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I guess NOBODY wants to win the division LOL
Vancouver-- a little bit of a cool-off was expected after their red-hot run so its not a big shock to see them lose to a desparate St Louis team
But Calgary? I have come to have very little confidence in this team. Its weird because last year the knock on them was that after you got past the big guns like Jarome and Phaneuf, it was the role players that were letting them down. And it was largely true-- The Flames often won games when Phaneuf was stellar or even more frequently when Jarome would take the team on his back and will the team to victory
Now we move to this year and it is undoubted that the supporting cast is much stronger particularly up front. Glencross and Bourque have been amazing acquisitions, Boyd has emerged, Cammaleri? wow!! Across the board the Flames supporting cast has been pretty good. The problem? the big guns--
Jarome? yes he has lots of points but lots of that is the better folks around him. I have watched him play and he is very very often ineffective this year. Perhaps he gets two assists in a game but they are the kind where he makes the outlet pass in his own zone and the other two forwards make a creative play at the other end. Or he gets a 5 point night in a blowout. I just haven't seen him elevate his game this year like he has in the past.
Phaneuf? Not a good season for him at all. Last year he was legitimately looked upon a valid candidate as best defenceman in the league- he hadn't attained a level where he should win it but it was legitimate to talk about him in that light.This season he is not even close. He has started to bring his offensive game a bit better but he has troubling laspses defensively. The shorthanded goal the Flames gave up against St Louis was an example. The Blues forward came in one on one with Phaneuf-- He got a shot away (acceptable) but then scored on his own rebound (COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE). There is no way in hell that should happen but I have seen similar lapses on lots of occasions. Phaeuf still has amazing physical skills but unless he starts playing smarter soon, I don't know that he deserves all the ice time he gets, particularly in defensive situations. I like any of regehr, Aucoin or Sarich (yes Sarich!!) ahead of Phaneuf in defensive situations and perhpas Leopold as well (haven't watched him enough)
Kipper-- The guy has just been far too inconsistent this season. He has games where he is incredibly good and others where it is just not there-- given the Flames still glaringly lack a proven backup, they need him to be at least good
I am worried about the Flames this season, really worried. They have the talent this season to make a run-- The addition of Jokkinen and Leopold showed they are serious NOW-- but the play of the Flames over the last 10 has not been at all encouraging. I wanted and expected the Flames to kick it up a notch and have not seen it.
Its a weird team -- If you told someone that a team had beaten Detroit 11 days apart, home and away, one would assume that it was a team performing well-- but thats just not the case
Right now I say screw the division and do whatever needs to be done to enter the playoffs in good form. If that means sitting Kipper for a week-- do it-- If there is something . .. . anything . . . .. that could help them in about 3 weeks when the games will really matter, do it. I don't know what measures should be taken-- all I know is that I don't care about winning the division. I never did really except that I think the Flames were strong enough and had a big enough lead that they should be clearly winning the division right now. But today if the choice is between pushing to win the division and doing things that help in the playoffs, to me the playoffs win hands down. The reality is that the goals are complimentary at the moment-- Working out their problems and playing better now would probably be the best prep for the playoffs.
Oh and Ben-- It appears so far I was half right. I was prefectly accurate in predicting the Canucks little mini-lapse. Where I was wrong was with the Flames. They "should" have closed out the Blues after dominating them for a long period. Then I had them figured to get two points from this short road trip but as it turned out, they played reasonably well in Pittsburgh (that was a FABULOUS game) but zero points for the trip is a just result.
So the Flames have blown their chance. THis was the point where I thought 4 points for the Flames while the Canucks had a mini-slump would pretty much seal the divisional fate. Instead? The Canucks should win some of the next couple of road games and the Flames will probably find themselves neck and neck to the finish.
It should be close-- it will probably be exciting but unless the Flames can get their heads out of their azzes it will be irrelevent. Division winner or not-- the Flames want something more than a first round playoff exit
Vancouver-- a little bit of a cool-off was expected after their red-hot run so its not a big shock to see them lose to a desparate St Louis team
But Calgary? I have come to have very little confidence in this team. Its weird because last year the knock on them was that after you got past the big guns like Jarome and Phaneuf, it was the role players that were letting them down. And it was largely true-- The Flames often won games when Phaneuf was stellar or even more frequently when Jarome would take the team on his back and will the team to victory
Now we move to this year and it is undoubted that the supporting cast is much stronger particularly up front. Glencross and Bourque have been amazing acquisitions, Boyd has emerged, Cammaleri? wow!! Across the board the Flames supporting cast has been pretty good. The problem? the big guns--
Jarome? yes he has lots of points but lots of that is the better folks around him. I have watched him play and he is very very often ineffective this year. Perhaps he gets two assists in a game but they are the kind where he makes the outlet pass in his own zone and the other two forwards make a creative play at the other end. Or he gets a 5 point night in a blowout. I just haven't seen him elevate his game this year like he has in the past.
Phaneuf? Not a good season for him at all. Last year he was legitimately looked upon a valid candidate as best defenceman in the league- he hadn't attained a level where he should win it but it was legitimate to talk about him in that light.This season he is not even close. He has started to bring his offensive game a bit better but he has troubling laspses defensively. The shorthanded goal the Flames gave up against St Louis was an example. The Blues forward came in one on one with Phaneuf-- He got a shot away (acceptable) but then scored on his own rebound (COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE). There is no way in hell that should happen but I have seen similar lapses on lots of occasions. Phaeuf still has amazing physical skills but unless he starts playing smarter soon, I don't know that he deserves all the ice time he gets, particularly in defensive situations. I like any of regehr, Aucoin or Sarich (yes Sarich!!) ahead of Phaneuf in defensive situations and perhpas Leopold as well (haven't watched him enough)
Kipper-- The guy has just been far too inconsistent this season. He has games where he is incredibly good and others where it is just not there-- given the Flames still glaringly lack a proven backup, they need him to be at least good
I am worried about the Flames this season, really worried. They have the talent this season to make a run-- The addition of Jokkinen and Leopold showed they are serious NOW-- but the play of the Flames over the last 10 has not been at all encouraging. I wanted and expected the Flames to kick it up a notch and have not seen it.
Its a weird team -- If you told someone that a team had beaten Detroit 11 days apart, home and away, one would assume that it was a team performing well-- but thats just not the case
Right now I say screw the division and do whatever needs to be done to enter the playoffs in good form. If that means sitting Kipper for a week-- do it-- If there is something . .. . anything . . . .. that could help them in about 3 weeks when the games will really matter, do it. I don't know what measures should be taken-- all I know is that I don't care about winning the division. I never did really except that I think the Flames were strong enough and had a big enough lead that they should be clearly winning the division right now. But today if the choice is between pushing to win the division and doing things that help in the playoffs, to me the playoffs win hands down. The reality is that the goals are complimentary at the moment-- Working out their problems and playing better now would probably be the best prep for the playoffs.
Oh and Ben-- It appears so far I was half right. I was prefectly accurate in predicting the Canucks little mini-lapse. Where I was wrong was with the Flames. They "should" have closed out the Blues after dominating them for a long period. Then I had them figured to get two points from this short road trip but as it turned out, they played reasonably well in Pittsburgh (that was a FABULOUS game) but zero points for the trip is a just result.
So the Flames have blown their chance. THis was the point where I thought 4 points for the Flames while the Canucks had a mini-slump would pretty much seal the divisional fate. Instead? The Canucks should win some of the next couple of road games and the Flames will probably find themselves neck and neck to the finish.
It should be close-- it will probably be exciting but unless the Flames can get their heads out of their azzes it will be irrelevent. Division winner or not-- the Flames want something more than a first round playoff exit
Chicago ****ing sucks.
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