flank. The top six forwards really struggled tonight, generating just three shots between them, and getting a ton put up on them at the other side. When playing forwards like Couture, Thornton, Pavelski, and Marleau on the other side, games like that are going to have negative dividends.

Sum It Up

The team wasn’t overly thrilled with their effort overall, point specifically at the second period. The thing is, even though the middle frame wasn’t great, they were still scoreless heading to the final 20, so I don’t see that being a huge thing. However, wanting to head into the All Star break on a high, the team certainly wanted to push a little harder than they did here. Now a week between games, as the Flames get set for the Red Wings next Tuesday night.

Gameday #50 vs. San Jose

Pat Steinberg — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 19:22:17 +0000

For the second time in a week, the Flames take on the San Jose Sharks. Last Tuesday’s 2-1 shootout loss to the Sharks is being held up as one of the better games of the season not only by fans and media, but also by Calgary players. Since that time, the Flames have won two straight against the Kings and Oilers, as they look to head into the All Star break on a high.

Calgary Flames 23-20-6, 10th Western Conference

Mike Cammalleri-Mikael Backlund-Jarome Iginla
Blake Comeau-Olli Jokinen-Lee Stempniak
Alex Tanguay-Blair Jones-Tom Kostopoulos
Brendan Morrison-Roman Horak-Tim Jackman

Jay Bouwmeester-Chris Butler
Mark Giordano-Scott Hannan
T.J. Brodie-Cory Sarich

Miikka Kiprusoff

Tanguay returns after missing 15 games with an upper body injury. Matt Stajan sits after suffering some sort of injury in Monday practice while Lance Bouma misses after getting injured Saturday in Edmonton.

San Jose Sharks 26-14-6, 3rd Western Conference

Andrew Desjardins-Joe Thornton-Joe Pavelski
Patrick Marleau-Logan Couture-Benn Ferriero
Jamie McGinn-Michal Handzus-Torrey Mitchell
Brad Winchester-John McCarthy-Andrew Murray

Dan Boyle-Marc-Edouard Vlasic
Douglas Murray-Jason Demers
Colin White-Justin Braun/Jim Vandermeer

Antti Niemi

Braun or Vandermeer would be just as likely as going, with Brent Burns missing tonight after being injured in yesterday’s 2-1 shootout loss in Edmonton. San Jose has lost three straight for the first time all season.

Gameday #49 at Edmonton

Pat Steinberg — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 21:18:46 +0000

It’s round four of the Battle of Alberta tonight with the Flames trying to continue their domination of the rivalry of late. Calgary has won eight straight, demoralizing their provincial foes in the process. The Flames are coming off a fairly decent stretch in California where they took three of a possible four points from the Sharks and Kings.

Calgary Flames 22-20-6, 11th Western Conference

Mike Cammalleri-Mikael Backlund-Jarome Iginla
Blake Comeau-Olli Jokinen-Tim Jackman
Tom Kostopoulos-Blair Jones-Lee Stempniak
Lance Bouma-Roman Horak-Matt Stajan

Jay Bouwmeester-Chris Butler
Mark Giordano-Scott Hannan
T.J. Brodie-Cory Sarich

Miikka Kiprusoff

Brendan Morrison is a gametime decision, so if he plays, expect things to shuffle a tad with Roman Horak being the one to exit the lineup. Alex Tanguay has been cleared to play and is with the team in Edmonton but will not play tonight as a coaches decision.

Edmonton Oilers 17-25-4, 14th Western Conference

Taylor Hall-Sam Gagner-Ales Hemsky
Ryan Smyth-Shawn Horcoff-Jordan Eberle
Anton Lander-Eric Belanger-Ryan Jones
Ben Eager-Ryan O’Marra-Magnus Paajarvi

Ladislav Smid-Corey Potter
Andy Sutton-Jeff Petry
Theo Peckham-Colten Teubert

Nikolai Khabibulin

Hall returns to the lineup after missing a pair of games with that nasty skate cut he received in warmup in Columbus.

Postgame: Somehow…

Pat Steinberg — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 06:42:12 +0000

The Calgary Flames have scored just four regulation goals in their last four games, yet they’ve won a pair of those games and have five of a possible eight points. It’s not what you’d call a sustainable brand of hockey, but it’s worked to this point, and they picked up another win Thursday night be taking a 2-1 shootout win over the Los Angeles Kings.

What Happened

The Flames fell down early in this one, as the Kings capitalized on a weird bounce early with Dustin Brown’s 13th coming at 3:28. The puck was kinda coughed up to the left of the slot allowing Brown to jump on a loose puck, firing it by Miikka Kiprusoff for the first goal of the game. The scoring chances had LA ahead 5-3 after one.

Calgary would tie the game midway through the second period, on their third and final powerplay of the night. What seemed like a breakdown in coverage by LA allowed Jarome Iginla far too much time in the left circle, and the captain isn’t going to miss there. He teed up a slapshot for his 18th of the season at 9:15 which ties Iginla for the team lead in goals. We had a tie game heading to the final frame.

Nothing changed in the third period, with only three chances a piece in the final frame. Both teams did a very good job of funnelling everything to the outside, making it a heck of a challenge to generate anything of note.

Off to overtime we went, with the Kings getting the better scoring chances only to be thwarted by a couple of really nice Kiprusoff saves. Calgary’s best chance was stopped on an old-fashioned two-pad stack from Jonathan Quick, and it was shootout time in LA. The Flames scored on their first two shots thanks to Olli Jokinen and Mike Cammalleri while a Justin Williams goal wasn’t enough thanks to misses from Jack Johnson and Mike Richards. The Flames aren’t generating much of anything offensively, but they’re winning games.

One Good Reason…

…why the Flames won? By getting this game to a shootout. For a second straight contest, Calgary did a strong job of frustrating their opponent, as the Kings went long stretches of time without much of anything. However, I did feel LA had the higher quality chances overall, so Kiprusoff had to be strong once again. All things combined for the Flames only allowing one regulation goal for the second straight night.

Red Warrior

I’ll give it to Miikka Kiprusoff tonight, who made 31 stops for his 21st win of the season. He was particularly strong in overtime and the shootout, but once again, gave his team more than a chance to win like he has all season long. If Calgary does plan on trading Kiprusoff, they’ll be doing it with him playing very well. If they decide to keep him in the fold, well, he’ll likely keep giving them a chance to win.

Sum It Up

I guess it depends on how you look at it. Calgary’s last four games have seen them score only four goals in regulation. Or in their last three wins, the Flames have allowed just two regulation goals. They’re getting some good fortune right now, and the bounces are certainly going their way, but at least they’re getting points. Now just two pack of eighth in the Western Conference, it could be a nice night for them on Saturday in Edmonton.