For the tenth straight time in the regular season the Flames failed to beat the Anaheim Ducks in the Honda Center. Not sure if it is the mystical aroma or the echo you get when you drop a pin in the stadium, but the Flames have constantly had trouble winning in Disneyland.Tonight the Flames outplayed the Ducks in the 1st and 3rd periods outshooting them 33-13 during those two frames. Despite doing so, the Flames were only able to generate 2 goals and allowed the Ducks to score on their limited chances during the first period. It just happened that the Ducks scored these two goals faster than most people can use the bathroom. Does this sound familiar? For the fourth straight game the Flames allowed two ‘bang-bang’ goals to occur:
Colorado- 2 Goals in 1:06
Chicago- 2 Goals in 36 seconds (Albeit the game was out of reach at that point)
L.A- 2 Goals in 38 seconds
Tonight vs. Anaheim – 2 Goals in 1:08
Is it a lack of focus? A sudden lack of confidence? Do they forget about their assignments because they are worried about getting scored on again? For professional athletes to show such a lack of mental toughness is brutal. This has happened far too often this season to simply consider it a strange occurrence. This problem, along with the “shift after a goal” dilemma needs to be fixed immediately.
Jarome Iginla was again a force, scoring the tying goal with 18 seconds left in the game, while logging a beefy 28 minutes of ice-time. Olli Jokinen played better; that is all. The other part of that top line, Jamie Lundmark, may have paved his way back to Abbotsford tonight for “the bonehead” play of the year when he fired the puck directly into the slot from behind his own net, right onto the tape of Corey Perry, which led directly to the Ducks first goal. This play, coupled with a -2 performance on the night, really nullified any good progress he made in the Kings game.
The Flames head home to face the Hamilton (Phoenix) Coyotes on Wednesday night. The Flames have been horrifyingly average at home and need to exert their dominance inside the Dome. The Coyotes seem like a good place to start doing so.
This has been,
Newman on the Flames
Source of photo: http://www.seattlepi.com/hockey/2041ap_hkn_flames_ducks.html
3 comments:
Why was Glencross in the shootout? Sure he got a lucky break and finished it. And yes he seemed to get a bunch of opportunities through hard work and ... skill. Many observers thought he had a spectacular game. Maybe he did. But why was he in the shootout? Let me rephrase, why was Iginla not in the shootout? He might be the hottest goal scorer in the league right now. Sure he isn't great in a penalty shot type situation, but him or Glencross? I know who I would have taken.
I agree. And what was jokinen thinking on his attempt? He fired a sweeping wrist shot from 2 feet in front of giguere. It looked awkward to say the least. I think Sutter probably just gave Glencross the reward because of his good game, but he should have had iggy in there somewhere.
No, why was Jokinen in the shootout??? Glencross I understand.
I said last night, right after the game, why wasn't Iggy the #1 choice in the shootout? The guy can't NOT score right now, he's on FIRE. He seemed like an automatic pick, as is Temu for the Ducks.
Silly, silly move by Sutter.
Jokinen does not deserve to be in a shootout, let alone on the bench at this point in time. The guy is a ticking time bomb.
Post a Comment