SB Nation - Daymond Langkow

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

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

An Ode to Craig Conroy

Kent Wilson — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:45:45 -0000

More photos » by Jeff McIntosh - AP

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This has been a long time coming.

I've been tough on the old man in the past. Last season, when Mike Keenan chose Conroy over ostensibly superior options like Mike Cammalleri, Daymond Langkow and (arguably) Matthew Lombardi to skate with Jarome Iginla on the Flames top scoring unit, I accused him of having Svengali like powers of persuasion over the coaching staff. It struck me as unfathomable that an aging, offensively mediocre player would continually be tapped to play with the club's best winger. I became even more shrill in my denunciations when Conroy struggled to find defensive assignments and keep his stick from opponent's mid-sections to start the year.

Conroy has spent most of his time away from Jarome thus far this year. In fact, he's been skating with 4th liners the last few games. However, in Montreal with the Flames nursing a one goal lead in the final half of the third period, there was Craig Conroy - centering the shaky duo of Olli Jokinen and Jarome Iginla.

And I was glad to see it. It struck me then that I owe Craig Conroy a very big apology.

Dude is quality - and always has been. A former Selke nominee, it's time someone acknowledged, clearly and unequivocally, that Conroy is a boon to the club. His hands have begun to abandon him now that's he's 37, but he can still skate, still take care of the defensive zone and still move the puck in the right direction. This year, Conroy has a solid relative corsi rating (+5.5/60) even though he has the second worst zone start ratio on the club behind only the captain (42.7% OFD).

Last season, when he wasn't playing with Iginla, Conroy centered the outstanding third line which included David Moss and Curtis Glencross. That trio ate their competitors for breakfast on a nightly basis, with all three finishing amongst the team leaders in corsi rates. Conroy was also very quietly the Flames most efficient producer at ES (2.73 ESP/60) behind Rene Bourque. All for a million bucks.

For years, the common refrain about the Flames was a lack of a "legitimate first line center" for Iginla. Even when Conroy managed 27 goals and 75 points beside Jarome in 2001-2002, it was generally assumed that Conroy was merely riding the coattails of his superstar linemate and that an inanimate object could have put up similar numbers in those circumstances that season. I was of a similar mind for awhile, but it's a contention I would emphatically deny now. Iginla was +27 that year. Conroy was +24. McAmmond was +2. Everyone else was well under water. Of course, Jarome was amazing...but Conroy no doubt a contributor to Iginla's break-out, rather than a mere parasite. Because, there's a reason Craig has stuck to Iginla through the years and the various coaching iterations - and it's not just because he's likable. He simply knows what he's doing on the ice. Spectacular at nothing, Conroy is in nonetheless good at everything. He can kill penalties. He can check the bad guys stars. He can play the man advantage. He can take draws in any zone. You can put a letter on his chest without hesitation. He isn't a tough guy, he's not a special teams specialist and he's not going to make any of the highlight reels. But the puck goes North when he's on the ice, and sometimes I'm at loss to figure out how he does it. Just does.

There are, of course, off-ice reasons to commend the Flames elder statesman. Gregarious and open, Conroy manages to be engaging in front of the press without being grating (like Jeremy Roenick) or an asshole (like Sean Avery). He mixes wide-eyed enthusiasm with candor - which is refreshing for fans used to the resuscitation of bland cliches by the majority of his peers. It's rumored that one of the reasons Sutte re-aquired Conroy after his stint in LA was his positive influence on the dressing room and Jarome himself: meaning, Conroy's demeanor in front of microphones is no mere affectation. He comes by his infectious positivity honestly.

I don't know what the future holds for Craig. This is the final year of his contract with Calgary. maybe he'll re-sign, maybe he'll retire. Either way, I hope he remains a Calgary Flame till the end of his playing days.

Here's to you, Craig. I'm sorry I ever doubted you. And thanks.

Begin the Love-in - What to Like About the Flames Thus Far

Kent Wilson — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:31:19 -0000

More photos » by Larry MacDougal - AP

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I'm the first to admit that I'm quick to criticize, but slow to compliment. Like Prince's mother, I'm never satisfied.

As such, I've noticed we've been rather tough on the boys 'round these parts recently, especially considering the record. And while I think a lot of the criticisms of the club have been justified, it might be good to take the time and highlight some of the things that are currently going right for the team.

1.) Rene Bourque - Daymond Langkow - Nigel Dawes

I argued that Bourque might be in in line for a regression this year (in terms of the percentages) and his numbers might take a hit as a result. Well, his PDO is down around the league average of 100 (99.1)...and he still leads the team in scoring. Partially because of more PP time and partially because he spends a lot of time in the offensive zone at even strength (best relative corsi rate amongst forwards on the club). There's been nights where Bourque has looked head and shoulders above his teammates and a good portion of the opposition as well. I've actually mistaken him for Jarome Iginla as well (peak Jarome, that is), given his ability to shrug off opponents and drive the puck into scoring areas. He's been outstanding thus far.

His linemates are no slouches either. Langkow's unit has mostly seen the tough match-ups for the last couple of weeks and they've managed to keep their heads above water. A lot of credit has to go to Mr.consistency Langkow himself, because without a capable center a tough match-up usually goes south. However, I've really liked what I've seen out of Dawes mostly, especially given his age and price-tag. Feisty and relatively solid on the puck, he also has decent vision and a good shot. I'd say he's an improvement over Bertuzzi, which is probably why that line looks more capable to me this season.

2.) Mikka Kiprusoff

I doubt anyone has been tougher on Kipper than me. And while he hasn't been "Anderson good" thus far, the first 15 games have definitely been an improvement over a his season last year, especially at ES. While there may be little hope of Kipper regaining his Vezina form, it'd probably be good news for the team if he could maintain his current performance level. He's actually stolen a couple of games for the club recently, which is something you like to see out a $5M goaltender every once and a while. More please!

3.) The blueline

There hasn't been much to complain about on the back-end thus far. Aside from the first few games out of Regehr and the occasional bad night out of a swing defender (be it Pardy, Kronwall, Johnson, etc), the Flames blueline from Phaneuf to Bouwmeester to Giordano has been solid. Phaneuf's shot has seemingly returned and with it some of the offense he lost last year. He and Regehr have also been playing well against second tier competition (ever since Reggie broke out of his funk). Bouwmeester's underlying numbers aren't impressive, but that probably has more to do with his circumstances than his play. I've seen Cory Sarich both good and bad (that's how Sarich rolls), but the former has probably out-weighed the latter. And Giordano has proved he can fill in on probably any of the three pairings capably. Calgary is paying a pretty penny on the back-end, but that doesn't ensure value (right, Glen Sather?), so it's good to see that the back-end is indeed a strength of the team.

4.) The Powerplay

Although the first unit has been up and down, I've mostly liked Calgary's PP so far. A weakness for most of the year last season, the addition of Dawes, Bouwmeester and Bourque to the man advantage has yielded positive results. Now, if only the team could get more PP opportunities*...

*(I suspect one of the reasons Jokinen's counting stats are off is the lack of PP time. Flames have garnered the least PP opportunities in the league and Olli has spent less than 3 minutes a night with the man advantage as a result. That's well below his 4:40 average last season. Not that he's not ripping it up on the PP or anything, but...).

That's most of it from me. There's been flashes of good out of others (Moss, Glencross, Boyd, McElhinney, Prust, Nystrom, Sjostrom), but nothing persistent enough to list here. Feel free to add your own kudos in the comments though.

Poll

Who/what has been the best part of the Flames through 15?

Rene Bourque (CHI fans weep)

66 votes

The whole second line

37 votes

The blueline

12 votes

The Power play

4 votes

Kipper

39 votes

Other - please specify

4 votes

162 votes | Poll has closed

Deflections: League Leaders

Hawerchuk — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 14:00:27 -0000

More photos » by Frank Gunn - AP

6 months ago: Detroit Red Wings' Tomas Holmstrom, of Sweden, is checked by Pittsburgh Penguins Mark Eaton (7) in front of Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury during the second period of Game 5 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup finals in Detroit, Saturday, June 6, 2009. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press,Frank Gunn)

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Tyler Bleszinski asked me a great question: "Does the NHL keep track of the number of deflections or who is best in the league at deflections, even if it doesn’t go in?"

In 2005-06 and 2006-07, the league recorded deflections, but only for goals and shots on goal. In 2007-08 and 2008-09, they split deflections into a second group, called "tip-ins," which go in at exactly the same rate, league-wide, as deflections. And finally, this season, they've started recording when deflections miss the net - we don't have enough games to draw any conclusions yet.

As I started poring over the data, I realized there were several other related questions we could answer at the same time. In particular: which players have the most deflections? Which players get the most rebounds? Which players have the most offensive takeaways below the face-off dots? And which players draw the most non-coincidental penalties in that same offensive area? I'll answer these questions over the course of the next few days, and hopefully we can get a sense of which forwards derive a lot of their value from their work in front of and around the net.

Here are the total number of deflections over the last four seasons, and the shooting percentage on them, at even-strength and on the power-play:

	ES	ES		PP	PP
	SOG	G	SPCT	SOG	G	SPCT
Total	12154	2331	19.2	4980	1227	24.6
Home	6589	1249	19.0	2725	683	25.1
Away	5565	1082	19.4	2255	544	24.1

As with most subjective statistics that are collected at NHL arenas, there is a significant bias for the home team. While home teams outshoot road teams by 7-8%, home teams are credited with 20% more deflections. So if we want to look at which team is the best on deflections, we're best-off looking only at road stats. The league leaders in deflections are:

Player	Deflections
Tomas Holmstrom	165
Daniel Sedin	147
Thomas Vanek	132
Keith Tkachuk	120
Daymond Langkow	109
Scott Hartnell	107
Zach Parise	105
Andrew Brunette	104
Mike Knuble	99
Ryan Smyth	99

Well, if I had to guess who'd be #1, I'd probably say Holmstrom. I think a lot of us can vividly see him getting abused by an opposing defenseman in front of the net and still directing the puck on goal. Ryan Smyth and Mike Knuble aren't surprises either. As I said above, this post got me wondering about other physical talents around the goal, and I'll look into them in further detail in my next couple of posts.

What Ails the Flames...Prescriptions?

Kent Wilson — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 02:07:06 -0000

More photos » by Jeff McIntosh - AP

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It may seem absurd to be dissatisfied with the team after a 7-4-1 opening month. But I am. A relatively soft schedule and a lot of favorable bounces hid the fact that the Flames played mostly mediocre hockey in October and will be in line for a "correction" down the road if they don't turn things around.

Their struggles are best reflected by their shot differential: -5.1/game. That's one of the worst differentials in the league, which is especially disconcerting given the fact that the Flames primary strength last year was possession/outshooting.

What's perhaps more worrisome is the fact that it's Calgary's money players up front that are the deepest under water. Jokinen and Iginla have the worst relative corsi rates amongst regular forwards, and that's despite the fact that neither of them has been seeing the tough going for the last couple of weeks. As a result, they are both scoring at about the rate of your average 4th liner at ES right now (1.63 ESP/60 for Iginla, 1.36 ESP/60 for Jokinen) and it's not like they're knocking it out of the park defensively or on special teams to make up for it.

The good news is, it looks like the support players are going to be quality again. Which means the team should be able to keep it's head above water while things are straightened out with the Captain and Pumpkinhead...assuming they can be, of course.

Pursuant to some comments in RO's post game thread, here's some line-up changes I would make if the organization was silly enough to hand me the keys to the bench for a night:

Bourque - Langkow - Iginla

The "second line" has continued to be relatively effective, despite being fed to the wolves over the last few games. Rene Bourque has probably been the Flames best forward through the first dozen contests and Daymond Langkow is indisputably the best center on the team in terms of two-way play. This is a trio that could probably do the heavy lifting, as long as Iginla rediscovers some measure of his previous effectiveness.

Glencross - Conroy - Moss

In many ways, this line drove the bus for the Flames last year. They were outstanding at moving the puck in the right direction and were instrumental in setting the pricier players up at the good end of the rink with a lot of offensive zone draws. Conroy doesn't have the hands anymore, but he still has one of the best corsi rates on the club, despite a team worst zone start ratio. Not sure how he does it, quite frankly. Glencross and Moss haven't looked quite as good lately so maybe a reunion is in order.

Boyd - Jokinen - Dawes

Honestly, I'd prefer to see Boyd in the middle and Jokinen playing the wing, but that's probably never going to happen. Dawes and Boyd have both taken turns at looking pretty damn good this year and I think the pair of them can do damage, at least against lesser lights. Jokinen has looked awful no matter who he's played with or against, but to be fair, playing him with guys like Nystrom and/or Sjostrom isn't going net you much beyond breaking even most nights. This line would have to be carefully managed, but that's probably true of any trio that includes Jokinen at this point. At least play him with some guys that have some hope of scoring some goals now and then. This could double as the 2nd PP unit as well.

Sjostrom - Prust - Nystrom

This threesome kicked the oppositions teeth in a bunch to start the season so I'd like to see them put back together.

At some point, the Flames will have to get at least one of Iginla or Jokinen going. The primary emphasis is going to be on the players to figure things out, but it's probably best to put them in a position to succeed in an effort to kick start the rebound.

Feel free to disagree vehemently and share your own combos in the comments.

Canucks-Flames Preview

Sean Zandberg — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 19:36:47 -0000

Are you ready? No...I said: Are....you...READY?! Then....for the hundreds reading at home. including you, Brian Burke, you spiteful putz...Here's your starting lineuuuuups! (Yes I am a fan of DX).

Flames

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

Dion Phaneuf - Robyn Regehr
Jay Bouwmeester - Mark Giordano
Adam Pardy - Staffan Kronwall

Miikka Kiprusofft

Cory Sarich reportedly did not skate today with foot issues.

Canucks

Daniel Sedin - Henrik Sedin - Alex Burrows
Sergei Shirokov - Ryan Kesler - Mikael Samuelsson
Mason Raymond - Kyle Wellwood - Steve Bernier
Darcy Hordichuk - Ryan Johnson - Rick Rypien

Willie Mitchell - Sami Salo
Kevin Bieksa - Alex Edler
Shane O’Brien - Christian Erhoff

Roberto Luongod

Thanks, Fan 590. Good to see both Bieksa and Rypien are ready to go, and that Rypien especially is not going through his personal issues again.

GAME TIME: 7:00 PST

TV: CBC HD. Ah, no more streaming makes me a happy man

The Enemy: Matchsticks And Gasoline

-Team 1040 interviews with several Canucks todayy (thanks SteveNux)

Evaluating the Flames Pre-season

Kent Wilson — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 02:30:05 -0000

I started the exhibition season off by saying that team-wide results weren't all that important and that the real focus was on individual efforts, especially for those players on the bubble. With that in mind, here are some of my player "grades" based on my own observations over the last couple of weeks.

The Hopefuls

Jason Jaffray - B - Acquitted himself well and could be pushing for the 13th forward position. Saw a lot of ice time, scored a couple of goals and generally held his own. A decent utlity forward, there's no one area of his game that looks either outstanding or weak.

Jamie Lundmark - B - Similar to Jaffray, Lundmark continues to hang around the edges of the Flames roster. Sniped a couple of nice markers and combined to form a nice little unit with Glencross and Fleury during the Oilers game. Lundmark proved useful to Calgary last season when the injuries came down and would probably be a full time NHLer on a club with less depth.

Colin Stuart - C - Stuart made an impression on me in the first pre-season tilt by making one of the most ill-advised cross-ice passes I've ever seen in an NHL game. He had a couple of other gaffes in the same match that convinced me he'd be on the next flight out of town. He's settled down since then and showed some speed and tenacity which would probably be a boon on the 4th line. He, Jaffray and Prust were pretty effective against the Oilers as well.

Mikael Backlund - C - Some very apparent steps forward over his previous training camp couldn't mask the fact that the Flames top rated prospect isn't ready for prime time. Didn't score a point (as far as I can recall) despite some decent line mates, but did manage to create some chances in the offensive zone as well as control the puck at times. Still needs some work in the defensive end, he'll need at least a full year of seasoning in the AHL before he can be a regular at the NHL level.

Anton Stralman - B - A mobile defender with good puck skills, it looks more and more like Stralman will be staying with the big team. Somewhat smaller and weaker on his skates, Stralman will have to improve his boardwork and balance in order to become a regular on the blueline, but the offensive skills are apparent, especially along the offensive blueline.

Staffan Kronwall - C - I didn't see a lot of the big Swede, but the few times I saw him the only impression I got was his foot speed is an issue. At 28, he has a lower ceiling than Stralman and is less likely to be picked up on the waiver wire should he be shuttled to the farm. Look for him to be the veteran on Abbotsford's blueline this year.

Leland Irving - C - Wasn't bad or outstanding during his limited time in net, Irving was certainly better than Keetley and will probably be heading to BC as the assured starter on the farm.

Matt Keetley - D - A disastrous camp for a guy who was looking to bounce back after being usurped by Leland Irving last season, Keetley let in a number of groaners before being shipped to the farm. Didn't even last as long as un-signed camp invitee David Shantz and may be fighting for his job in Abbotsford with same.

The Regulars

Curtis Glencross - A - A bad final game against the Canucks doesn't change the fact that Glencross was lights out for most of camp, leading the team in scoring and frequently being one of the best forwards on the ice. Has speed, grit, smarts, tenacity and even a bit of a scoring touch.

David Moss - A - Missed a chunk of camp due to a minor injury, the games he did play in were all good. Auditioned on the top line against the Canucks and made an impression by holding his own and even scoring a goal. The Bertuzzi is good news for Flames fans, but great news for Moss who quietly excellent all over the ice.

Daymond Langkow - B - Played the roll of emulsifier alongside a rotating carousel of disparate line mates, Langkow didn't get primo minutes at either ES or on the PP, but still managed to be effective most of the time. I stil think he'll end up playing with Iginla at some point this year.

Olli Jokinen - B - Also one of the team leaders in points this pre-season, Jokinen did almost all of his damage with the man advantage which fits with his M/O. Dangerous as anyone down low and coming off the half boards, his lack of savvy in the face-off circle and in the bad end of the rink are still concerns and sometimes led to the Flames top line being hemmed in their own zone. Him and Iginla seemed to work a little better together relative to last season, however.

Nigel Dawes - B - Off and on, Dawes was at times one of the best forwards on the ice for Calgary. When he wasn't, however, he was totally invisible. Fast and willing to go into the corners, Dawes also has a quick release and will probably be a boon to the power play. Playing with Langkow and Bourque, who were his line mates last night, would probably help iron out his consistency issues.

Brandon Prust - B - Ever since I bad-mouthed him in a game thread, Prust has done nothing but impress me. A willing combatant, Prust can also skate, forecheck and handle the puck fairly well. Cemented his spot on the club with a number of solid efforts.

Jarome Iginla - C - Got a couple of PP points, but didn't do much at ES besides rifle a lot of pucks over the net. Still a lot of gliding around in the defensive zone from Jarome and, considering the level of competition he faced for most of the pre-season, he didn't exactly beat anyone up.

Rene Bourque - C - Didn't make much noise until the final game, when he was perhaps one of the more effective Flames at ES against Vancouver. Doesn't look comfortable on the PP yet and may still be trying to get up to game speed after spending much of the summer off of skates.

Craig Conroy - C - Missed most of camp as well, Conroy was quiet aside from winning a lot of face-offs.

Freddy Sjostrom - C - Obviously has some wheels, Sjostrom got an opportunity to play with Iginla and Jokinen for a night, but didn't do much with it. Looks to be a capable utlity forward.

Eric Nystrom - C - Is what he is. Good skating, eager to hit and willing to block shots (and fists) with his face if he has to.

Dustin Boyd - C - Didn't get much of chance to do anything, first being relegated to the Flames all-prospect 'B' squad earlier in pre-season and then spend almost the rest of it nursing a groin pull. Played on the 4th line in the last game and only got about 10 minutes of ice. Looks like Boyd's Job-like trials on this club are going to continue indefinitely.

Brian McGrattan - N/A - Didn't play and still isn't cleared for contact, McGrattan will likely start the year on IR. His signing looks more and more useless by the day.

Mark Giordano - A - Dispelled all concerns that his job was in jeopardy, Giordano was solidly amongst the Flames best defenders in most of the games he played. Smart, mean and with the unique ability to stick handle out of trouble in tight places, it looks like Gio is penciled into the club's top 4 heading into the regular season. Might end up being the best value contract on the roster this year.

Dion Phaneuf - B -Started the camp out by running around the ice like a chicken with it's head cut off, Dion gradually began to settle down and ended the pre-season with what may be his best game in a long time. Still has all the tools, just has to continue to think the game at the same manic pace he tries to play it at all the time.

Jay Bouwmeester - B - Struggled during his first couple of contests, which included a number of ill-advised pinches. Managed to showcase his silky smooth skating and good own zone positioning alongside Robyn Regehr, Bouwmeester looked more comfortable by the end of camp. Was fairly dangerous in the offensive zone as well.

Robyn Regehr - B - Solid as a rock, as usual.

Cory Sarich - C - Struggled visibly to keep up in the first pre-season game, Sarich missed the end of the exhibition period due to some unknown ailment. Will need to return and put together some strong outings in order not to lose his spot outright. He may become trade bait sooner rather than later.

Adam Pardy - D - Was a liability during the first few games and managed to take a lot of penalties over the course of the pre-season to boot. Pardy settled down as the things progressed and is no doubt considered Calgary's #6 defender for now. Still, he'll have to progress in order to keep the likes of Stralman et al at bay.

Miikka Kiprusoff - C - Dreadful in his first outing and mediocre in his second, Kipper allowed at least one stinker per start but was also brilliant at times against the Canucks last night. If he could cut back on pucks sneaking through him once a game, he'd be a lot closer to the goalie we once knew. Unfortunately, that was also true last year...

Curtis McElhinney - C - Didn't get much action and didn't wow anyone when he was in net. Got stronger in the first match against Vancouver, but still allowed a couple of pucks to slide underneath him (albeit, they were shots by the Canucks most dangerous player).

The Flames as a team did a couple of things well during training camp: they scored a bunch on the power play and they also drew more penalties than they took. The bottom end of the roster was rarely a liability which is always a bonus. Who knows if that will continue into the regular season, but the trends are there.

On the other hand, the goaltending on the whole was mediocre and the team didn't score all that much at ES. The number one line was a concern when it wasn't on the PP, which is disconcerting for me personally - having more than $12M locked up in two players who are played to even at ES is a bad investment. Either the Jokinen/Iginla pairing will have to start consistently outplaying their opponents 5on5, or Brent will have to find a new combination that can do damage without giving it all back at the other end.

Preseason Train Chugs Along; Canucks Vs. Flames Gameday

Yankee Canuck — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 16:40:40 -0000

More photos » by Jonathan Hayward - AP

Remember Theo Fleury? No you don't. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press,Jonathan Hayward)

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When: Saturday September 26th 6pm PST
Where: Pengrove Saddledome
TV: TSN2(HD), NHLN-US(HD)
Radio: Team 1040
Web stream: Flames.nhl.com claims to stream it live
Flames Blog: Matchsticks & Gasoline

In five days these two teams will meet up for real and kick the season off. But for now there's still some greenhorns fighting for jobs and old guys (not on LTIR!) still working out the summer rust.

Though it's subject to change, the Canucks should be icing the following guys:

Sergei Shirokov - Ryan Kesler - Mikael Samuelsson
Mason Raymond - Cody Hodgson - Michael Grabner
Darcy Hordichuk - Ryan Johnson - Rick Rypien
Tanner Glass - Mario Bliznak - Jannik Hansen

Brad Lukowich - Alexander Edler
Shane O'Brien - Aaron Rome
Christian Ehrhoff - Sami Salo

Roberto Luongo

For Vancouver there are really three guys to watch. Shirokov gets the sweet spot on the first line while Hodgson and Grabner hope to find some preseason relevancy before the next round of cuts come around. I don't see Glass or Bliznak making the roster though each have had good preseasons.

The Flames have their own prospects looking to land some NHL employment, including old friend Jason Jaffray.

We'll drop more updates in as they become available.

2:32 PM ET Update: Hey remember that stuff about Jaffray from before? Forget it. Calgary is icing a pretty veteran line-up so Hodgson and company have their work cut out for them. Here are the lines:

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

Robyn Regehr - Jay Bouwmeester
Mark Giordano - Dion Phaneuf
Adam Pardy - Anton Stralman

Miikka Kiprusoff

3:52 EST Update: The Flames are not taking this game lightly and are looking to "set a tone."

Flames vs Panthers Post game

Kent Wilson — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 04:37:37 -0000

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I got the first good look of the preseason at the Flames and so, without further ado, here are my thoughts from the game in no particular order:

- The Iginla/Jokinen duo was dangerous at both ends of the ice. They made the most of their chances in the offensive zone but were also the weakest line for the Flames in the defensive zone. If Jokinen is to stick to Iginla all year, I would really prefer they not play the other team's top lines. At least Olli has been deadly with the man advantage so far.

- Daymond Langkow remains Mr. "instant chemisty". The trio featuring him, Glencross and Fleury was consistently good all night and that's with Fleury sucking wind 20 seconds into every shift.

- On the subject of Fleury - the little guy isn't making things easy. He's clearly a step behind and he's not as quick as he once was, but he's playing within himself and he still has NHL level patience and hands around the net. He's earning a contract and a spot on the farm team at this rate, which is a major victory in my eyes.

- Nigel Dawes wasn't as impressive this evening. In fact, he was benched briefly after a lost puck battle led to the Panthers second goal. Didn't notice him much overall.

- I love Curtis Glencross. He hasn't lost a beat. A Glencross-Langkow-Moss second line wouldn't be the worst thing to happen.

- Mikael Backlund had one minor set-back in the first that led to the Booth tally, but otherwise acquitted himself well. He seems like he's taken a significant step forward since last preseason. He's much better at protecting the puck in the offensive zone and winning possession.

- None of the other fringe guys looked to out of place, with the exception of Cam Cunning. Carsen Germyn looked like the best of the bunch to me, with Jaffray not too far behind.

- Mark Giordano is in no trouble of losing his spot to anyone. In fact, he's looks every bit the legit top 4 defender. Phanuef, on the other hand, was as chaotic as ever. Clearly it wasn't just injury issues last year.

- There isn't much to separate Adam Pardy and Anton Stralman. In fact, the latter has seemed marginally stronger thus far. Pardy didn't help his case by taking two minors this evening.

- Miikka Kiprusoff allowed another softy and fought the puck the entire first period. It's tough to grade his second period, as the Flames dominated and only allowed 5 shots on net (mostly from the outside). I've seen nothing from him to assuage my fears about his abilities heading into the new year.

- Leland Irving played only one period, but looked capable enough during that time. The goal he allowed was a deflection and not stoppable.

Calgary sent down another nine players tonight, including Aulie, Baldwin and Keetley. That leaves David Shantz in the main camp, ahead of Keetley who is falling down the depth chart faster than Rob Schremp in Edmonton. Fourty-two players remain in main camp, but expect that number to fall sharply in the next few days.

The ever growing myth of "Big Body Presence"

Kent Wilson — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 01:37:54 -0000

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I don't know when this cliche was birthed (probably Pierre McGuire dreamed it up in the bath one day and began hammering it home on air every chance he got), but it's time it was euthanized. Having a "big body" is neither necessary nor sufficient to be good in the NHL. Players aren't effective merely by dint of being large. They are obviously ways being bigger can be potentially advantageous to certain players in certain situations, but being big doesn't replace (nor equal) being good.

The supposed benefits of big body presence have grown beyond what I would deem reasonably intuitive. We've gone from "difficult to push off the puck" and "possess a long reach" to "he has an undeniable net presence!", "he'll make room for his linemates" and my favorite variant, featured in a fanshot below, "defensemen will be forced to focus on him more!" - as if a bigger guys' girth has a sort of irresistible gravitational pull. Hockey is obviously a tough sport; an impact sport. It makes sense that size would have some value. But "BBP" has become a magical catchall asset that overcomes or excuses other, rather pertinent failings. Olli Jokinen can't win a face-off, is not very good in his own zone, has mediocre vision and puck distribution skills, yet he's a legit #1 center and Iginla is going to have a career season beside him because, well...big body presence.

The guy pictured above is Evgeny Artyukhin. He's a 26 year old Russian winger. And, at 6'5" and 255 pounds, he's huge. What's more, his scouting reports claim that he has good mobility for a big man and soft hands. The funny thing is, he stinks. His career high in goals is 6. His career high in points is 17. He played some of the weakest competition on the Lightning last year (-0.07), had a negative corsi rate (-10.1) and scored at a 4th liners pace (1.16 ESP).

I haven't watched enough of Artyukin to comment personally, but from what I can glean from Lightning fans, the big guy is bad because he's dumb as a worn-out boot - can't think the game fast enough to be worthwhile beyond the edge of the roster. His size is, at best, a tease - it doesn't grant him automatic net presence resulting in more goals on the power play and it doesn't make opposition defenders stick to him like a magnet. Size is perhaps best described as a tool that can be used or not - one (even when employed) that cannot overcome other glaring faults. Nor is it required to be an effective hockey player (or center, for that matter). See: Daymond Langkow, Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg, Sidney Crosby...the list goes on.

After being sold this particular marketing slogan last year after Todd Bertuzzi was signed (and his subsequent stinking despite BBP!) I am hereby immune from the seductive promises of endless open ice for linemates, constantly screened goalies and forever over-matched defenseman.