Kiprusoff’s Skate beats Sharks

What a great game. Right from the drop of the puck this game had the feel and speed of a playoff game! Both teams wanted this one bad. They are both in a fight for first place in the conference, San Jose still has a few games in hand so they will retain it for a little while longer.  By the end of the first period it was pretty obvious that this game was going to be decided by one goal, as neither of the goalies were giving anything up easy. I thought Douglas Murray was setting the tone for the game a little bit too much in the first, but the Flames didn’t seem to let it get to them too. By the way Douglas Murray must way half a ton, an absolute monstor, he definitely ate his wheaties as a kid…do they have wheaties in Sweden?

The Sharks came out in the second period very well scoring 4 minutes in. It is kind of funny, the one goal Kiprusoff let in this game, I think he could have had. Flames countered about 6 miuntes later on an absolute snipe by Jokinen, right over the shoulder of Nabokov. The game was now tied 1-1, and the moto for the game now was the same moto every kid has when they have been called in for dinner but they aren’t quite done playing street hockey: next goal wins! Then, with three minutes left in the period, Kiprusoff made a God-Like save. There is no other way to put it. Im not even going to try and describe how ridiculous it was, so click herebecause seeing is believing! That is the goalies equivalent of the Ovechkin goal, without the theatrical celebration afterwards.

Early in the third period the Flames caught the break they needed as Langkow was parked right in the slot, unmarked, Rene Borque found him and he made no mistake, a rare, but costly defensive error by the Sharks. After that the Sharks pressed very hard for an equalizer, Thornton was robbed by the lightning speed of Kippers left pad. And in the end the Flames narrowly but deservedly won 2-1.  A very big win for the Flames, on a very productive road trip.

I was extremely pleased with the way the Flames played in this one, everyone was finishing their checks and trying to make plays. There were some players that stood out more than others, Kiprusoff, Langkow, Jokinen but no one had a bad game. This is one of those games that gets you excited for playoffs, and they aren’t for months! The only thing that frustrates me is this team always seems to get up and play against the hard teams, but they like to make it hard for themselves against the easy teams. My prediction: Flames will have a very good end to the calendar year. And will lose to the laughable Toronto Maple Leafs on Jan.2nd, you heard it here, now watch it happen. Speaking of the Maple Leafs is anyone still going to the games? Players and coaches included?

Stop by tomorrow for my roast on the CBC.