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Rendezvous with an Old Flame: Atlanta vs Calgary

Atlanta Thrashers at Calgary Flames, Dec 9, 2009 9:30 PM EST


Calgary Flames defenseman Dion Phaneuf (3) checks Los Angeles Kings right wing Justin Williams, right,in the second period of a NHL hockey game in Los Angeles, Monday, Dec. 7, 2009.  (AP Photo/Lori Shepler)

Lori Shepler - AP

3 months ago: Calgary Flames defenseman Dion Phaneuf (3) checks Los Angeles Kings right wing Justin Williams, right,in the second period of a NHL hockey game in Los Angeles, Monday, Dec. 7, 2009. (AP Photo/Lori Shepler)

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Atlanta Thrashers


Calgary Flames




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9:30 PM
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Miikka Kiprusoff
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(16-7-3, .926% 2.21)

 


Tonight your Atlanta Thrashers play against the Calgary Flames of the Western Conference. Game notes after the jump.

Star-divide

In the first month of the season, the Flames had one of the best shooting percentages in the NHL. The Thrashers were also in the top 5. I thought it would be worthwhile to take another look:

Shooting_percentage_dec_9th_medium

Right now the Flames are 5th in the NHL in Points Percentage thanks to some great shooting and strong goaltending. They are exceptionally good at even-strength with a 5v5 GF/GA of 1.35 (2nd in the NHL, behind only Washington) and have middle-of-the-pack special teams. Once again, it is captain Jarome Iginla who is leading the Flames in scoring with 17 goals and 13 assists in 29 games. But to me, the most impressive thing about the Flames is that only two skaters are minus-players... and only -1.

The Flames are strong-starters, with more goals in the first period than the second and third. This could present a problem for the slow-out-of-the-gate Thrashers. Hopefully the late start will give them some extra time to get their heads in the game.

Tonight's Questions of the Game:

  1. Can the Thrashers forgive and forget? I'm talking, of course, about their awful performance against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday night. After a seemingly strong first period where the Thrashers killed off a multitude of penalties, the team fell apart and let five in their net during the worst period of the season. All teams have bad games, and this is one the Thrashers would do well to put behind them.
  2. Will the new forward combinations stick? And will they work? Ilya Kovalchuk and Slava Kozlov have swapped spots according to Dan Kamal, and the bottom two lines are a strange mish-mash where Jimmy Slater was playing with Rich Peverley and Colby Armstrong and Evander Kane is a scratch. (Don't worry, he's just under the weather. The flu has been going around the Thrashers' locker room and that may explain it.)  I'm not a fan of the current lines, but there's a reason I'm not a head coach in the NHL. (Okay, there are several reasons.)
  3. Can the Thrashers play defense? Even if you ignore the Leafs game, the Thrashers haven't exactly played stellar defense this season. Falconer has taken a look at some of the stats and there really is a team-wide problem. Zach Bogosian hasn't been as strong this year as he was at the end of last season. The third pairing has been up-and-down; I've placed much of the blame on Christoph Schubert, but Mark Popovic has had several defensive breakdowns as well. It will be interesting to see if Anssi Salmela and Boris Valabik start to receive more games, as both Schubert and Popovic will sit tonight.

0 recs  |  Comment 6 comments

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slater for kane?? i can see it.

are you sure kane is sick? darren didnt mention anything about that. he said the reason was to give the team more energy. at first i was very against scratching kane in favor of slater, but after seeing how physical these flames play, i think it may have been not only to provide some more checking, but also to protect kane who is pretty scrawny and a target due to this high pedigree. so far after the first period, the swap is looking like a good idea.

by dennylambert!! on Dec 9, 2009 10:18 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

Actually Darren did acknowledge it on Twitter. Ben confirmed it earlier. He’s got a big game coming up tomorrow as he heads home. Makes sense to make sure he’s healthy.

by EvilMilkshake on Dec 9, 2009 11:10 PM EST up reply actions   0 recs

ok good. i rather he be temporarily sick than having slater periodically play for him.

by dennylambert!! on Dec 9, 2009 11:13 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

2nd periods

Is there any way we can eliminate the 2nd period? Given up SEVEN goals in the 2nd period of the last 2 games…

by Black ice in Alabama on Dec 10, 2009 12:36 AM EST reply actions   0 recs

The period is just the symptom. The disease is a lack of urgency in the 1st and 2nd.

All things Thrashers + stats: www.birdwatchersanonymous.com

by The Falconer on Dec 10, 2009 1:19 AM EST up reply actions   0 recs

It’s funny, because the Flames have been horrible at 2nd periods this year too – especially on the road.

by Kent Wilson on Dec 10, 2009 11:44 AM EST up reply actions   0 recs

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Southeast Standings

GP W L OTL PT
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Atlanta 69 29 29 11 69
Tampa Bay 69 28 29 12 68
Florida 68 28 30 10 66
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(updated 3.18.2010 at 12:42 AM EDT)

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