10 Observations From Flames Versus Blue Jackets

Fortunate enough to land lower bowl seats in the Saddledome for last night’s tilt between the Flames and Blue Jackets, I thought I’d reflect back on the game with ten observations – some obvious and some maybe not so obvious.

1. Jay Bouwmeester: Call him “Jay”, “J-Bo”, “Boa” or whatever nickname you would like to bestow upon him, but damn – this guy can play. By no means an earth-shattering, breaking news type of observation, but watching him this up close and personal gives you an even deeper appreciation for the way he plays the game. A goal and an assist on the stat sheet tell only a minor portion of the blueliner’s contributions. The super, silky smooth skating defenseman possesses an elite offensive and defensive awareness and a quantum level overall hockey IQ. From his enthusiastic skating to those loose pucks in the corner, to his constant head’s up ice surveillance with and without the puck, this guy is a rare breed indeed.

Kipper and Boa (Photo by Author)

2. Kipper is “on”. The epitome of a slow starter the last number of years, Kiprusoff’s play at this stage of the season bodes well for his production throughout the remainder of the year. While his GAA and save percentage are no where near the top, it’s likely more of a product of the Flames still learning Brent Sutter’s newly implemented system. He has still let in the occasional soft goal (although not on this night), but when the game has been on the line and when the Flames have needed him most, he has been clutch. He was outstanding in the third period. The 5 on 3 penalty kill at the end of the second and beginning of the third period especially allowed him to shine.

Iginla Oct 20 2009

3. Iginla is heating up. A beauty of a top corner blast and two helpers to go with, Iginla showed glimpses of his vintage self with a strong performance at both ends of the rink.

4. Freddie Sjostrom had a heck of a night. The speedster set up Iginla with a nifty pass and then used his breakaway speed to score a highlight reel goal in the third. It first appeared he had taken himself out of scoring position, when he spins around and fires an accurate blast past a stunned Steve Mason. After the ensuing faceoff, Sjostrom went back to his gritty ways, courageously fighting for a puck along the boards deep in his own zone. A gem of a free agent signing by GM Darryl Sutter.

5. Phaneuf scores on a creative “coast-to-coast” goal. Only moments before I was expressing to my brother-in-law my frustration with Dion’s erratic play on the night. He then proceeded to take the puck in his own end and went through the Blue Jackets team and finished off the play with a seeing-eye shot that Mason no doubt would like to have back. His fifth goal of the season though, was yet another highlight reel play on the night.

6. Giordano is looking to cement my prediction that he will be the Flames breakthrough player of the year. “Gio” had an assist in the game, but it was his solid puck-moving skills, agility and skating that impressed even more so. He also showed some toughness in wasting no time and scrapping with Derek Dorsett at the end of the game when the Blue Jacket forward tried to cause some disturbances in the Flames crease area. Giordano landed some great right hands before the two got entangled and tumbled to the ice.

7. Anton Stralman: The Blue Jackets got a gift of a blueliner from the Flames for a third round pick. To give Sutter credit, his hands were likely tied with the glut of NHL quality defensemen he already had. Rather than loose either via waivers, he likely got what he could at the time. Stralman, though, looks very smooth on the ice and might finally yet live up to his potential in Columbus.

8. Aaron Johnson: With 7 NHL quality defenseman on the roster, and the above mentioned Stralman already having to be traded, adding Johnson recently via trade was a bit of a surprise. Kyle Greentree, going the other way to Chicago, though was given every opportunity to make the roster in training camp, but failed to impress. He was likely at a crossroads with the Flames and nice to see Sutter give him the opportunity elsewhere. Johnson suited up for the Flames for the first time and was very solid. I liked his positioning, skating and willingness to mix it up physically. Although not his forte, he is capable of chipping in offensively. He will press Adam Pardy for playing time as the sixth defenseman.

9. The above mentioned 5 on 3 penalty kill at the end of the second and beginning of the third period was the turning point in the game. Bouwmeester was everywhere and Kipper was stellar for those seemingly endless 120 seconds. Had Columbus tied up the game then, the third period might have played out quite differently. As it was, the Flames took over the game in the third period and never really looked back.

10. First off, I have the utmost respect for officials. If you’ve never read Between The Lines, a book about standout linesman Ray “Scampy” Scampinello who had four decades of NHL experience, it’s worth your time to gain some insight from an official’s perspective. On this night, however, the officials were off their game. In the end, it didn’t matter in the outcome, but it nearly could have. With the Flames down by a man in the second period, Daymond Langkow got called for hooking. There was no such infraction that I could see. Rene Bourque was the closest Flame to the play at the time and he failed to commit an offense from my vantage point. The Blue Jackets proceeded to score two goals and tie the game at 3-3. Against Columbus, there was a time when they clearly kept the puck in at the blueline, only to be called for offsides. On another occasion, Dustin Boyd hustled and quite handily beat out an icing call, only for the Flames to be called for icing. Hopefully, as I said, this was just an off night for the guys in black and white stripes.

Flames Ice Crew (Photo by Author)

Bonus Observation: This just in – Flames Ice Crew girls are hot!

If you haven’t seen the highlights from this game, do yourself a favor and check out this video. Of course, it’s also worth a second look with all the highlight reel plays in this contest.

Posted by Christopher Ralph on Oct 22 2009. Filed under Calgary Flames, Northwest, Western Conference. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.