Calgary is the hottest team in the league over the last 10 games, with an 8-1-1 record. On the other hand, San Jose hasn't lost in regulation at the Shark tank this year. Not once. Yikes.
It's unlikely the Sharks will be as complacent as they seemed in Calgary - there will be no 3 goal lead first period for the Flames this evening.
Im interested to see how the match-ups will proceed tonight. San Jose has Torrey Mitchell back, likely bumping Joe Pavelski up to the second line. Matt wrote about Pavelski here, explaining that he's been deployed against tough competition this year - and done well besides. While Keenan went Power v Power last game, throwing out Iginla against Thornton, it wouldn't surprise me to see McLellan send Pavelski out against Jaromes line instead (again, as Matt notes), saving the softer match-ups for Marleau/Thornton/Setoguchi.
Bert remains injured (NOOOOOOOO!), so Vandermeer remains on the 4th line. Boyd filled in on Langkow's unit only intermittenly last game, with Lombardi sometimes subbing in (when he wasn't centering the Glencross line or the Iginla line). I would expect Conroy to spend most of the night on the first unit (Keenan is a little more conservative on the road against good teams when it comes to flipping the pivot on the first line), so watch for Lombo and Boyd to take turns on the second and third units. Also, I would anticipate seeing a lot less of the Nystrom trio than we've become accustomed to: Jimmy V played all of 5 minutes against the Blues and still ended up a -1. Against a far superior Sharks team and on the road, he likely becomes an even more glaring liability (when combined with the likes of Nystrom and Roy. That's no slight to the latter two players, who haven't played too badly; just a recognition that Roy+Nystrom+Vandermeer is no great sum).
As good as the Flames have been, a win tonight would be shocking. San Jose is the best team in the league in general and far and away the best team at home in particular. It'll take a resurgent Jarome Iginla to get us through this one (HINT HINT Iggy).
Prediction - Flames do the seemingly impossible and win 3-2. Iginla (2) and Giordano for Calgary. Marleau and Goc for San Jose.
Go Flames.
79 comments:
if they keep turning over the puck like last game there's no chance.
isnt there anyone on the farm that can play 4th line c?
just healthy scratch 4 and bring one up, we need four lines that contributes.
hows primeau doing anyway? (never thought i would ask that)
Haven't heard anything about Primeau.
I would assume Peters and Lundmark could fill the role. Or Lundmark could come up and play on the 2nd line again, with Boyd back on the 4th line.
I would assume, however, that the reason we aren't doing something like that is more financial (salary cap) than anything else though.
Limited ice time + occasional addition of a center should cover the fourth line pretty well. As long as they don't ice it, I'm not too worried.
The biggest thing tonight is going to be recovering when SJ scores a goal. Because they will score, and chances are good they'll do it in a way that looks embarrassing for Calgary. Embarrassment is fine, but giving up and letting a second quick goal in is bad.
I think we'll do well if we limit the passing plays. If a SJ player gets an open net, I have little hope of Kipper making a stunning, game-stealing save, so preventing those goals will be up to the defense.
I'm praying I can get out of here early enough to actually validate my purchase of NHL Center Ice out here in Vancouver, to see this game. The Blues game was sloppy and unexciting, so I'm hoping for a bit of excitement tonight. That being said, I was still impressed to see Pardy playing D, and Jimmy as a winger. Pardy looks to be making all the right plays at the right time, so I'm gonna go ahead and predict a different set of goals.
Pardy, Boyd, and Glencross. Setoguchi and Marleau for SJS.
On the optimistic side, the Sharks are not going to go to whole season without losing a game in regulation at home - they're due...
True enough.
But this IS the fourth game of a four game home stand for them, if I recall correctly. That says something in itself.
Hopefully Calgary looks to pick it up after a somewhat sloppy and mistake ridden game on Tuesday.
Torrey Mitchell isn't back yet- he was just sent down to Worcester to rehab with the WooSharks.
Well...shows what I know.
Thanks for the update.
There's always the chance we could win in OT, which wouldn't break the Shark's home points run.
Although, if I remember right, we ended undefeated streaks by both Minnesota and Anaheim in recent years.
I, like last SJS game, have a bit of a hunch that the flames will squeek out of this game with at least a point. I cant explain y but its just the feeling I get (I honestly think they want it more and SJS is due for a loss on home ice). That being said if they wanna have a chance in this game their absolute number 1 job is to weather the storm at the beginning. They need to put it in complete lock down for the first period and hope they can get out 0-0. I figure the longer they can keep this game scoreless the better off they will be. If they have to trap them so be it, I would much rather see a boring victory than exciting loss (in this game at least).
instead they did the exact opposite... cool
That's gods way of punishing Keenan for starting Vandermeer on Lankow's line.
Sometimes Keenan's dumb-shit decisions like the above just make me shake my head.
What the hell!?! I went to take a crap, and so does the team, apparently.
Well, it's been a rocky start, but that's to be expected.
Moss has looked like the best forward on the ice for the Flames so far.
Here comes the adjustment. McLellan has Pavelski out against Jarome now and is targeting the Langkow line (now burdened with Vandermeer) with Thornton.
This is not going to go well.
for gods sake put a forward with 22-17, put 23/27 there, anyone!!!
Well, Flames managed to push back by the end of the period. I thought the Glencross line was consistently the best - they basically eat their Sharks counterparts for breakfast.
Jarome didn't do anything on the other hand. He looked awful by my eye in that period: fishing for puck with one hand on the stick, losing battles and coasting around. He's a total non-entity right now.
for gods sake put a forward with 22-17, put 23/27 there, anyone!!!
Amen. Vandermeer with Langkow is going to end in tears.
The Flames are following my first piece of advice: not giving up after an embarrassing goal. The end of the 1st was not bad considering we're on the road. We contained their offense pretty well. I guess that's a pretty good thing when you're playing in SJ.
And holy crap, welcome back Luongo. Ouch!
Yeah, the 3-line was awesome that period... makes you wonder why the Coach took Lombardi off it when they were having that much success :)
Also, Charlie Simmer is a terrible, horrible, no good very bad commentator.
Also, Charlie Simmer is a terrible, horrible, no good very bad commentator.
I honestly don't remember anything he said that period. I've developed a Simmer filter.
Have you been able to figure out what, if anything, causes Keenan to switch Lombardi with Conroy and vice versa on the Iginla line? It seems totally arbitrary to me.
old man conroy!!
20 and 25 is gold
They sure are...
I can't believe Nystrom just shoveled the puck at the net on a 2on0. I know it was supposed to be a pass to Boyd, but...
Sigh.
oh.....nystrom...
I'm not sure what happened to him there. I understand some guys get nervous when it's them and a goaltender, but Nystrom has had a few breakaways recently, and even scored on one.
Iginla and Cammalleri could take some tips from Glencross and Moss.
bless him
Gah. I hope Iginla steps up, since Phaneuf and Kipper obviously aren't.
Gah.
Gah. I hope Iginla steps up, since Phaneuf and Kipper obviously aren't.
Gah.
All three of them were out there for that one.
And here comes the 3rd line again. Man oh man are they good tonight.
Pffft, that puck did not change direction.
I've seen the dinky-sized monitors they use to watch replays in the press box...
Nice!
Has anyone else noticed that the SJ fans are only noisy when they're booing?
Holy shit what a great deflection by Langkow.
Also, I think Phaneuf has been really good so far tonight... making some shit happen. I think the boos give him strength (yeah, he's that kind of guy).
Pffft, that puck did not change direction.
I'm glad Im not the only one who thought that was BS.
Classic Aucoin on that one.
You know, despite all the reasons I would have predicted this Calgary Flames team would be worse than last years, they're definately better.
Has anyone else noticed that the SJ fans are only noisy when they're booing?
I would disagree, they seem pretty loud to me.
That was a WEAK hook.
But either way, big PK.
BIG.
I really wish Keenan had put Moss' line on the ice for that face-off against Goc (after the icing) instead Iginla's line.
That's just unbelievably lucky not to allow a PP goal there. Any one of ten bounces goes a bit differently...
Or to put it another way: Yay! Lucky PK notwithstanding, they deserve to be at least tied in this game.
Bourque needs to hold off on that celebration.
That's just unbelievably lucky not to allow a PP goal there. Any one of ten bounces goes a bit differently...
Are you sure it just wasn't Kipper's CLUTCH goaltending?
That was the best play by Iginla so far. Nice to seem him drive to the net, rather than going for some kind of passing play. He could use a couple of garbage goals.
That was the best play by Iginla so far. Nice to seem him drive to the net, rather than going for some kind of passing play. He could use a couple of garbage goals.
I agree. Then he followed it up with a super-limp forecheck on the PP. It was just him and Vlasic in the corner and he didn't even come close to winning possession.
He still looks way off to me.
WTF crossbar?!
nice game
Well it'll mostly be for naught if the Sharks win the 3rd 2-0 or 3-0, but this game has been pretty encouraging.
I know there's a big contingent that thinks Nabokov got robbed of the Vezina last year, but honestly, I think the Sharks have the same relative weakness as the Wings and it's the G position. (Until Rob Blake remembers he's 42, at least).
Yeah, Nabby has never impressed me either. He benefits from the superior team in front of him.
Check out this stat - David Moss: 8 shots on net in 8 minutes of play (!!)
yeah 12 looks like 7 without the 22 instant chemistry
Moss/GlenX outshooting the Sharks 13 to 2. 19-2 if you count blocks/misses.
Wow. 20/25 are just bitch-slapping the Sharks.
Look at Iginla's line, though. Can't believe Jarome is the weak link right now.
Yeah, we look like a top tier team here, no question. Even if we lose the 3rd, I'd still be satisfied.
Yeah. The Sharks shot advantage is pretty much built entirely out of that long sequence of PP's in the 2nd.
keenan puts Iginla out there with Glencross and Conroy - probably to get him going.
That feels very strange to say.
12 looking better so far in the third
That's why Vandermeer is out there with Langkow again. Gotta get 4 going.
So do we say that Iginla is getting demoted to the third or promoted to the first?
Panic time with Glencross and Moss out there again. Man have they been impressive.
wow. What an great game this is.
That could be a momentum changer . . . two posts, and then a dumb, dumb penalty.
Would it hurt to give Mosser some PP time with the game he's had tonight?
YAAAA!!
Quite the time for Dion to break the slump.
yWAGAJEAH!!!!
I'm not too surprised we picked up a goal there. SJ has been playing like they have a 3 goal lead, for whatever reason.
This is the closest feel to a playoff game I've had since last April.
fuck icing
Iginla can't even hit an empty net.
Hey, what'd I say about being due?
Dumb, dumb penalty, I hope that doesn't bite us in the ass.
Holy shit. If I hadn't seen it I may not have believed it.
Great, great game all around.
Never mind, that wasn't the penalty I thought it was.
Stellar game. It followed the same pattern of most of our games: push and push through the first two periods, and then clinch it in the third.
woot
So...does Keenan putting Boyd on the 2nd line for the last couple of minutes (even with the lead) prove that he actually rates the kid?
I think he trusts Boyd defensively. That's the only thing I can think of to explain why he stayed on the fourth line even while Vandermeer is in. Certainly his PK time supports the idea.
Something I have to keep reminding myself is that Boyd is the only real kid on the team. Bourque, Moss, Glencross, Pardy, Giordano are all 25+, but Boyd is still 22. It's quite possible he's viewed differently because of that.
Awesome!
YEAH BABY!!! I feel like they just won the stanley cup!!! I knew Dion would come around eventually. As I said i had a hunch before this game this was going to be the one. Sutter should have his answer now. I think this team could honestly challenge for the cup now. The season is so young but this win really convinces me they are the real deal this year. The competition is stiff but none more than SJS. Get another center and lets see what they can do. I wanna see Iggy hoist that cup more than anything
SEVENTY FIVE COMMENTS ???
holy crap, i've got some reading to do....
that'll learn me for taking a job, hey ?
:)
Well, it's mostly just me so don't get too excited.
You missed out on one of the best RS games in a long time though :(
SEVENTY FIVE COMMENTS ???
holy crap, i've got some reading to do....
I thought the same thing when I saw 76 comments...
Great game to watch, even with the Sharks announcers on Center Ice (I always get them for Sharks games, since I'm in Cali.) Nothing bothered me other than a softie on Kipper and the continued mystery that is Iggy...I LOVE Moss, though, he has taken every part of his game up a level, including intensity.
Solid prediction sir.
Flames deserved to win that game all night. Another playoff series against you guys would be insanity.
Cheers, and Go Sharks.
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