On Wednesday night, the Calgary Flames had their biggest outburst of the season when they beat the Dallas Stars 7-4 at home. After a lopsided loss two nights later, the Flames start off a quick two-game road trip Sunday as they look for a repeat of some of that offensive success. In a trip that will also see them play Phoenix for the first time, the Flames roll into Dallas for their second meeting with the Stars (4 p.m., Sportsnet 960 and Sportsnet West).
Friday’s loss to the Blues did not sit well, and not just because of the 5-2 final score. Calgary was flat from the start and paid for it dearly, falling down 4-0 before the 18 minute mark of the first period. While poor starts are part of an NHL season, you can’t really afford them against the true high-end teams in this league, and Wednesday was the perfect example of why.
One quarter of the season is now finished, with the second segment starting today. At one game below the .500 mark, the Flames are five points out of a playoff spot heading into action today. They’ve had the benefit of playing the fewest games for the first part of the season, but with things getting much busier, that games played ratio is going to even out in the near future. What that means? If Calgary is going to get themselves back in the pack, the second quarter of the season is when they’ll need to do it.
Calgary Flames 4-5-3, 14th Western Conference
Jiri Hudler – Alex Tanguay – Roman Cervenka
Curtis Glencross – Blake Comeau – Jarome Iginla
Mike Cammalleri – Matt Stajan – Lee Stempniak
Roman Horak – Steve Begin – Tim Jackman
Mark Giordano – Jay Bouwmeester
Dennis Wideman – T.J. Brodie
Chris Butler – Anton Babchuk
The news of the day has Blair Jones clearing waivers and suddenly put into limbo. While many thought he would be claimed after being dispatched on waivers Saturday morning, it turns out he’s passed through without a suitor. What that means for Jones is now unclear. The Flames have 30 days to assign him to Abbotsford without him being subject to waivers, but there’s no guarantee that’s what they’ll do.
The decision remains a curious one. If Jones is being placed on waivers strictly as a performance issue, I don’t understand it. He’s been very reliable for this team in a role that no one else really fills; he’s winning nearly 60 per cent of his faceoffs and taking 60 per cent of them in the defensive zone. He’s not a guy who you’ll count on for offence, but having a decent guy you can bury with defensive starts is important and it opens up how you use players higher on the depth chart. On the surface, I don’t get the rationale, but there is likely more to this. Perhaps there is something we’re not privy too, and perhaps there is another shoe to drop.
Already thin down the middle, the Flames have moved Comeau to centre ice and slotted him between Iginla and Glencross. Comeau has really struggled offensively since joining Calgary as a waiver claim early last season. His confidence level is low right now and as such there just doesn’t seem to be a nose for the net very often. The hope is, I guess, that putting him with two snipers will help revamp his offensive game.
According to our Roger Millions in Dallas, it looks like there will be one change on the Flames’ blueline, as Butler will take the spot of Derek Smith. Anton Babchuk will play his second game of the season it appears. He struggled against the Blues, sometimes mightily, but the coaching staff is still trying to get a handle on what they have in him. Smith will join Cory Sarich in the press box as a healthy scratch.
After seeing his first time with the Flames on Friday, Joey MacDonald gets the start in net. The goaltending situation is a very odd one in Calgary, too. Leland Irving started his fifth consecutive game against the Blues, but was pulled after allowing two goals on four shots in the first period. Yesterday, he was assigned to Abbotsford and the team recalled Danny Taylor from the Heat. With no Miikka Kiprusoff for at least the next week, it looks like the goaltending situation will be rather fluid.
Dallas Stars 8-6-1, 7th Western Conference
Brenden Morrow – Jamie Benn – Jaromir Jagr
Reilly Smith – Derek Roy – Loui Eriksson
Antoine Roussel – Cody Eakin – Michael Ryder
Eric Nystrom – Vernon Fiddler – Ryan Garbutt
Brenden Dillon – Stephane Robidas
Aaron Rome – Trevor Daley
Alex Goligoski – Philip Larsen
The story in Dallas is also in net and surrounds an upper body injury to their starter. Kari Lehtonen has been placed on IR with what is being reported as a groin injury, which means he can’t return until this coming Saturday. Lehtonen has been lights out this season, giving the Stars some of the most consistent goaltending in the league.
They survived without him in a 4-3 road win over Vancouver on Friday, however. Richard Bachman made 18 saves to pick up the win, and he’ll get the start tonight. Bachman was torched for seven goals the last time he played the Flames, but the team is publicly confident with him in net. The team recalled Cristopher Nilstorp from Texas of the AHL on Saturday and he’ll serve as the backup while Lehtonen is on the shelf.
Offensively, this team is very much led by their top line. Jamie Benn has ten points in ten games since returning to the lineup after a contract dispute, while Jaromir Jagr leads the team with 11 points in 14 games. Morrow’s start to the season was a little slower, but he scored two of his three goals this season against the Flames on Wednesday night. Dallas is missing Ray Whitney up front as he continues to recover from a broken foot; his timeline for return is very much up in the air.