The only Holiday season travel the Flames will do this year, as a team, commenced Monday.

…And like other travellers this time of year, slow downs are all part of the experience.

Frigid Calgary weather saw the charter flight departure delayed 90 minutes before arriving in, by comparision, balmy St. Louis.

While it was warmer, the tarmack was extremely icy.  So much so that as the players exited the plane and walked down the portable stairway they were cautioned at the bottom to watch their steps.  No need for more injuries.  A couple of members of the coaching staff  jokingly suggested the players don their skates and practice on the runway. It was icy enough and the surface much bigger than the 200-by-85 dimensions of NHL rinks.

After Tuesday’s game, the Flames head back into more Arctic temperatures playing Wednesday in Minnesota.

After the two mid-week road games the Flames will be home for the Yuletide season with a 6-game homestand starting Friday.

Two players, who will play Tuesday, didn’t fly in with the team.  Todd Bertuzzi was in Toronto attending a court session regarding the Steve Moore incident.  He’ll be ready tomorrow.  And so will Jamie Lundmark called up from Quad Cities to replace Curtis Glencross, who will be sidelined for these 2 games at least with a lower body injury.  Lundmark is the top scorer for the Baby Flames with 30 points in 28 games and was the AHL’s player-of-the-month for November.

   It took 30 games, but Friday the Flames became the last NHL team to engage in a shootout.

   As it developed the Flames played as though they wanted no part of extra time. Understandable considering their recent past lack of success. The Florida Panthers were more than eager to put in the added time despite having played the evening previous.  The Panthers paid off in the shootout win with Stephen Weiss the only player scoring during the shootout.

    Endeavouring to break a 2-2 tie, the Flames outshot the Panthers, 17-3, in the third period, but couldn’t solve Tomas Vokoun.  They couldn’t beat him on 2 overtime nor 3 more in the shootout.

   The Flame PP so proficent in recent matches, failed in 5 attempts.  Afterwards, Mike Cammalleri would offer the assessment that the team needs to work harder in the tough areas again to attain success with the man advantage.  The coaching staff agreed.

   Only Rene Bourque would score for the Flames. He tallied twice in 5-on-5 situations.

   The Panthers, with a patch-work line-up due to 7 injuries, played a wide open style at the game’s outset. That surprised the Flames and it wasn’t by design.  Panther defenseman Keith Ballard remarked after the 2nd period that his team didn’t execute its game plan.

   Having lost 2-straight in extra time but getting one point for each, the Flames now get 3 days off before playing Tuesday in St. Louis, the scene of the Flames only extra time victory this season. 

   What’s in a start time?

   Nothing, but the Flames really like games at start at 7p.m., which is the time of Friday’s fixture with Florida.

   Mike Keenan’s team has won 7 of 8 games starting at 21hours this season.  They are 2-0 at the Saddledome with October triumphs over first place teams — Boston and Washington. On the road in games starting at 7 they are 5-1.

   Taking into account time zone differences, the Flames have had 11 of their 29 games start at different times.  7 p.m. is the most popular.

    Its even the most popular start time for Flame fans, but Friday is only the third 7pm home start out of 15 games.

   If President Ken King and the Flames had their druthers they’d start all mid-day games at 7, but television dictates start times and the team have no choice but to comply.

   The Panthers are here without 7 regulars, who are injured.  The Flames, though, would be ill advised to take the Florida crew lightly.  The Panthers have won their last 4 road games and overall have won 5 of 6 games.  A Panther win tonight and they’d be in a playoff position in the Eastern Conference for the first time this season.

   The Flames require a win to recaptured sole poossession of first place in the NW Division.

It tell you something about the charter of this year’s Flames when they go on a tough 4-game road trip get 5 out of 8 pts and not be satisfied.

Even the fact they were playing the Stanley Cup champs in the second half of back-to-back encounters after a longer-than-expected travel night and playing the backup goalie wouldn’t be used as excuses for Wednesday’s 4-3 OT loss at Detroit.

The fact the Flames let a pair of 2-goal leads slip away against the Red Wings cast a pall over the team in the 4-hour flight home.

Curtis McElhinney earned the first point of his NHL career in 34-save performance but he wanted the 2pts that come with a win.
The 25-year-old rookie admitted he didn’t see the shots from defensemen Brian Rafalsi and Niklas Lidstrom that produced the tying and winning goals.  The experienced Wings set up in front of McElhinney producing both Wing goals that turned the tide.

In a rarity the Flames were assessed 3 penalties for delay of game by clearing the puck over the glass. One in each period.
Its home now to face Florida on Friday.

  The Flames have not won game on consecutive nights this season and if they do it this week it would be a major accomplishment.

   Tuesday in Montreal and Wednesday in Detroit is the menu.

   Not only are the Canadiens and Red Wings considered to be among the NHL’s top teams, but in recent times the Flames have had difficulty winning in both Montreal and Detroit.

   Here in Montreal, the Flames have lost their last 3 visits and have only one win in their last 10 matches.  That was the only victory they’ve had in the Bell Centre, which opened in 1996.  The Flames have lost their last 7 in Detroit, 4 in reg-season and 3 in playoffs.

   Alex Tanguay, the former Flame, seemed to he particularly eager to do well in his first game against his former team.  Canadiens’ coach Guy Carbonneau used to play for Mike Keenan in St. Louis and seemed to harbour some distain for the Flame leader.

   Somewhat surprisingly, the Canadiens will start Jaroslav Halak in the nets rather than #1 Corey Price.  Miikka Kiprusoff again for the Flames and likely will go again tomorrow in the Motor City.

   Dustin Boyd returns to the Flames line-up after missing the last 5 games with an upper body injury. 

A Ranger fan looking up at the scoreboard after 2 periods Sunday had to be wondering what was going on.

The scoreboard said Flames 1, Rangers 0. The shot board read; Flames 9, Rangers 23.

What was happening was Miikka Kiprusoff. The Flame goalie was brilliant.  Jarome Iginla had managed to score his 14th goal and the Flames had a lead they likely shouldn’t have had.

But the goalie is part of the team and KIpper had been ridiculed in some earlier games. Not on this night.

The other Flames got their game together in the 3rd period with David Moss and Rene Bourque adding goals for the 3-0 win,   for the first time this season the Flames find themselves in first place in the NW Div.

They’ll be challenged to remain, but if Kipper is as good on most nights as the was on Sunday, the chances of staying their are real good.

   A New York hockey writer in a Saturday referenced the Flames top defenseman as, “the suddenly famous Dion Phaneuf.”  He was linking the citation to Sean Avery’s now infamous remarks.

   One suspects that the writer didn’t know that the 4th year Flame defenseman was runner-up for the Norris Trophy winner in 2007-08, made the NHL’s first all-star team, a has been in two All-Star Games and likely will be the starting defenseman for the West Conference in this years game in Montreal.

   Dion takes New York tonight and if he’s on his game as outstandingly as he was on Friday in St. Louis, New Yorkers will definitely know who he is by the end of the evening. Phaneuf has played in Madison Square Garden once previously in his career. That was 2 years ago, before he reached his present star status. 

    Despite the recession New York is its usual viabrant self this weekend with Times Square clogged with people better than the best executed trap that some teams employ.  Stories, restaurants, bars and theatres all had huge line-ups.

    Neither team had an am skate Sunday at MSG. A basketball game Sunday afternoon meant the clubs would have ice in Tarrytown, N.Y.  Since its a 45-minute drive from Manhattan, the Flames held an off-ice workout and a meeting at their hotel to prep for the game.

   A win tonight and the Flames would assure themselves of a .500 trip just two games into the 4-game journey.  Montreal and Detroit follow.

   As the Flame bus drove into downtown St. Louis Wednesday afternoon, Dion Phaneuf, was playing tourist.

From bus the Flames outstanding defenseman took pictures of the famed Gateway Arch.  The Arch is a big tourist attraction here as St. Louis is proud if its “Gateway to the West.”

For the Flames, Friday’s game is the gateway to their four-game road trip but this is the only western stop on the journey.  The club’s heads east after the engagement with the Blues.

That Phaneuf, who wore a black fedora like Punch Imlach used to wear behind the bench with the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 60′s, was relaxing on the eve of a game was encouraging. The 23-year-old defenseman was thrust unwantingly into the spotlight this week with Sean Avery’s antics.

Phaneuf, as one would expect, seemed to be negatively affected by the ill-advised Avery comments directed at him and his girlfriend Elisha Curthbert. He was on the ice for all 3 Dallas goals on Tuesday.

Incidentally, Phaneuf will make no further comments on Avery.  Phaneuf answered questioned regarding the issue on Tuesday with class.

The Flames have had a great deal of recent success against the Blues. They have won the last 3 against the St. Louis skated plus 10 of the last 11

   It wouldn’t be a stretch to suggest that the Dallas Stars beat the Flames 3-1 on Tuesday because Sean Avery wasn’t in their line-up.

   Not as in “let’s win one for Sean” but “lets show Sean we can win without him.”

   Side Show Sean wasn’t  even in the Saddledome as the Stars got a goal in each period. However he was in the building for the morning skate as he and his teammates prepped for the game.

   It was after the skate and after he had showered that he made public comments that got him in very hot water. He had lewd, but well contrieved  words directed at his former girl friend and Calgary-born actress Elisha Cuthbert as well as Dion Phaneuf, who she has been dating for almost a year.  Avery didn’t say much before he smilingly left for the team bus, but his 4 sentences inspired Comm. Gary Bettman to suspend him indefinately pending a hear with the NHL boss.

   Later in a strongly worded statement, Stars owner Tom Hicks said the team supported the league’s action and that Avery’s comments did not reflect the way his club operates. 

   After the league decides on the length of Avery’s it will be interesting to see how Hicks and the Stars respond.  His teammates were clearly embarrassed by Avery’s latest antic and seemed to have soured on his act just 2 months into his Dallas stint.

   Goaltending Marty Turco provided the type of goaltender the Stars had come to expect in past years but has not seen much this season.  He made 36 saves against a Flame team, which admittedly came out flat but had a number of chances as they got better in the last 2 periods.

    The Flames lost a chance to take over sole possession of first place in the NW Division for the first time this season.

   The first game of a long road trip often is the last game of a homestand.

   That sounds confusing but have a strong showing in the getaway game generally carries over to the stint on the road.  In this case, a win means sole possession of first place in the NW Division for the first time this season. 

    After the Flames Tuesday home game vs Dallas, they face longest trip to this point of the season — 4 games.

    Winning 3-straight and plus 5 of the last 6 Mike Keenan’s squad is juist one point behind Vancouver for the division lead.

    While Tuesday assignment might be consider to be against an easy foe, there were many who felt going into the season that the Stars would be the #1 team in the Pacific Division.  Instead, just beyond the one-quarter mark, the Stars are at the bottom of the Western Conference and close to last overall.

    Many suggest the Stars could break out of their funk at any time.

    But, so far, even Sean Avery hasn’t been able to rally the troops.  Part of Avery’s sales job when he was a UFA this summer was citing his record when in the line-up of his old team the NY Rangers (50-20-16) and when out with injury (9-13-6).  Now with the Stars the team record is similar to when he was an LA Kings.  In 23 games with Avery the Stars are 8-11-4.

    Avery’s derogitory comments this summer about Jarome Iginla plus the fact he used to date Dion Phaneuf’s current girl friend, movie and TV starlet, Elisha Cuthburt, are making an interesting pre-game sidebars.  You can be sure that Sideshow Sean will play on that to get the Flame standout off their game.  It would be unwise for the Flames fall into the trap.