Flames-Avalanche: Calgary Moves into Tie for Second in Northwest

Surrounded by the playoff atmosphere of the Saddledome, the Calgary Flames put together a complete 60-minute effort against the Colorado Avalanche in a 2-1 hometown victory.

Pressuring the visiting team early with speed and energetic play, the Flames received driven performances from up and down their lineup. A low scoring affair, momentum came from gritty play and special-team competency.

It all started with a fight just nine seconds into the game. 

Flames rearguard Jim Vandermeer played left wing for the first shift and matched up with Avs tough-man Ian Laperriere.  Coming out on top, Vandermeer would would return to defence for the rest of the game, but his opening skirmish set a tone for his team

Flames centreman Daymond Langkow opened up the scoring with a tap-in at 8:19 later in the first period. Langkow redirected the puck after a rebound came off Avs goalie Jose Theodore from a close-in Jarome Iginla shot.

At 14:38 Craig Conroy gave the Flames a two-goal advantage, potting his 12th goal of the season. Theodore stopped a Dion Phaneuf point-shot on the play, only to have Conroy bang in the loose puck.

Both first period goals came during Calgary power-plays drawn by centre Matthew Lombardi. Using his speed to drive the offensive zone, Lombardi drew two hooking penalties to give the Flames the 5-on-4 advantage. The goals as well as all of Colorado’s penalties came in the opening stanza as Calgary took the impetus in the game. With power-play opportunities on both sides, the Flames had a near-perfect special team outcome: 4-for-4 in penalty killing and 2-for-4 on the power play.

Through the first forty minutes of play Calgary would limit Colorado to just ten shots on goal.

Colorado would eventually score their lone goal at 5:52 of the third period. Ben Guite found the loose puck and popped it home as Ryan Smyth parked himself in front of Miikka Kiprusoff.

The Avalanche would be held to one goal, squandering the lone man-advantage of the third period. It was the Denver squad’s best frame of the contest however, firing six shots and skating well for the first time in the game.

Pressure from Calgary started early and came in the form of speed, heavy hitting, blocked shots, and positional play. Calgary played with energy and took the Avs out of their game with aggressive checking, keeping the Colorado plays to the outside. Solid Flames defence and checking created turnovers and scoring chances, as well as effectively keeping the puck away from Avalanche aggressors. Colorado stars Joe Sakic and Ryan Smyth were rendering largely ineffectual by a stolid home team.  In the Calgary zone and on the penalty kill the Flames’ good stick work and positional checking kept the play to the outside, never allowing the Avs to gain momentum.

Calgary outshone Colorado in almost every statistical category, which translated to a well-rounded team effort on the ice. Role players such as Marcus Nilson, Wayne Primeau and Stephane Yelle stepped up, playing big minutes in character performances. All over the ice skaters chipped in, making defensive responsibility a proper team effort. In the final tally Calgary recorded 16 hits, 12 blocked shots, seven takeaways, 28 shots-on-goal and a 59 percent of faceoff wins.

Miikka Kiprusoff made 15 saves for the win, improving his record to 36-22-10.  It was also the first time in eight games the Flames allowed fewer than 30 shots against.

This is the team that needs to show up over the coming weeks and into the playoffs. If they can continue along the line of responsible, 60-minute hockey, Calgary has a good chance heading into April. Tonight the club demonstrated that every player on the squad is capable of fulfilling their role, providing they put in the effort. It is up to the players to show the rest of the League just how good they can be… if they can maintain this level of play.

NOTES: *Vancouver beat Edmonton tonight as they merge with Calgary for second place in the NW with 86 points.  Calgary and Vancouver have identical records of 38-26-10 in 74 GP.  *Peter Forsberg (groin) and Paul Stasny (‘flu) were out of the lineup for Colorado, and the squad they did ice tonight seemed somewhat uninspired. *The Avalanche are a tough team to face as they fight for their own playoff spot. *Although they had been on a winning streak (eight wins in nine games) the Avs have now lost three in a row. *Flames forward Kristian Huselius rode the bench most of the game on a “coach’s call” following disappointing play this week in Columbus.  * If Calgary can maintain this level of performance they should have no problems locking a playoff spot for the forth year in a row.  *The Flames have now won the first of nine games versus divisional rivals to round out the season