Five in a Row

In case you missed it last night, and since the Junior Gold Medal game was on, I’m betting most did, the Flames won their fifth game in a row with a 3-1 win over the Nashville Predators. The win put the Flames into first place in the Northwest division at the halfway point of the season. Not only was it the fifth consecutive victory, but also the fifth consecutive game the Flames only allowed one goal. Miikka Kiprusoff, having played four of those, is 4-0-0 with a 1.00 GAA and a .964 save percentage. First star of the week anybody?

In last night’s game, the Flames played a solid first two periods, which gave them a 2-0 lead going into the final frame. In the third, a couple of defensive lapses led to a few Predator scoring changes and one goal, but Daymond Langkow was able to score an empty netter in the final minute to put the game away for good. The first two goals were scored by David Moss and Olli Jokinen who both ended month-long scoring droughts. I keep expecting to see Jokinen break out, but it just doesn’t seem to happen. Halfway through the season, he now sits at 8 goals and 20 assists; on pace for his first sub-20 goal season since 2001-2002. For a comparison, and a nod to my colleague, Lombardi is at 7 goals and 19 assists, for $3,500,000 less per season.

Tonight, the Flames take on their divisional rival, the Minnesota Wild. It may be another game not seen by many Flames fans, as it won’t be available on local television. I always find it hard to believe that we still have Flames games that aren’t on television. Most US teams, whom practically nobody watches, have every game on local television. Yet here in a hotbed of hockey there are still games we can’t watch due to restrictive television contracts with TSN and CBC. Of course, as always, tonight’s game will be on the Fan960, so tune into the broadcast and be treated to perhaps the best play-by-play man in hockey, Peter Maher.


- TheRev