Cogliano celebrates an Anaheim goal (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Jeff McIntosh)
Ryan Getzlaf, Saku Koivu and Daniel Winnik scored early in the first period to give the Ducks a 3-0 lead. Miikka Kiprusoff was horrible in net and it looked like the Flames would never score a goal, let alone 3 to catch up. But they did, eventually.
With just over 3 minutes to play in the opening period, Curtis Glencross scored his first goal of the season by tipping a Dennis Wideman point shot past Anaheim goalie Jonas Hiller on the powerplay. Alex Tanguay also notched his first of the season with a snipe from the slot less than 30 seconds from the end of the frame. All of a sudden the Ducks lead didn’t look so big.
The Flames started the second period on the powerplay and Glencross eventually tied the game by deflecting Mike Cammalleri’s shot in from the top of the circle. The game remained tied for the rest of the 2nd period, but the Ducks jumped back into the lead in the third.
Daniel Winnik and Ryan Getzlaf both doubled up on goals in the game to give the Ducks a 5-3 lead. Though the Flames pressed late in the game, they were only able to cut the lead in half. Lee Stempniak’s breakaway snapshot beat Jonas Hiller to make it 5-4, and that’s how the game ended.
I said it earlier and I’ll say it again: Kipper is playing brutal. JayBo is too. Iggy can’t seem to remember how to stickhandle, and apart from one assist, Cammalleri has been very silent. Aren’t these guys supposed to be “pros” who show up ready for every season? Aren’t they (and their combined $25+ million contracts) supposed to be the backbone that leads the Flames? If they are, I sure can’t see it.
As great as others on the team (read: Sven Baertschi, Glencross, Tanguay, Wideman) are playing, the Flames top guys need to show up consistently every night. If they don’t, that whole “Every Game Matters” slogan will come back to bite them in the ass, again.
Greg is the founder of Red Mile Blog has been following the Flames through good times and bad since they arrived in Calgary in the early 80s. He has written hundreds of articles on the Flames since 2005 and considers himself an expert on hockey inconsistency and frustration. He shoots right and usually plays defence, but has been known to jump up in the rush. He is a 2-time CAHL men's league champion and knows the sweet taste of beer from a Cup.
