Flames

A little run down on the Calgary Flames and NHL today: Fresh off the IR, backup goalie Henrik Karlsson was sent back down to the Abbotsford Heat for some conditioning.  Leland Irving is returning to the lineup as the backup for Miikka Kiprusoff.  With Karlsson in Abbotsford, is there a trade in his future?  Could the Flames be looking to build with a youthful goaltender?  Karlsson isn’t young, but he’s not exactly the aging goalie that Kiprusoff is.  Karlsson is 28, he’s young enough to be worth while to a team needing a solid backup goalie.  Maybe the Flames can [...]

Yesterday was Part One of this three part series in which I discussed Calgary Flames players who were of black and mulatto culture.  Today’s post will be on those who are a minority in hockey, but not necessarily outside of the sport.  When looking at the the numbers from last year, out of the 978 players in the NHL, the vast majority of them were Canadians or Americans.  However, these are not the only ones that helped shape the face of the sport.  With representation from over 18 different countries the NHL is far from strictly a Canadian-American sport.  The Calgary Flames [...]

As I sit catching up with the 24/7 coverage before the Calgary Flames game against the Vancouver Canucks, I find myself thanking the hockey gods of the Flames’ fortune.  Watching the Philadelphia Flyers struggle with the loss of Chris Pronger and then Claude Giroux to concussions.  While Giroux has returned to play, Pronger was shut down for the rest of the season.  While the Flyers are not the only team to be affected by such a misfortune, they have managed to take center stage right now thanks to the HBO special. The Flames have managed to avoid such a problem [...]

It seems for now the Flames faithful are content with the course the Flames are on.  With three wins in the past three games, the grumbles of dissatisfaction seem to have mellowed out and the fans are focusing on the high points of the Flames.  I am not as happy but really, there is no pleasing me when it comes to Flames hockey.  I demand excellence from the Flames. With that being said, the Flames are now undefeated this season against the Oilers AND the Avalanche, which is impressive, even as both teams flounder more with each passing week.  The [...]

Hello everyone! So sorry for the delay, there was some technical issues with the site, two nights ago we had the chat so I didn’t get a chance to do a preview or review, and then finals have taken over my life so it’s all been a blur of German film and literature.  But enough about that! Wow what a week for the NHL, the Board of Governors going and voting up a new division of the league.   Now the Flames will be in a Conference with Anaheim, Colorado, Edmonton, LA, Phoenix, San Jose, and Vancouver.  Not exactly the happiest [...]

In a few hours the Flames will take on the Minnesota Wild at the Xcel Energy Center, and well I don’t have the brightest out look.  Three losses in a row does not bode well for the Flames.  Morale is low, players are not stepping it up, and the Wild are second in the Western Conference.  While that doesn’t mean much right now, so much can change in the next few weeks, their standings certainly reflect the Wild’s current level of play, which, sadly, is at a much higher caliber than the Flames have managed the past two seasons.  I’m [...]

  To say that the win last night was a much needed kick in the butt for the Flames would be an understatement.  While their play was not the cleanest, 4 of the 6 penalties called on the Flames last night was due to sloppy play, it’s hard to not be excited over the 5-2 victory over a team who blew them out a week earlier 4-1. The Flames finished up a very short 2 game stretch at home split with a win and a loss.  While the 2 points lost to the Ottawa Senators was not ideal, they did [...]

So my original post was going to be on how the Flames have so much money tied up in the press box with healthy scratches, but it took me too long to get my butt writing and well now their biggest cap drain in the press box is on the ice tonight, damn you Cory Sarich, going and playing the game tonight! Instead, I sit here and struggle to come up with a topic for this post.  I didn’t write a game preview because what am I going to say? Flames can’t capitalize on the power play and the Blackhawks [...]