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Lately the Flames have had their games well spaced.
That won’t be the case this weekend as Mike Keenan’s crew faces another challenge.
After the huge triumph in San Jose on Thursday, the club immediately returned home and Friday, as a group, attended the funeral service celebrating the life of one of their owners. It was a very touching service reflecting on the life of Darryl (Doc) Seaman, who passed away last Sunday at the age of 86. A great Calgarian, who was the key mover for getting an NHL team in the city and making sure it remained.
Saturday night the Flames are back on Saddlkedome ice against the surprising Phoenix Coyotes. Wayne Gretzky has his young squad in a tie for 5th place in the Western Conference despite growing financial issues. Its a late game starting at 8 pm.
The game will barely be over when the team will rush to the Calgary Airport, clear custom and immigration plus security before taking the 2-hour flight to Denver. It will be an early am arrival at the downtown hotel, which is a 30-40 minute drive from the airport.
Sunday its an early 6pm game against the Colorado Avalanche.
How coach Keenan handles the goaltending assignments merits watching. Miikka Kiprusoff was brilliant in SJ starting his 14th straight game and 41st of 43 games. The past two starting breaks he got were after he’d played 14-straight and 13-in-a-row.
Keenan may elect to go with him in both games this weekend since the team doesn’t play again until Wednesday before hitting the 6-day All-Star break. But given travel and short time-frame between games, he may give rookie Curtis McElhinney a start in one of them. Perhaps in Colorado since the Calgary minor hockey product has not started a home game in his career.
One thing for sure, regardless of who plays and the outcome, the Flames will still be in first place in the NW Division.
