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Great test of the Flames killer instinct tonight, with both Edmonton and Vancouver losing in regulation last night the local hockey heroes have the chance to open up a bulge a top the Northwest division.

The Flames sure seem to be a loose bunch these days, having fun and joking around with each other in front of the media on the ice they are just having a good time, funny what winning does.

An optional skate for the Flames this morning, the main group was with out Iginla, Cammalleri, and Keenan.

Prust and Vandermeer both skated prior to the main group and for the record so did Iginla and Cammalleri.

Kiprusoff was back on the ice after being given the day off yesterday, a U of C goalie came out to balance out practice, Kiprusoff is out there for the morning skate.

Glencross appears to be a game time decision tonight; Brett Sutter is still here so I am not sure it is a slam dunk that that #20 is back in.

The Oilers have recalled Gilbert Brule from Springfield to replace Pouliot who appeared to suffer a concussion in the Edmonton loss to Ottawa.

Ales Hemsky appears that he will not play in this game tonight.

No Marion Gaborik for the Wild tonight as reportedly he didn’t even make the road trip as the TEAM has asked him not to play for two games to rest his injured groin. Interesting note from yesterday’s game, Gaborik was announced as a healthy scratch before the game against Chicago. Speculation is that he will be traded very soon, my question is would you take him? I would, but the bigger question is what would you pay him in a contract, that is the bigger question.

Team Canada was in the unenviable position of having to play a far inferior opponent yesterday in Ottawa at the World Junior Championship, not only did they have to play them they had to be mindful of possible tie breakers. Please add my name to the growing list of voices calling for an over haul of the tournament, teams like Kazakhstan work so hard to make it up from the pool below but usually do it with a roster of 19 year olds who can’t come back when the team makes it to Pool A, and then the kids get killed.

No Curtis Glencross at practice today which leads me to believe there has been somewhat of a set back, he was skating with the main group on the weekend.

The story of the season 35 games in for the local hockey heroes has to be the balanced attack, on Saturday night the Flames scored 6 goals and had 13 points awarded, with none to Iginla (who was +3), none for Phaneuf, none for Conroy. By the way the next big story you will here (most likely out of eastern Canada) what’s wrong with Jarome? The correct answer is nothing, but that won’t stop the stories. Sutter has often said and I agree which would you rather have Iginla with 50 goals and no playoffs or Iggy with 35 goals and a division title. My point being is it is quite clear that the captain does not have to go out and carry this version of the Flames on his back.

Just a simple observation but Dion is gripping to hard right now, he had a couple of point shots that he whiffed on Saturday night, I think the constant scrutiny may be getting to him somewhat.

Lines
Cammalleri Conroy Iginla
Lombardi Langkow Bertuzzi
Bourque Boyd Moss
Roy Sutter Nystrom

Regehr Aucoin
Pardy Phaneuf
Giordano Sarich

Kiprusoff

Merry Christmas to everyone I hope that Santa was good to you and yours, I have no complaints (I am currently leading the AHL in scoring and playing on the top line in Quad City, those who have NHL 09 know what I am talking about).

The Flames injured guys all seem to be on the road to recovery, both Prust and Vandermeer skated prior to the main group today, while Glencross is back with the main group. Curtis did tell reporters yesterday that he isn’t ready to go, add to that Brett Sutter is still here leads me to believe Glencross may make his come back against the Wild on Monday. I just remembered that I haven’t seen hide nor tale of Wayne Primeau for what that is worth.

The Ottawa Senators may bring the least cache of any Canadian team; there really is no buzz when the Sen’s come to town.

Lines

Cammalleri Lombardi Iginla
Bertuzzi Langkow Bourque
Sutter Conroy Moss
Roy Boyd Nystrom
Glencross

Regehr Aucoin
Giordano Sarich
Pardy Phaneuf

Kiprusoff

For those who care it appears that Santa Claus brought Curtis McElhinney a new mask for Christmas, one that appears to be a little more yellow based

The Ducks played lat night and don’t appear that they are going to skate prior to this game today. Anaheim is playing in their 7th set of back to backs and is 3 and 3 in game number 2.

Flames held an optional skate this morning, not skating were Iginla, Cammalleri, Bertuzzi, and the head coach did go on the ice with the main group.

Curtis Glencross skated before the main group this morning, the team hopes that he could be ready for Ottawa on Saturday.

The Flames are an odd team, you can cut them and dice them in a number of ways, in their past 10 games they have either won just 5 games or have lost just twice in regulation.

Tough to come up with line combinations today, because everyone didn’t skate today, but watch for Sutter to play between Nystrom and Roy, and Boy to play with Bertuzzi and Langkow.

Some one will have to fully explain to me how you can have a “roster freeze” and yet a team makes 2 moves. It is actually a rhetorical question, Lundmark was likely returned to Quad City on paper prior to the Freeze on Friday, while Brett Sutter was recalled on emergency recall today.

For the record Sutter was already home enjoying his 4 day break from the AHL, so he was close by and will most likely rejoin his team mates for their first game back from the break in Milwaukee on Friday.

Sutter will play up the middle between Roy and Nystrom, which means Dustin Boyd will be elevated to 2nd or 3rd line winger which he deserves.

Don’t believe what you hear about Mikael Backlund having already agreed to join Kelowna after the World Junior Tournament in Ottawa, according to some one close to the situation the player will likely be headed back to Sweden after the tournament. It was pointed out to me that the decision is the player’s not the Flames at this point.

Former Flames defensemen Anders Eriksson had emergency appendectomy surgery and has been in Calgary to recover, he is expected to start skating on Boxing Day.

Dion Phaneuf was given the last couple of days off to recover, according to Mike Keenan it was nothing more then resting the guy who has played the most minutes of any d-man in the league.

You have probably heard our conversation with Commissioner Gary Bettmen from yesterday, if you haven’t it is available on line at FAN960.com. It’s a worth a listen for no other reason to hear the commish’s take on a number of front burner items around the league.

Take this is for what it is worth, but Gary is my favorite guest for no other reason then the man is entertaining to be around. He really loves talking about the game and real loves mixing it up with media types, I have never asked but I can help but think it has something to do with him being a lawyer. Unfortunately it doesn’t play itself out very well on the radio but man is he animated his hands are moving a mile a minute when he is talking, and the middle of the answer he will hold up a hand to keep you from interrupting him even though you have no intention of doing so. Anyway you may not like him, as a matter of fact you may hate him, but I think you would find it fun to hang around Gary for a while.

It doesn’t appear that the local hockey heroes will get any of their injured back for this game against Chicago.

Here is some Gobbly gook math for ya

Since Nov 13 the Flames are 9-3-2 with 43 goals for and 33 goals against their power play is 10/64 or 15.6% and penalty kill 47/50 or 94%. Flames have out shot the opposition 11/14 games and 13 games have 30+ shots for.

Lines for tonight

Cammalleri Lombardi Iginla
Bertuzzi Langkow Lundmark
Bourque Conroy Moss
Roy Boyd Nystrom

Regehr Aucoin
Pardy Sarich
Giordano Phaneuf

Kiprusoff

Calgary and Minnesota are meeting for just the first time this season, the Wild are stuck in a 5 game losing streak, all coming in regulation a franchise record.

Those who have listened to the show know I have for a real disdain for the San Jose Sharks game notes which add nothing to a broadcasters ability to try an inform the audience of what is going on with the Sharks. Or more to the point they spin and spin and try and re invent history to benefit their team, they are worse then any political party on either side of the boarder. With that said the following has been cut and pasted from the game notes for tonight’s game as put together by the Wild’s PR department:

Flames RW Jarome Iginla is the all-time leader against the Wild in points (47), goals (27), plus-minus (+18) and shots (142). He is tied for first with Joe Sakic with seven GWG’s against the Wild, and his 27 goals are a whopping 11 more than any other player has scored (Sakic and Milan Hejduk). Iginla ranks second with eight PPG versus Minnesota. At Xcel Energy Center, Iginla is the opponent leader in goals (12) and is tied with Sakic for the most points (19). Overall, the Flames are 17-2-1 against the Wild when Iginla scores a goal, including 7-2-1 at Xcel Energy Center. Iginla has recorded at least one point in 29 of 43 games versus the Wild, and the Flames are 20-5-4 in those instances, and just 6-5-3 when he’s held off the scoresheet. The Flames are 11-0-0 when Iginla has two or more points against Minnesota. Iginla has a point in 16 of 22 all-time games in St. Paul, and the Flames are 9-4-3 in those games but 2-4-0 when he doesn’t have a point. Iginla has a point in each of his last five games at Xcel Energy Center (4-3=7).

Flames G Miikka Kiprusoff is 19-6-3 with a 1.83 GAA, a .932 SV% and three shutouts in 28 starts against Minnesota. His 19 wins and 28 appearances are the most by any goaltender against the Wild (no other goalie has more than 12 victories versus Minnesota). Among goalies playing 10 or more games versus the Wild, Kiprusoff ranks fourth in GAA (1.83) and fourth in SV% (.932), and his three shutouts are tied with five other goalies for the most ever. Kiprusoff is 7-5-2 with a 1.89 GAA, a .933 SV% and one shutout at Xcel Energy Center. His seven victories are more than any other goalie (David Aebischer - 6), and his 1.89 GAA trails only Dominik Hasek (1.11) and Aebischer (1.85). Kiprusoff’s .933 SV% at Xcel Energy Center is second to Hasek’s .947. Kiprusoff has allowed two goals or less in 22 of 28 starts versus the Wild, including 11 of 14 at Xcel Energy Center. Kiprusoff has started all 28 games versus the Wild since his trade from San Jose in the 2003-04 season. The last goalie to start for the Flames against the Wild was Jamie McLennan on 11/7/03, a 3-0 Wild win. McLennan is currently the Flames goaltender development coach.

Once again those are taken directly from the Game Notes for the Wild versus the Flames tonight, and further then that from the home teams notes not the Flames notes. I credit Minnesota for putting information in their notes that is first and foremost not flattering to the home team, and second is this info is actually useful and not spun. The rest of the NHL and probably sports could all take a lesson from the Wild just give us the info and let us draw our own conclusion.

Sorry that is just a personal opinion and has no meaning to anyone outside the business, but in the past I have been quick to jump on the Sharks for printing fairy tales I thought the Wild deserved some credit.

Same roster for the Flames tonight against Minnesota, the Wild have been off since Sunday and get Marion Gaborik back.

I admit I had a little chuckle last night at the expense of our northern neighbors, but I should keep in mind that the Black Hawks humbled Calgary in Chicago on November 9th 6-1, and are in town with a couple of days off between now and Friday when they play the Flames.

Jamie Lundmark is back in the Flames line up tonight, the AHL’s player of the month for November shouldn’t hurt for ice time as he will start with the Flames 2nd line tonight. Lundmark will skate with Bertuzzi and Langkow, while Moss moves on to a line with Conroy and Bourque, all things being equal that line may end up being the number 2 line by the end of the night.

There seem to be a lot of shock around those who make their living predicating what Team Canada will look like when Flames draft pick Keith Aulie made the squad. The Wheat Kings captain was drafted 2 summers ago by the Flames the same year that John Negrin was picked in the 3rd round. At this point the Columbus draft is looking pretty good for the Flames with Backlund in the first round, and the two d-man taken after him, it is too bad we will never know how good Mickey Renaud could have been as Calgary took him in the 5th round, this might be one of the draft years that Flames fans one day look back on as one of their best.

Something has to give tonight neither the Flames nor the Blues have a win in their past 3 games.

No Eric Brewer for the Blues on this night, he will miss his second consecutive game because of an upper body injury, add to that they are missing their best 2 forwards and number 1 goalie and it is safe to say this is a wounded St Louis club.

Miikka Kiprusoff gets the start tonight, Chris Mason, goes for the Blues, expect Miikka to play tomorrow in Minnesota as well. Marion Gaborik will play for Minnesota, after missing most of this years with a mysterious middle body ailment (his groin), is this one of the last times the Flames will see him in a Wild jersey? Yes!

Lots of little news items today around Calgary’s local hockey heroes, starting with the news that Curtis Glencross has a lower body injury and will be sidelined for the two game road trip.

Jamie Lundmark has been recalled from the Quad City Flames to take his place; Lundmark is leading the Baby flames in scoring and is 8th in the AHL with 7-23-30 in 28 games. It is quite a comeback for Lundmark who was out of the NHL last year playing in Russia before finishing in the AHL last year.

Speaking of the Quad City Flames their future seems up in the air at this moment. Last Friday a report out of Vancouver had the team linked to a new arena being built in Abbotsford, BC. We talked to Flames President on Friday he didn’t deny that the Flames had been contacted by the lower mainland group, but refused to confirm the team was leaving Quad City. Stories written in the Quad City paper over the weekend seemed to indicate that the Flames were/are committed to making it work in the US city.

Here are a few facts about this story:

The Flames and the rest of the AHL recognize that the ticket sales and overall interest are not good enough in Quad City.

Abbotsford is going to have offer travel subsidies and other perks that an AHL team can use to lessen the burden of travel by teams to such an isolated location (in relation to the current AHL map).

Edmonton found it a difficult go when they tried to run their affiliate in the shadow of an NHL franchise (the Toronto Road Runners were a mess until the Maple Leafs took over and turned them into the Marlies, even now they struggle). I think it will be difficult to sell the Flames brand in Canucks country.

The Flames are currently looking at all of their options, at the end of the day it makes more logistical sense to have your prospects 1 hour and 10 minutes away from your home base with 5 direct flights a day (Westjet I checked).

I also remember how difficult it is to sell a product when the rumours of its future are made public, I would bet that the Flames will be some where else.

Thanks to everyone who took the time out to participate in Coaching Day in Alberta at the Dome yesterday. The volunteer coaches of minor hockey are the backbone of the great game and it was an honour to hang out with about 4oo heroes yesterday.

Pretty impressive win by the Panthers last night in Edmonton, boring, but impressive none the less, their 2-0 win was their 4th in a row on the road. Former Flame draft pick (never signed) Craig Anderson has really jumped up and grabbed the starting job away from Thomas Vokoun, Anderson is one of the league leaders in goals against and last night was his 3rd shut out of the season. Vokoun is scheduled to start for the Panthers tonight, but you wonder if the Cats might not comeback with Anderson who is on a roll.

Vokoun has really fallen of his game since Nashville traded him to Florida a couple of summers ago, he struck me as a goalie that was going to take that next step to elite status but he has really gone the other way.

Not surprised to see the stories written in both papers about Todd Bertuzzi today, you knew when you signed him that he was a different kettle of fish then any other free agent signing. I have said on many occasions that what he did back in 04 will give him baggage that he will carry around for the remainder of his career. Well not scoring in 17 games has nothing to do with his past, it is his past that puts him under the microscope where ever he goes from now until the end of time, that is his problem. I will say it again here, I have little in the way of criticism of the player, but I do wonder about the way he is used and when he is used.

Wayne Primeau is sidelined with an ankle injury, he is wearing a walking cast, apparently he re injured the same ankle that kept him out of the game in Vancouver.

Jim Vandermeer is out of the walking cast, and either is back on the ice or should be sometime soon.

Lines

Cammalleri Conroy Iginla
Bourque Boyd Glencross
Bertuzzi Langkow Moss
Roy Lombardi Nystrom

Regehr Aucoin
Giordano Phaneuf
Pardy Sarich

Kiprusoff