Tuesday, October 28, 2008

 

Flames Game Night

Colorado @ Calgary, 730PM MT, RSN West.

The Avs have reeled off five straight wins, and they're hot: Astrom has been stopping a lot of pucks, and Team Granato has been making good on a lot of scoring chances.

Kent notes in his early season review that "Rene Bourque is quietly becoming a Keenan favorite I think". No question about it. I mentioned before the Caps game that the Flames are seeing a lot more shifts end in the other guys' zone than in their own. So much so, in fact, that there is but one Flame who has been sent on by the coach for more faceoffs in the defensive zone than the offensive zone (at EV). Sarich and Regehr are close, but it's M. Bourque who holds that distinction. Which I suppose makes the fact that he's one of only three regulars with a plus plus/minus that much more impressive.

Prediction: a goaltender is pulled at some point, and the Flames win 5-3, salted away with an EN goal for Iginla -- giving him an unnatural hat trick. (Not quite as impressive as Cogliano's, but whatever.) Go Flames.

Comments:

Every time I think the timeonice app's utlity has peaked, you provide me a new link.

Awesome.
 


Doesn't Bourque have one of the hardest shots in the league?
 


He won the AHL hardest shot competition once upon a time. Dont know how that translates to the NHL though.
 


Kent/Matt:

this link
http://timeonice.com/playershots.php?team=CGY&first=20001&last=20200&henrik=7&daniel=12
will show a phantom player, #99. He represents the results when Bertuzzi and Iginla are both on the ice together. (Small sample, so best to look at Corsi: +1)

Iggy sans Bert: Corsi +28.

And I'm assuming that Iginla is playing a lot of tough minutes, regardless of linemate. And Bertuzzi only when he is on Iginla's line.

Langkow is the guy who has been saddled with Bertuzzi the most, it would appear.

Flames 99, the 'Bert without Langkow' player, is the only player on the Flames squad with negative underlying numbers. Langkow does much, much better without Todd.

And if there are two things that Keenan loves in this world, they are Todd Bertuzzi and screwing with goaltenders' heads. There is plenty of room for things to go wrong in Cowtown yet.

And it's early and all, but excepting Bertuzzi, Sutter looks to have done really well with the new additions. And it was a good time for Boyd and Moss to start looking like useful players as well.
 

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