SB Nation - Dion Phaneuf

Predators Game Day Preview: Nashville @ Calgary

Dirk Hoag — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 15:58:38 -0000

The march through Western Canada continues today in Calgary, where the Nashville Predators put their recent 5-0-1 record on the line against the Northwest Division-leading Flames in an afternoon game (3:00 Central start).

Interestingly, the Preds are 11-3-2 in their last 16 afternoon games, so might the early puck drop help them out? Let's take a look at the matchup...

Meet the Enemy

Calgary's a very strong team, bolstered by a resurgent season by Miikka Kiprusoff and point-per-game performances from Jarome Iginla and Rene Bourque. On the back end, they've got what is probably the best group of defensemen in the NHL, led by Jay Bouwmeester, Dion Phaneuf, and Robyn Regehr.

The Flames have won 5 straight against Nashville, including the only game between the two this season, a nasty 5-0 contest on November 30.

Matchsticks & Gasoline is SB Nation's Calgary Flames blog, and is one of the more stat-savvy sites out there. Head on over and lose an hour or two. According to the gang there, the Calgary lines are as follows:

Nystrom-Jokinen-Iginla
Dawes-Langkow-Bourque
Glencross-Conroy-Moss
Sjostrom-Boyd-Prust

Phaneuf-Regehr
Bouwmeester-Giordano
Pardy-Johnson

Olli Jokinen hasn't exactly lit things up since coming to Calgary as the proposed solution for a hole up the middle.

Meet the Good Guys

If anybody's hotter than Flames these days, it's got to be the Nashville Predators. At 5-0-1 in their last 6, and 19-5-2 in their last 26, the Preds currently sit in the middle of a logjam atop the Western Conference, where just 3 points separates the top 7 teams. While there's good reason to believe that the current 5+ goals per game pace isn't sustainable, Nashville is getting contributions from up and down the roster, and should be able to keep scoring enough to remain competitive.

The lines carrying over from the Edmonton game are as follows:

Forwards

Sullivan - Arnott - Erat

Ward - Legwand - Smithson

Hornqvist - Goc - Dumont

Jones - Spaling - Belak

Defense

Suter - Weber

Hamhuis - Klein

Bouillon - Franson

Even Strength Play

	5-on-5 Team Data from Behind the Net
Team	GP	GF	GA	GF/60	Shots For/60	Sht %	GA/60	Shots Ag/60	Save %	+/- per 60
Nashville	35	68	61	2.4	29.6	8.3	2.2	28.9	.924	+0.3
Calgary	34	67	53	2.5	26.3	9.7	2.0	28.7	.930	+0.5

So... they score about as much as the Preds but give up about 15% fewer goals. That's a good combination for the Flames. Nashville's recent numbers, however, are well above these season-long totals, and they've achieved most of their success lately in 5-on-5 play.

Advantage: none

Calgary PP vs. Nashville PK

Despite the top-drawer talent that fills out the power play, Calgary sits in the middle of the pack with an 18.4% PP, good for 19th in the league. Another surprise is that the Flames don't get very many power play opportunities, ranking 26th in that regard. In years past, Jarome Iginla has been among the league leaders in drawing calls, but this season has been another matter entirely.

This is all good news for a Predators penalty killing group which ranks a dismal 29th. This is an area of the team that has to get fixed, sooner rather than later.

Advantage: none

Nashville PP vs. Calgary PK

The other side of the special teams battle doesn't look much better for Nashville, which boasts the #26 power play at 16.7%. Patric Hornqvist's 2nd goal Thursday night in Edmonton ended a recent slide by that group, which struggled to produce for any length of time.

Calgary boasts a middling penalty kill.

Advantage: Calgary

Goaltending

After a few years of slow but steady decline, Miikka Kiprusoff has been outstanding for the Flames this season:

Miikka Kiprusoff

#34 / Goalie / Calgary Flames

Height: 6-1

Weight: 184

Born: Oct 26, 1976

	GP	MIN	W	L	EGA	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
2009 - Miikka Kiprusoff	30	1792	18	8		64	2.14	913	849	.930	3

We'll have to wait for word as to who gets the start for Nashville. One of the players mentioned that Pekka Rinne had a bit of the flu on Thursday, and given Dan Ellis' solid work in relief, it's conceivable he could get the nod today. Check back later once an announcement is made:

	GP	MIN	W	L	EGA	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
2009 - Pekka Rinne	25	1352	14	6		62	2.75	653	591	.905	2

	GP	MIN	W	L	EGA	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
2009 - Dan Ellis	15	771	7	5		34	2.65	381	347	.911	0

Advantage: Calgary

Summary

The Preds erased the memory of one bad loss in Edmonton a couple days ago, can they repeat the feat again this afternoon? The Flames make for a much tougher opponent than the Oilers, and it's imperative that the Predators forwards put as much as pressure on deep in the zone as they can; Calgary's elite defensemen are going to be tough to rattle.

This may be a game in which the Nashville defense are relied upon to contribute a goal or two, and I'm sure Shea Weber wouldn't mind showing up Dion Phaneuf (previously touted as the top young defenseman in the game) before his home crowd.

ALSO: check out Point 2 Point for another look at today's game.

For discounted tickets to any Nashville Predators home game, you can follow this link and use the special offer code "PREDS".

Calgary Flames Scoring Chances - Rates and States

Kent Wilson — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 17:39:56 -0000

More photos » by Jeff McIntosh - AP

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Now that we're a third of the way through the season and the SC numbers are starting to pile up, we can start applying some minor tweaks to make them more meaningful. Primary among which is to look at rates or the efficiency with which players are generating (or preventing) scoring chances while they're on the ice. We know, for instance, that Curtis Glencross leads the team in SC differential so far, but that doesn't take into account his ice time. Like even strength points per 60 (ESP/60), looking at each players rates will gives a better idea what's happening while he's on the ice. First, let's look at each guys totals, differentials, ice-time and corresponoding /60 rates.

The big table:

Here we have: chances for (EV+), chances against (EV -), gross differential (EV diff), chance for/against ratio (EV Ratio), even strength ice-time (EV Ice) and the resultant per 60 rates. The list is sorted by chance differential/60 minutes of ice (final column).

Observations

- Curtis Glencross is a ridiculously good by this measure. No one even touches his +6.68/60 rate on the club. He leads the team at both preventing and generating scoring chances so far.

- Jokinen rate of -4.7 chances/60 is positively ghastly. Even McGrattan, Sjostorm and Prust aren't liabilities to the same extent.

- Keep in mind circumstances when evaluating these stats. Pardy and Kronwall are highly sheltered, for instance. Glencross is kicking butt, but he also sees a lot of third liners and more offensive zone draws than, say, Bourque or Langkow.

- Boyd's corsi number isn't impressive this year, but he seems to be outperforming it thus far. Although he tends to spend more time in the defensive zone, he manages to be pretty efficient in terms of generating scoring chances. Although, one wonders how much that first 10 games stretch where he was playing with Glencross and Conroy is skewing things.

Chances for - Comparing the Forwards

I thought it might be interesting to look at scoring chance rate stat that best matches each position's (theoretical) responsibility. For example, forwards are primarily concerned with generating scoring chances. On the other hand, defenders are primarily concerned with preventing them. As such, let's see who has the best rates at either end of the spectrum. First, the forwards:

Keep in mind, this is the rate at which each player generates chances while he's on the ice at ES (X/60 minutes). Items of interest:

- Bourque places third behind leaders Conroy and Glencross, despite much tougher circumstances. Effing stud.

- Jarome Iginla is more than 1 chance/60 better than Jokinen despite spending most of his time with the big fin this year. One wonders what the difference would be if the two were separated. On that note, Jokinen only hovers above grinders and goons in terms of SC efficiency. And while he sees much tougher opponents, he also plays with guys like Iginla, Dawes etc.

- Moss is underperforming by this measure relative to expectations I'd say. Part of that was starting the year on the wing with Jarome and Jokinen and part of that was his post-injury malaise. Hopefully he can get back on the horse.

- Prust's rate is surprisingly high, but sample size is an issue. He's only played 143 ES minutes this year.

Chances Against - Comparing the Defensemen

This is something of an extension of my summer project to determine true defensive effects of individual blueliners. During the off-season, I calculated "shots at the net / 60" with each Flame defender on the ice - the theory being that good defenders would allow less shots at their net than poor ones. In that study, I found that Dion Phaneuf was the worst Flames defender last season with a 51.2 shots/60 rate being well above every other rear guard else on the team.

This follows along the same lines, except for scoring chances (those being the more dangerous shots):

Keep in mind, this is scoring chances against per 60 minutes of even strength ice. Items of interest:

- Yup, Cory Sarich stunk when he was in the line-up. Sometimes numbers and subjective evaluations do line-up perfectly. It remains to be determined whether his struggles were a result of playing through injury or not.

- Phanuef and Regehr have been much higher event than Giordano and Bouwmeester thus far. To the tune of almost 3 chances/60. That's no doubt partially from spending more time behind Iginla and Jokinen against other teams top players (although the difference between quality of competition and zone starts between the two pairings is fairly marginal). Can we conclude that the difference is a mixture of circumstances and Bouwmeester (and Gio!) being just that good?

- Ignore Kronwall's number. He faces nobodies and he's played less 100 ES minutes this season.

That's it for now. This stuff will be interesting to pursue as the season matures no doubt.

Who Should Be Canada's Olympic Defenders?

Chemmy — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 19:29:45 -0000

The question is simple; who are your seven guys to play defense for Team Canada at the Olympics? The defenders invited to the Canada camp are:

Francois Beauchemin, Jay Bouwmeester, Dan Boyle, Brent Burns, Drew Doughty, Mike Green, Dan Hamhuis, Duncan Keith, Scott Niedermayer, Dion Phaneuf, Chris Pronger, Robyn Regehr, Stephane Robidas, Brent Seabrook, Marc Staal, and Shea Weber. Click a player's name for stats.

I discussed my picks with Godd Till of Zambonic Youth and PPP, check out our picks after the jump.

Chris Pronger

#20 / Defenseman / Philadelphia Flyers

Height: 6-6

Weight: 214

Born: Oct 10, 1974

	G	A	P	+/-	PIM
2009 - Chris Pronger	4	14	18	9	41

Pronger can score points, shut down talent even at age 35 and has a documented mean streak. Pronger's the grit and the jam that dominant teams need to make playing against them no fun at all.

Shea Weber

#6 / Defenseman / Nashville Predators

Height: 6-4

Weight: 230

Born: Aug 14, 1985

	G	A	P	+/-	PIM
2009 - Shea Weber	6	9	15	-4	4

Nashville's Shea Weber is an excellent defender in his own end who can also put up points. He hits as hard as your January credit card bill and isn't afraid to drop the gloves.

Duncan Keith

#2 / Defenseman / Chicago Blackhawks

Height: 6-1

Weight: 196

Born: Jul 16, 1983

	G	A	P	+/-	PIM
2009 - Duncan Keith	5	18	23	6	16

Fresh off of inking a lifetime deal that was well earned Duncan Keith is having a fantastic season. Another guy who can put up points and plays well in his own end Duncan Keith is an obvious lock for this team along with...

Brent Seabrook

#7 / Defenseman / Chicago Blackhawks

Height: 6-3

Weight: 218

Born: Apr 20, 1985

	G	A	P	+/-	PIM
2009 - Brent Seabrook	3	10	13	8	15

... his defensive partner Brent Seabrook. In addition to being an excellent player on his own, having Keith's defensive partner will give Canada an elite d-pairing that are familiar with each other. This is a huge advantage in a tournament where players are hastily thrown together.

Robyn Regehr

#28 / Defenseman / Calgary Flames

Height: 6-3

Weight: 225

Born: Apr 19, 1980

	G	A	P	+/-	PIM
2009 - Robyn Regehr	0	10	10	5	23

The definition of defensive defenseman, Regehr hits good hockey players hard and often. He's on this team to hit Ovechkin, Kessel and Parise.

Dan Boyle

#22 / Defenseman / San Jose Sharks

Height: 5-11

Weight: 190

Born: Jul 12, 1976

	G	A	P	+/-	PIM
2009 - Dan Boyle	6	19	25	4	20

Dan Boyle's our pick for puck mover / PP specialist on the back end. If you'd prefer Bouwmeester or Mike Green go ahead, I'm not too concerned with any of the three.

Drew Doughty

#8 / Defenseman / Los Angeles Kings

Height: 6-0

Weight: 211

Born: Dec 08, 1989

	G	A	P	+/-	PIM
2009 - Drew Doughty	7	15	22	9	18

Is Drew Doughty the seventh best Canadian defender in the league? Honestly he might be, but what's important here is the future. Doughty will be the seventh guy and only see action if guys get hurt. Obviously you could do a lot worse than Doughty as an injury fill in which speaks to Canada's enormous depth at defense.

I picked Doughty looking forward to 2014. Doughty will be 25 and about to hit his prime. He got an invite to Olympic camp this year based on his ability as a player and I think bringing him along to Vancouver would be a big step for a young kid in the NHL. Let him have a taste of the team he's going to need to be a big part of in four years.

Those are our picks, let us know yours in the comments.

Game 25 Preview: Jackets Return Home to Take on the Flames

Mike MacLean — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 16:49:07 -0000

More photos » by Tony Gutierrez - AP

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Finally, back home. The Jackets return to Nationwide Arena to face the Flames tonight, after concluding a disastrous five-game road trip. The Jackets won the first game, but then promptly lost four in a row. The team played horrible defensively, and the goaltenders were anything but sharp. Mason however did look good in the last game against Ottawa, making big saves when needed, however he lost focus on the game winning goal for Ottawa, a wraparound by Nick Foligno late in the third. Mase was again haunted by a play that developed from behind the net.

The Flames are a fairly high scoring team, and they play physical. They play a lot like Columbus does when the Jackets are "on", so this on paper is a pretty fair matchup. What remains to be seen is whether or not the Jackets can get their act together in the defensive zone. Something is broken, the effort level isn't there and the goalies haven't been good. These factors need to be remedied immediatly, as the Jackets are losing ground fast. The Preds and Blackhawks are the hottest team in the NHL right now, and the Jackets need to keep pace.

There have been some shakeups to the forward lines. Raffi Torres should be lining up with Vermette and Nash on the first line, and Umby is moving to the second line right-wing position with Jake moving to the third line. Look for recently called-up Alex Picard to see some action on the fourth line. I love his game- tons of jam and he still actually has offensive talent, although he has yet to show it at the NHL level. I fully expect him to take advantage of this chance and have a strong game.

Fearless Prediction: Picard scores his first NHL goal!

Game Time: 7:00pm ET

Opponent's Blog: Matchsticks and Gasoline

Game Page: Flames vs Blue Jackets Coverage

TSN Preview: Flames vs Blue Jackets Preview

TV: FSN Ohio

Radio: WBNS-AM (1460); WWCD-FM (101.1)

More after the jump...

From the Columbus Dispatch:

The Blue Jackets aim to snap a season-high, four-game losing streak. Since Oct. 7, 2005, the Blue Jackets are 7-1-0 against the Flames in Nationwide Arena, including a 2-1 win Oct. 13.

Jackets Links:

Columbus Blue Jackets / Columbus Blue Jackets Schedule

Columbus Blue Jackets Roster / Columbus Blue Jackets Stats

Here are the lineups for tonight's tilt:

Columbus Blue Jackets

Raffi Torres	Antoine Vermette	Rick Nash
Kristian Huselius	Derick Brassard	R.J. Umberger
Jason Chimera	Samuel Pahlsson	Jakub Voracek
Alexandre Picard	Derek MacKenzie	Jared Boll

Fedor Tyutin	Anton Stralman
Rostislav Klesla	Jan Hejda
Marc Methot	Mike Commodore

Steve Mason

Mathieu Garon

EXTRA: Kris Russell, Michael Blunden

INJURED: Fredrik Modin, Andrew Murray, Derek Dorsett

Calgary Flames

Jamie Lundmark	Olli Jokinen	Jarome Iginla
Nigel Dawes	Daymond Langkow	David Moss
Curtis Glencross	Craig Conroy	Dustin Boyd
Fredrik Sjostrom	Eric Nystrom	Brandon Prust

Jay Bouwmeester	Mark Giordano
Dion Phaneuf	Robyn Regehr
Adam Pardy	Aaron Johnson

Curtis McElhinney

Miikka Kiprusoff

It is Time - Suspend the Uber Star

BReynolds — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 18:53:44 -0000

More photos » by Nick Wass - AP

23 days ago: Buffalo Sabres right wing Patrick Kaleta (36) holds his nose on the bench after he was hit by Washington Capitals' Alex Ovechkin (not shown) during the third period of an NHL hockey game, Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2009, in Washington. Ovechkin was charged with boarding and game misconduct. The Capitals won 2-0. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

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Alexander Ovechkin. The sheer mention of his name invokes awe, disdain, and sparks debate. I like Ovechkin. I own about a dozen hockey jerseys, the only one that has nothing to do with Minnesota is a #8 Washington Caps jersey. I like his game, I like his personality, and I like waht he does for the game.

What I don't like is his immunity to the rules.

Make the jump, and let's discuss another non-Wild related issue, shall we?

Of course, this all stems from last night's ejection for Ovechkin after driving Patrick Kaleta into the boards from behind. Ovechkin was issued a major penalty, a misconduct penalty, and a game misconduct. Before we go to the video, let's discuss a bit. Ovechkin is not liked in several NHL cities. Pittsburgh and Philly topping that list. I have always taken their hated with a grain of salt, as Ovechkin plays for a rival team, and is one of the best players in the game. I will sell any one part of my body to have him in Iron Range Red.

But, the video evidence is there that Ovechkin is getting away with things that others are not.

Here is the hit from last night:

Alright? So, now we have seen that. Anyone ever seen anything comparable? I have. Several times. Almost everyone of them resulted in a suspension, too. This won't. I guarantee it. Why not you may ask? Well, let's just ask Down Goes Brown.

If you follow the flow chart, you land at a choice, "Has he ever been suspended before?" which leads to the box, "Yes he does it all the time, but since we never suspended him before, we just keep saying he has no prior record and hope no one notices."

And that's where we are at.

There is a knee-to-knee on Sergei Gonchar last season:

There is the cehcking from behind on Briere, from 2006:

There is evidence this season as well (This one looks awfully familiar.):

There is the slew foot on Rich Peverley earlier this season (for which he was fined the equivalent of about three seconds of pay):

I hate jumping on the suspend Ovechkin bandwagon. I really do. I like the Caps. I like Ovechkin. I like Caps fans, especially our friends over at Japer's Rink. All that said, it's time. It's time for an uber super star to be held to the same rules that Sean Avery, George Laraque, and Derek Boogaard are held to. It is time for players like Mike Richards Dion Phaneuf to be held to the same standard as Rob Scuderi and Steve Ott are held to.

Ovechkin is a marketing monster. He was recently signed by one of the biggest marketing groups in the world, the main reason being that he is marketable. He scores goals, he has a funny personality and goofy face. People who don't like hockey know who he is, and that makes him marketable. If the NHL suspends him, it hurts his marketability, and hurts their image.

Should that matter? Absolutely not. But we live in the real world, and it does matter. No one will ever admit it, but it does matter, and it does weigh in on whether or not a player like Ovechkin is suspended. If the NHL suspends Ovechkin, they are publicly admitting that their greatest player broke the rules to the point that he had to be removed from the game. They aren't going to do that. Not when there is not a huge line of people lined up waiting to give them money.

It's time. It's time for the NHL to grow up and suspend Ovechkin. He is not above the game, and he is certainly not above the law. If he is allowed to continue playing (and hitting) unabated, someone will be seriously hurt, despite intent.

Again, anyone who is coming into this debate today, please, I am begging you, do not call me an Ovechkin hater. I like the guy. I really do. He is one of my favorite players, and the Caps are one of my favorite teams. However, the hits are bad. They really are. And if you can look at them objectively, you would agree. I have defending Ovechkin several times, but the rap sheet is too long to ignore.

The NHL needs to change its image. This is the chance.

-Buddha.

November 24 News and Notes

Robert Cleave — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 05:50:00 -0000

More photos » by Francis Specker - AP

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Another week is in the can, as the Flames and the NHL pass the quarter pole. On this installment of M and G's look around the league, the Habs and Wild swap disappointments, a Pred makes a case for Olympic duty, and Dion Phaneuf's little brother runs a Canadian hockey heroine.

Flames:

Another frustrating night in Anaheim for Calgary, as a 43 shot effort only netted the Flames two goals and one point. Three points from the two games in California is still a perfectly fine ratio. The team has a six game tour coming up starting Friday in Detroit, and if they end up with nine points, I'd be fine with that.

One thing that seems heartening is the fact that Olli Jokinen has begun to get more involved in the offence. Seven SOG and 15 attempts in the last two games are more in line with what he should be providing. I suspect we'll argue all year about what he should or shouldn't be doing out there, but I'm fairly sure that everyone would agree that his game's strength is shooting the puck. He was better last night, and at some point with efforts of that ilk, he'll start to score. Unless Jarome Iginla keeps shooting 30-odd percent as he has this month, they'll need Joker's offence soon enough.

Kipper 5 v 5: This week - Chicago 2-11, L.A. 2-20, Anaheim 2-18, overall 30-440, .932 SV%. He should have sued for non-support after the Chicago game, although most of the dumbfuckery happened when the Flames were down a man. Those numbers are still solid, and I have absolutely no problem saying it's all to his credit. As I've mentioned before, he had an .899 5 v 5 SV% last year. I'm not sure any worthwhile evidence exists that the Flames are suddenly an airtight defensive crew, so if Kipper has moved up that much, I don't really see many external explanations. He's the MVP of the team through the first quarter.

Elsewhere:

Tomorrow's opponent has fallen on some harder times, taking a 4-0 loss in Edmonton Monday night. The Yotes are racked with injuries to the blue, having lost Jovanovski, Michalek and Sauer for extended periods. They've still had a good start to the year, though, and getting an NHL coach has aided matters greatly. Dave Tippett knows what he's doing, certainly in comparison to his predecessor.

Out on the coast, the Canucks lost a tough one to the Hawks Sunday, but they did welcome Daniel Sedin back to the line-up. Meanwhile, Pavol Demitra has been doing his Michael Phelps imitation in an effort to rejoin the Canucks line-up. Swimming, that is, although I suppose Phelps' other activities could be easily emulated in Vancouver if one was so inclined.

The Canucks themselves are dog-paddling along at a game over .500, and the lack of scoring depth is one reason why that team has seemed lackluster thus far. That killer Olympic road trip is looming, and if they aren't well clear of the Flames by late January, Calgary might have an edge.

The Wild and Canadiens traded players from the 2005 draft this week, with Guillaume Latendresse leaving Montreal for the Twin Cities, in exchange for former 4th overall pick Benoit Pouliot. Sean Gordon of the Globe and Mail has an interesting take on the deal, while Michael Russo evaluates the deal in a more conventional manner. Change of scenery, I guess, but Latendresse has been a useful player. Pouliot has been a complete bust to this point. FYI, the Flames picked Matt Pelech that year. Moving right along...

The Hawks are flying, as we know around these parts all too well. They'll get Hossa back this week, to boot. Bastards. Next year holds some cap problems for the Second City outfit, as Bob McKenzie notes this week. The first time I really remember the whole tagging room issue was when Anaheim traded Andy McDonald to St. Louis to accommodate the return of Scott Niedermayer, but what the Hawks are facing is quite a conundrum. Having too many good young players certainly beats the alternative, though.

Nashville has pulled themselves out of the ditch, with a 9-2 streak getting them in a playoff spot. Shea Weber has been very good for a few years running, and his play has him on the cusp of a potential Olympic berth. His Predators dispatched the Red Wings last night, and Bill at A2Y has had enough of Todd Bertuzzi. Welcome to our world, Chief. Iwocpo suggests that Bert's hit on Moore was the act that rendered Sparklepants a shell of the player that terrorized opponents before, but I always wonder if he was headed downhill at just that moment anyway. He only had 17 goals in 69 games, and his shooting percentage went from around 18% to 11% that year. Throw in a bad back, and that was it for Bert as an elite player.

The Wings lost another cog when Niklas Kronwall got the bad end of a knee-on-knee encounter with Le GG. It was a dreadful hit, with even the perpetrator admitting he should get a vacation.

A knee-on-knee play of sorts also has ex-Flame Shean Donovan on the shelf for a couple of months, courtesy of Matt Cooke. No suspension for the Pens' agitator, although one for general crimes against humanity wouldn't be out of line, would it?

The Leafs lost on 4-3 to the Islanders on Monday, despite out-shooting New York 61-21. Dwayne Roloson looks pretty good, doesn't he? Dominik at Lighthouse Hockey has the right idea with that story title, IMO. That said, at least one person appears to have a bit of mercy for the Buds.

Speaking of Islander items, we have a Rick DiPietro sighting. There's been talk about Marty Biron to Buffalo, but I wonder if Columbus is worried about Steve Mason's terrible start this year to the point that they might make a move. Mathieu Garon gave up a five-spot to the Habs tonight, so it's not as if he's bullet-proof either.

The Olympic selection is nearing, and in his latest effort, Elliotte Friedman of the CBC discusses Steven Stamkos' potential for a nod. I do have a quibble with this bit, however:

Also, inexperience cost Canada dearly in 2006.

That's just not so. Of the main squad named to the Turin team, only two players, Bertuzzi and Turco, were absent from the 2004 World Cup side. That team had plenty of issues, but since the absence of Sidney Crosby was the main point of contention going in, that take from Elliotte doesn't seem to match my memory of things. Saying a team with Sakic, Iginla, Smyth, Brodeur and Pronger couldn't handle the jitters, well, nope, I'm not buying it. They looked more like a team that struggled to keep up on the big ice, and someone from these parts said as much at the time.

Ray Ferraro addresses one of my bugbears in his TSN blog this week. He discusses the actions that Nigel Dawes took in the wake of the hit that sent Rene Bourque to IR. The idea that a clean hit demands retribution is stupid, and yet it's now become an automatic response. Why? I'm not a fan of hits that target the head, but there are normal hits that should be part of the game, and Hjalmarsson's play was well within that spectrum.

Gabe Desjardins has a look at how overtime, and the way the league has structured the OT/SO points, can skew results in the standings. It doesn't favour the good teams, to his way of thinking, and mine. I'd be fine if the league went back to tie games, but that's not on the horizon.

That's all for this week. Keep your head up, Hayley. There's no safe place when a Phaneuf is out there.

The Curse of the Flying Vee: G22, Flames @ Ducks Post-Game

R O — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 20:49:32 -0000

More photos » by Francis Specker - AP

25 days ago: Calgary Flames' Jarome Iginla, left, celebrates his goal over Anaheim Ducks goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere (35) during the third period on an NHL hockey game in Anaheim, Calif. on Monday, Nov. 23, 2009. (AP Photo/Francis Specker)

ZoneStart, G22, Flames @ Ducks

Last night's shootout loss to the Ducks hit a bit of a sore spot for me. I'm always annoyed by those little quirky streaks that teams and players randomly go on. You know the ones: Flames always lose on TSN (was that last year?), Khabibulin is a Flame killer, Flames never win afternoon games, Flames never win at the Pond/Joe Louis/Atlanta/Buffalo/ACC... yeah you know the ones.

First
EV Shots On Goal    : 11-6
EV Shots Toward Net : 16-12
EV Faceoff Starts   : 5-3

Second
EV Shots On Goal    : 7-6
EV Shots Toward Net : 10-9
EV Faceoff Starts   : 5-6

Third
EV Shots On Goal    : 17-7
EV Shots Toward Net : 24-14
EV Faceoff Starts   : 4-2

OT
EV Shots On Goal    : 4-6
EV Shots Toward Net : 8-6
EV Faceoff Starts   : 1-2

Overall
EV Shots On Goal    : 39-25
EV Shots Toward Net : 58-41
EV Faceoff Starts   : 15-13

So, the overwhelming consensus seems to be that the Ducks were lucky to win last night's game. On the back of a terrific Flames third period, mostly.

Not to this fan, though. What I saw was that:

We got played to a draw at EV in the first two periods...
On the back of their top unit negating our depth advantage...
And got killed on special teams...
And played a fantastic comeback period in the third with the Ducks playing prevent defense...
But were altogether lucky to be down by only one goal at that point...
And were pretty fortunate to salvage a point from this thing.

I think points #1 to #4 up top there aren't that contentious. Comment if you have a contention, though. But a friendly warning, I'll fight you :-)

But #5 and #6 will probably draw some criticism, just as the assertion that we were unlucky to be down 6-1 to Chicago and unlucky to lose the game in that manner drew some criticism four days ago.

But it's the truth, folks.

We talk about luck here and part of that is knowing that sometimes you just don't get the result in this game that you would have in a thousand other identical games. When you don't have an advantage at EV through two periods and are absolutely destroyed on special teams (to the tune of 1-7 in chances), the odds of losing the game are high, even before turning your playing-to-score switch to TURBO. And not to take away from that third period, it was perfect chase hockey, but the play up to that point would have made comebacks unlikely on most nights.

You don't want to read that, hell I don't want to write it, but if we're to be honest with ourselves, that's what happened.

Game notes:

I may have been overly harsh in my tirade against Olli Jokinen's first period last night. He was a disaster on the second goal, I won't take that back. But Lawrence in the comments is right to point out that his clearing flip pass that led to the Glencross goal was a safe play. We were stupid lucky that we got a breakaway from that, but it was a good defensive play.

And Olli sure looked better after the thirty-minute mark. Though Iggy even more so, I thought, very hard to push 12 off the puck in that latter half. So that is something. It's been a few games now where that top unit has looked... not severely outclassed in aggregate? Just a bit outclassed now. So we are getting somewhere, and the "baby steps" label might not apply in a couple games. We'll see.
I was not that impressed by Mark Giordano nor Adam Pardy. They looked overmatched when they faced quality - I remember one particular shift in the second vs. Koivu and friends where Pardy gave away the puck under pressure from the forecheck, and Giordano was not able to handle the incoming forwards on the subsequent battle. Kent's count didn't show a chance against but there was definitely pressure.

Giordano in particular was getting the love last night, and not that it's undeserved per se, but it's a bit much to say he was "better than Dion Phaneuf".

Not to be rude, but my ass he was.

Giordano was put in a position to succeed last night: five OFF zone draws and one DEF zone draw at EV. That makes you many things but a liability that night is generally not one of them. And if you're getting put in that gig, you're also getting a lot of minutes against the Marchant types or tired legs, and getting thrown over the boards to assist in the rush, and less so to defend against it. And as little time as your coach can manage against Getzlaf and co. with fresh legs. Easy to look like a star with that kind of ice time. Whereas Phaneuf - he got his share of OFF/DEF positioning too, but in a smaller measure than Giordano, and was as near as you get to a hard match with Regehr against the top Ducks unit.

Context is everything, folks.

2010 Winter Olympics: Flames Hopefuls

Kent Wilson — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 20:04:26 -0000

More photos » by Jeff McIntosh - AP

Browse more photos »

We take a break from your daily dose of bitching, moaning and hyper analysis to focus on the up-coming Olympics and, much more importantly, which Flames may be making their way to Vancouver in February.

SBN has a network-wide thing going, so here's the pre-determined categories we'll be wedging the hopefuls into:

"Pack Your Bags"
"Nearly A Lock"
"Fairly Safe Bet"
"In A Battle"
"Work To Do"
"Moving Up"
"Moving Down"

Team Canada:

Jay Bouwmeester - "Pack your bags"

Jay Bouwmeester

#4 / Defenseman / Calgary Flames

Height: 6-4

Weight: 212

Born: Sep 27, 1983

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2009 - Jay Bouwmeester	22	2	10	12	8	16	1	0	0	0	42	4.8

There are lots of great defenders to choose from for Team Canada, but it's hard to argue against Jay Bouwmeester's inclusion: not only is he capable at both ends of the ice, he's regularly been a league leader in terms of ice time for the last several seasons. He's frequently played against the best in the business during his career and only recently turned 26 years old.

Robyn Regehr - "In a Battle"

Robyn Regehr

#28 / Defenseman / Calgary Flames

Height: 6-3

Weight: 225

Born: Apr 19, 1980

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2009 - Robyn Regehr	22	0	9	9	2	19	0	0	0	0	24	0.0

One of the steadiest pure defensemen in the league, Regehr's chances of making the Olympic squad are nonetheless hampered by his below average offensive abilities. Big, mean and capable shutting down the best players in the league, Regehr make sneak onto the squad depending on how the roster shakes out.

Dion Phaneuf - "Moving Down"

Dion Phaneuf

#3 / Defenseman / Calgary Flames

Height: 6-3

Weight: 214

Born: Apr 10, 1985

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2009 - Dion Phaneuf	22	6	5	11	2	20	2	0	2	0	48	12.5

At this time last year, most would have figured Dion as a lock to make the club. However, after struggling mightily with his defensive game last season, Phaneuf is in tough to crack what will probably the best blueline (on paper) in this year's Olympics. And while his game looks "steadier" in the early going, Phaneuf hasn't made a compelling case thus far with fairly middling stats across the board.

Jarome Iginla - "Pack Your Bags"

Jarome Iginla

#12 / Right Wing / Calgary Flames

Height: 6-1

Weight: 207

Born: Jul 01, 1977

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2009 - Jarome Iginla	22	16	7	23	1	28	4	0	3	0	67	23.9

Iginla is not only a sure thing to make team Canada, but most expect him to be it's captain. Recently named as one of the best players of the last decade by Puck Daddy, Jarome's 12 goal month has re-solidified his claim to a place on the club. As such, Vancouverites will get to the experience the unfamiliar feeling of cheering for an effectual captain for once this winter.

Team Finland:

Olli Jokinen - "Pack Your Bags"

Olli Jokinen

#21 / Center / Calgary Flames

Height: 6-3

Weight: 215

Born: Dec 05, 1978

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2009 - Olli Jokinen	22	3	12	15	0	21	1	0	0	0	58	5.2

It's been a steady downward slide for Jokinen since he scored 39 goals in 2006-07. He's also had a fairly miserable run so far this season. That said, the Fins are a smaller country and don't have as many bodies to choose from. He hasn't been completely terrible for the Flames in the last week or so, meaning his play is likely to ramp up as the season progresses.

Miikka Kiprusoff - "Pack Your Bags"

Miikka Kiprusoff

#34 / Goalie / Calgary Flames

Height: 6-1

Weight: 184

Born: Oct 26, 1976

	GP	MIN	W	L	T	EGA	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
2009 - Miikka Kiprusoff	20	1192	12	5			51	2.57	599	548	.915	1

There would have been more debate around this selection had Kipper continued his descent into mediocrity. However, a strong start to the season has likely eased doubts about his abilities and propelled him past his struggling friend and countryman Vesa Toskala. Antero Niittymaki is knocking it out of the park currently, but is less proven and likely tabbed as a back-up. Niklas Backstrom may also challenge for a spot, but Kipper's superior resume and 2009-10 stats will put him ahead of the Wild's backstopper.

Dater-gate Reaches an End, or does It?

BReynolds — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:24:41 -0000

By now you have all heard the story that Adrian Dater, Denver Post Avs beat writer, posted a tweet about a shouting match in the Flames locker room the other night. There has been back and forth all over the internet about it, and today Dater ended his involvement on Twitter.

For those of you that are Twitter maniacs (looking at you Nathan), this is a loss. Maybe not a huge loss, but a loss. Anytime a voice is silenced, it is a loss to the conversation. I don;t follow Twitter as much as I likely could (should?), and feel no shame in saying I rarely agree with Dater. However, I have a burning question, one that no one seems to have answered.

Was there a shouting match in the Flames locker room that night, and did it involve Dian Phaneuf? If there was no shouting, or if Phaneuf was not involved, then Dater has some apologizing to do. However, if there was indeed a shouting match, and it did indeed involve Phaneuf, then Dater was... wait for it... doing his job.

Reporters everywhere, including myself and our illustrious hero Michael Russo, report second hand knowledge all the time. Sources give leads, and when we feel comfortable, we report it. If it turns out to be false, we correct the information and apologize if need be. If the information turns out to be correct, well then, the ends justified the means. This isn't little league baseball, and the feelings of those involved are not what matter, as harsh as that may be.

Adrian Dater is a member of the main stream media who was using a non-mainstream media to voice information he had. Russo does it all the time. Does anyone jump Russo if the information is inflammatory? To answer that, ask yourself if the Wild wanted Russo to reveal the frustration at practice yesterday.

Again, while Dater generally grates on my nerves, he is professional, and he has earned his place in the hallowed halls of beat writers.

So, all of you folks out there who are going after him for tweeting second hand knowledge, back off. The only thing that really matters is was the information valid?

-Buddha

Bomb.Repeat.Bomb. - Blackhawks 7 - Flames 1

Matthew Dirt — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 06:15:03 -0000

Its become something of a tradition around these parts - but every time the Blackhawks absolutely dismantle the Flames we get an appearance of a vastly under-appreciated Simpsons character

That my friends, was a paddlin' indeed.

During the first period it seemed like the Hawks were having a bit of trouble getting things going. They grabbed the lead when Troy Brouwer was left alone in front of the net on the Hawks first power play but it didn't seem like somthing you'd want to rest on. It was obvious the winning team would need more than just one goal that resulted after an even first. The shots on goal were tied and if not for a few great saves by Huet, it could have been tied. Then the Flames started the second on a power play and wasted only 14 seconds before Olli Jokinen snuck the puck past Cristobal Huet. With the game tied we started to settle in for nail-biting close game.

And then Hammer absolutely ruined Rene Bourque.

We'll set aside the fact that Niklas Hjalmarsson may have left his feet to make the hit (haven't seen a good enough replay of it yet) because this was the breaking point in this game. Nigel Dawes came to defend Bourque (who didn't really skate again after the hit) and was given 2 minutes for roughing. Shockingly, the Blackhawks scored on that power play too and didn't look back. Even Dustin Byfuglien decided it was just about time for him to do something again to keep himself from getting benched and had a nice takeaway and goal. Don't expect to see him again for at least 6 more weeks. After Hammer's hit the Flames wilted and died - We didn't see anything close to the game we were expecting.

How good were the Hawks in the second period? They finally fucking scored on a 5 on 3... that's how good. They were something like 0 for 5 with the two extra men but had continually been shut down until tonight. The Hawks exploded for the most goals of any period this year, got their first player with a multi-goal game (VERSTEEG!), were 80% on the power play, and finished with 13 players getting at least a single point... There's just about nothing poor to say about the men of four feathers in this game. Everything went as well as you could hope.

Well - I guess Seabrook could have made Dion Phaneuf bleed. That would have completed the night. In case you needed any more evidence that this frankenstein is one of the biggest shitbirds in the league, look no further than picking a fight with someone while wearing a visor. Even the zebras called bullshit on that move and gave him a phantom 2 minutes for roughing. So VERSTEEG! followed it up by scoring his second of the night.

Oh, and as is being pointed out - Hossa is almost ready to make the Blackhawks even more dangerous.

Other Thoughts:

The Flames ought to be ashamed for leaving Brouwer alone on the crease for so long. It's one thing to ignore a player while the puck is being cycled around the zone but I think Troy got three shots off before netting the final one without so much as being breathed on by a Flames player.
Seabrook was a force all over the ice tonight.
Has Colin Fraser ever won a fight? Dude, you're a center and I think we've seen the end of the Ebbett experiment - I think your spot is safe at least until Dave Bolland comes back.
This was the first game of the year where the Hawks were outshot but still won. They also lost the face off battle (EDIT: Just kidding - they actually won 53% of the faceoffs, I misread)

Player Of The Game:

Fuck.. how do you choose? Duncan Keith had three assists and was the usual monster in the Hawks end. Patrick Kane had a goal and an assist on his 21st birthday (first carbomb is on me, kid). Kris Versteeg had 2 goals on the power play. Patrick Sharp added two points. Hammer changed the tempo of the game with a huge hit on a player I'm quickly growing to hate (and added an assist). And of course Cristobal Huet had a brilliant game making big stops to keep the Hawks in it when it was close and stayed focused when it got out of control - this was also his best SV% (.964) in a non-shutout game.

So we're going to let you pick. Time for the first poll in a while.

Poll

Who should the Player of The Game be?

Cristobal Huet - .964SV %

214 votes

Patrick Kane - 1G, 1A

60 votes

Kris Versteeg - 2G

97 votes

Duncan Keith - 3A

136 votes

Niklas Hjalmarsson - 1A, 2 Hits (both on Bourque)

196 votes

Someone else

5 votes

708 votes | Poll has closed