My MVP for the game has to be Pardy. He was great tonight. I know, those 4 you listed probably were more valuable in tonights win, but Pardy played a big part in it.
Third Period
All Flames all period. They forechecked brilliantly, clogged the neutral zone and passed tape to tape. This was without question the only period the Flames actually showed up for. They were firing on all cylinders and it showed in every aspect of the stats. They outhit, outshot and outplayed the blues in the third frame.
The power play was Magnificent. And even that word is far too mild to describe the poetry in motion that was the Flames PP unit that period. They pressured the defence relentlessly and actually scored, TWICE!! Bertuzzi in particular was great, with some truly inspired play behind the net to get Iggy set up . And Dion!! I knew that shots ON NET would be fruitful! Though Moss again deserves some serious Kudos for his brilliant tip to pop it in and tie the game.
The penalty kill was not so good. They managed to keep the puck out thanks in no small part to Miikka’s play, and to St Louis players missing the net. The Blues managed to keep the puck in the Flames zone for almost the full two minutes and also managed to give me at least 4 solid heart attacks.
OVERTIME!!
Not much to say other than IGGY IS THE MAN! What a brilliant pass to Cammy, and Micheal Cammileri made no mistake in turning Mason into swiss cheese.
Overall Impressions
All in all not the best game the Flames have played, but still no where near their worst. It always scares me when the Flames play below their ability for 40 minutes then pull it out in the end. We as fans do not enjoy watching such complacent play and you can bet Keenan is none to impressed either. I have said all season that a full 60 minute effort is required, and no matter whom you play against this is always true.
Moss is continuing to impress the holy heck out of me. He’s everywhere on the ice and never slows down. And Poor Primeau. This guy does everything but score. No worries though as you can believe he will get started sooner or later and once he does watch out. Dion was MUCH improved after the first period. So much so that he deserves the star that not only I gave him but that Sportsnet gave him (before the game even ended, what was that?)
The Flames will have to remember to start with a full effort in their next game, because the Rangers are exponentially better than the Blues and they can and will bury you should you make any small mistakes.
Three Stars By Me
1. Dion Phaneuf
2. David Moss
3. Jarome Iginla
HM to Bertuzzi who actually showed an effort and played with some intensity instead of floating around all night. Good on ya Todd.
I was pleasently surprised at Phaneuf's response to a bad game against Dallas. The powerplay was working tonight. The Gio/Phaneuf pairing played really well and can't argue with the results on the PP.
As a side note, how many times did Perron miss the net at the end of that game? He could have put it away on at least three occasions, most on that GlenX tripping penalty at the end.
I was pleasently surprised at Phaneuf's response to a bad game against Dallas. The powerplay was working tonight. The Gio/Phaneuf pairing played really well and can't argue with the results on the PP.
As a side note, how many times did Perron miss the net at the end of that game? He could have put it away on at least three occasions, most on that GlenX tripping penalty at the end.
Agreed, I was not happy with Phaneuf's play last game, he was considerably better tonight.
Yes a good bounce back game from Phaneuf. Wasn't his best game, but he was steady in his own end and made some great offensive plays on a couple of the goals. Thought bertuzzi also had his first good game in quite a while. Made a nice pass on the Iggy goal and just was better in every area of the ice. It'll be nice to get him going again.
What a shot by Cammalleri. Had many chances in regulation where Mason stoned him, but made no mistake in the overtime. Glencross and Moss continue to work hard every shift. Nice to have that guy that will stand in front of the net in Moss. Glencross just continues to play well and put up the points. Pardy looked really good out there.
Nice to get off to a good start on this roadtrip. Going to have to play better though if we want to get the wins against the Rangers, Canadiens and Wings.
I voted for Phaneuf. He rebounded from a so-so game against Dallas and played a very good game tonight. He took a couple of careless penalties, but he made up for them with some outstanding passing.
I'm not sure why Iginla is on the list. Sure he had two points, but I didn't think he played that well. He made some terrible decisions, turned the puck over, and didn't win a lot of battles on the boards.
Bertuzzi looked better tonight, especially in the 3rd Period. However, he needs to put in a full 60 minutes.
Aucoin had a poor game. He struggled with his defensive zone coverage and made some poor plays.
Finally, the PK was brutal tonight. The guys were running around and not staying in their lanes. They were undisciplined on the PK, and fortunately the Blues missed the net several times during their 5 PPs.
I'd say the biggest difference in this year's team compared to any since the '04 team is the presence of another scorer/shooter in Cammalleri.
Also his grit is a welcome addition over what Juice/Tanguay brought. There was one shift there where he battled like crazy along the boards.
Would like to add that yes Flames had to go the comeback route but they could of buried the Blues in the first ten minutes. Bertuzzi twice and Lombardi once fanned on excellent slot chances.
Also Blues could of put it away in 3rd period. They had great chances on the PP. Perron and Boyes are impressive on the PP.
I think Kipper was great also. He made 2-4 huge saves the most important when Flames had tied game to 3-3 and Blues got a close in change to score and Kipper stopped this shot with his glove.
Gotta go with Kipper for the crucial saves he made in the Blues PP in the third where they were in our zone for 1:55 straight
As an aside another crucial win to stay in the NW hunt. Funny how fans from other teams were predicting before the season a 'changing of the guard' in the west with teams like St. Louis, Chicago, Edmonton on their way up, but the only irregular team in a playoff position is Chicago and it came at the expense of a team no one expected to fall, Dallas.
Go Flames!! Missed this game on TV but was exited to read about the comeback. The Flames are not the best when they fall behind but Im glad they continued with effort, sounds like a solid 60+ minute effort.
