St. Louis Game Time - Blues At Flames GameDay Storystream: Will The Blues Wrap Up The Trip With A Win?We're one ugly bastard.https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/10753/gt-fave.png2013-03-24T21:41:53-05:00http://www.stlouisgametime.com/rss/stream/39055912013-03-24T21:41:53-05:002013-03-24T21:41:53-05:00Blues At Flames Recap: Blues Lose, 3-2
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<figcaption>Derek Leung</figcaption>
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<p>After a almost two periods of not being able to get anything past Mikka Kipprusoff, the Blues finally broke through.</p> <p>This was an interesting game. The first period? The Blues generally controlled the play except for a bit of a penalty kill issue that lead to a <a class="vt-p" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kE16Li7__hM" target="_blank">power play goal by Roman Cervenka of all people,</a> who wristed his fourth goal of the season past Jaroslav Halak. The Blues figured "hey, maybe we need to put the pressure on Mikka Kipprusoff to see what gets him to crack."</p>
<p>What gets him to crack? Not much the Blues shelled Kipper in the second period, getting 19 pucks on goal in comparison to the Flames' 4. How many went in? One, by T.J. Oshie, but not before the Flames exploited Oshie's failure to clear a puck. Who exploited it? Cervenka again. Apparently he's growing into his newfound status as a Blues-killer.</p>
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<p>It was a pretty shot, but if Oshie had cleared the puck, it never would have happened. Luckily Osh doesn't give up or beat himself up after the goal. Instead he just has Curtis Glencross cross check him into the boards, which resulted in a crosschecking penalty fpor Glencross and an inexplicable unsportsmanlike conduct call on Oshie. No worries; Oshie gets sprung from the box and goes blocker-side on Kipper, cutting the Flames' lead in half.</p>
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<p>Nice.</p>
<p>Even nicer? The Blues knotting it up at two just 4:48 into the third period. Vladimir Sobotka shoved in his 8th goal of the year.</p>
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<p>Unfortunately, Jarome Iginla scored on an atrocious lapse of concentration by Jaroslav Halak. Wade Redden completely bailed Halak out by knocking the puck away on Iggy's breakaway, but the slide carried him into Halak, giving Iginla a chance to shove the puck right into the net.</p>
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<p>The most frustrating thing wasn't Iginla's goal. Rather, it was the 0-for-4 that the Blues went on the power play. It's been weak as of late, and needs to work itself out as soon as possible. The Blues could have used a more effective PP tonight.</p>
<p>Tonight's game was not a bad one, and there weren't any major screw-ups to pick apart. The only big goof was Oshie's failure to clear, which he owned up to and never quit trying to fix. If Oshie had quit, or if the team had quit at any point, then we can be concerned. As it stands, tonight's hame was just a tough loss that probably should have been a win had the Blues not come right up against an extremely hot goalie. Honestly, you can't say much more when a team has nearly 40 shots on goal and they bust their asses for three periods straight. Sometimes this stuff happens. Clean up, move on, and beat the Oilers on Tuesday.</p>
https://www.stlouisgametime.com/2013/3/24/4143428/blues-at-flameshildymac2013-03-24T18:30:08-05:002013-03-24T18:30:08-05:00Blues At Flames GameDay Thread
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<figcaption>Dale MacMillan</figcaption>
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<p>Baby it's cold outside... maybe a tilt against the Calgary Flames can warm things up?</p> <p>Ok, so, nine or so inches of snow is a lot of snow, and sure, your kids (and maybe even you!) will have a three day weekend thanks to it. Do you have all of your bread, milk, and eggs? French toast ready to go? Excellent! While you're already trapped in your home, why not flip on the <a href="https://www.stlouisgametime.com/" class="sbn-auto-link vt-p">Blues</a> game and hang out in the GameDay Thread?</p>
<p>The Blues will be taking on the reeling <a href="https://www.matchsticksandgasoline.com/" class="sbn-auto-link vt-p">Calgary Flames</a>, who just have not been good this season. They've been so bad that their captain, <a href="https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1516590&xs=1&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnesn.com%2F2013%2F03%2Freport-jarome-iginla-lists-bruins-among-four-teams-where-he-would-accept-trade%2F&referrer=sbnation.com&sref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.stlouisgametime.com%2F2013%2F3%2F24%2F4143020%2Fgamethread-for-st-louis-blues-at-calgary-flames-mar-24-2013" class="vt-p" target="_blank" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener">Jarome Iginla, has actually released a sheet of teams who he'd waive his NTC to go to</a>ould-accept-trade/. Who are they? Boston, Pittsburgh, Chicago, and Los Angeles. Two of those teams are in the Western Conference, and normally it's a bad idea to trade with your foes, but the Flames are so bad that actually doesn't even matter.</p>
<p>How Jay Feaster has a job should confuse you; how <span>Jaroslav Halak</span> is starting tonight should not. He has 16 shutouts as a Blue, tying Glenn Hall's record. Gotta reward those shutouts; hopefully the Blues will reward Halak's solid play with some good play of their own.</p>
<p>This is your gameday thread. Get some hot chocolate, get warm, and get ready to watch some Flames get burnt. Let's go Blues.</p>
https://www.stlouisgametime.com/2013/3/24/4143020/gamethread-for-st-louis-blues-at-calgary-flames-mar-24-2013hildymac2013-03-24T15:30:03-05:002013-03-24T15:30:03-05:00The Blues face trial by fire tonight in Calgary
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<figcaption>If only we could re-direct the Jackman haters towards Calgary ... | Derek Leung</figcaption>
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<p>RM: Will the Blues wilt in the heat?</p> <p>The Flames have been in the "will they or won't they rebuild" limbo for quite some time, never really fully committing to a rebuild. As such, they've been "going for it" ever since, making trades and near-disastrous offer sheets to create the guise of contending for a playoff spot. This situation has created a lot of angst for the fans, as evidenced in this really <a target="_blank" href="http://www.matchsticksandgasoline.com/2013/3/23/4139274/on-losing-disappointment-and-becoming-a-real-hockey-fan">excellent piece</a> at Matchsticks and Gasoline. There is an eerie familiarity to that.</p>
<p>This is a game that the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.stlouisgametime.com/">Blues</a> should win - "Should" being the operative word. This is also a classic<a target="_blank" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4F4qzPbcFiA"> trap game</a> scenario; coming off of a solid win, building up confidence, and riding momentum into a match-up with a lesser opponent. This is where the Blues need to remember their recent history. On February 27, 2011, not so long ago, the Blues were <a target="_blank" href="http://www.stltoday.com/sports/hockey/professional/article_e24c2695-15f1-5502-8742-bc36da25cf67.html">shutout for the first time in 111 games</a> by <span>Miikka Kiprusoff</span>. The two teams played again on March 1, and Kipper stoned them <i>again</i>. That season, the Flames swept all 4 games against the Blues.</p>
<p>The Blues cannot afford to fall into that trap again</p>
<p><a href="http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/2371175/05_-_Ring_Of_Fire.mp3">Ring Of Fire / Social Distortion</a> <br id="1364145967393"></p>
<p><b>The Enemy: </b>The Flames aren't a great team, by no means, but one that can certainly take the game away if you let them. They are on a 3-game losing streak, the last one a 5-1 loss to the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.jacketscannon.com/">Blue Jackets</a>. At the same time, they've recently beat Detroit 5-2 and Nashville 6-3, so they still have some bite. They are led in goal scoring by <span>Curtis Glencross</span> (13-8-21), and there are 3 others who have more overall points than him: leader <span>Alex Tanguay</span> (9-14-23), <span>Lee Stempniak</span> (7-16-23), and <span>Mike Cammalleri</span> (9-13-22). And of course, there is always <span>Jarome Iginla</span> (8-13-21). Of that top 5 in scoring, only Stempniak has a positive +/-.</p>
<p>Their goaltending is led, as always, by Miikka Kiprusoff . He has a 5-7-2 record and a stat line of 3.54 GAA and .866 Save %. The backup is <span>Joey MacDonald</span>, who has only made 8 starts this year. His record is 3-5-1 with a 2.98 GAA and .894 save %.</p>
<p>Interestingly, despite these numbers, the Flames have maintained a winning record at home: 8-5-2 while at the Saddledome.</p>
<p><b>BREAKING</b>: <a target="_blank" href="http://flamesnation.ca/2013/3/24/has-iginla-submitted-a-4-team-list">according</a> to <a target="_blank" href="http://www.thescore.com/home/articles/665781">reports</a>, Jarome Iginla has OK'd waiving his no-trade clause to 4 contenders: Boston, Pittsburgh, Los Angeles, and Chicago. Expect to hear more about this as the trade deadline gets nearer.</p>
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<p><b>Further Reading:</b></p>
<p><a target="_blank" href="http://www.matchsticksandgasoline.com/">Matchsticks and Gasoline</a></p>
<p><a target="_blank" href="http://flamesnation.ca/">Flames Nation</a></p>
<p><b>Final Verse:</b> Tonight's game starts at a much more hometown-friendly 7:00PM St Louis time. The TV broadcast is on Fox Sports MW, and the radio call is on KMOX 1120 AM. The GDT should drop shortly ahead of the puck. Until then, this is your pregame warmup. Gather here, talk about the crazy weather, trade driving-in-snow stories, recite Iginila's full name (bonus points if you can do it without looking it up), and amuse yourself with this gem from Calgary's past...</p>
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<p><a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.matchsticksandgasoline.com/">Calgary Flames</a> - Red Hot (via <a href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=f9eF6DVI0tk">SupaDawgX</a>)</p>
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<p>LGB!</p>
<p><i>-CrossCheckRaise</i></p>
https://www.stlouisgametime.com/2013/3/24/4141944/road-music-03-24-at-calgary-flamesCrossCheckRaise2013-03-24T14:42:19-05:002013-03-24T14:42:19-05:00Blues at Flames Game Preview
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<figcaption>Derek Leung</figcaption>
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<p>The Calgary Flames aren't in much of a position to give the Blues a challenge tonight, but they're also capable of offensive spurts that can catch a team off guard.</p> <p>Well, will you look at that -- Ken Hitchcock isn't just rewarding wins anymore, he's back to rewarding shutouts. Good sign!</p>
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<p>@<a class="vt-p" href="https://twitter.com/panger40">panger40</a> reports <a class="sbn-auto-link vt-p" href="https://www.stlouisgametime.com/">Blues</a> will start <span>Jaroslav Halak</span> in goal again tonight vs. Flame coming off the shutout last night <a class="vt-p" href="https://twitter.com/search/%23stlblues">#stlblues</a></p>
— Norm Sanders (@NormSanders) <a class="vt-p" href="https://twitter.com/NormSanders/status/315885430912458752">March 24, 2013</a>
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<p>Finally, the Blues' goaltending situation's calmed down enough to where Hitchcock can go back to rewarding goalies for big stuff, because a win is expected. What a novel concept. Calgary coach Bob Hartley doesn't have that kind of luxury, however. His team's in second to last place in the Western Conference, and a full 10 points behind the Blues. They've got a goal differential of -19. Mikka Kipprusoff has allowed five goals in his last two starts. Not total -- <i>in each game</i>. </p>
<p><span>Chris Stewart</span> should have a grand old time tonight. He has eight goals and seven assists over the last nine games. He's probably the last player that a team who is on a three game losing streak wants to see. Too bad. Calgary's going to get a damn good look at him tonight.</p>
https://www.stlouisgametime.com/2013/3/24/4142386/blues-at-flames-preview-blues-need-to-keep-on-rolling-to-end-road-triphildymac2013-03-24T09:42:32-05:002013-03-24T09:42:32-05:00Blues at Flames Morning Thread
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<figcaption>Derek Leung</figcaption>
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<p>The last two games of their western Canada trip are winabble, as the Blues showed last night. Can they take care of Kipper and the Flames tonight?</p> <p>The Blues and the Flames are both on very opposite paths this season. In their last ten games, the Blues are 6-4-0. The Flames? 4-6-0. Mikka Kipprusoff, usually a beacon of reliability on a team that doesn't exactly have a lot of it, has been atrocious this season. He has a 3.54 GAA and a .866 SV% this year. None of the Flames' goaltenders have a save percentage over .900 save for Daniel Taylor, who has played in a whole whopping two games this season. Joey MacDonald is the goalie with a GAA under 3 with a 2.98. They have problems. </p>
<p>Heck, the Flames are so bad that their website only shows the Northwest Division standings and doesn't have the individual stats as an option. So, are they beatable? Duh. Their team has two (two!) players with a positive +/-, Lee Stempniak and Alex Tanguay. I know that +/- is generally a pointless stat, but when you only have two guys who can manage to not be on the ice for every goal allowed, you might want to tighten up your defense.</p>
<p>Jake Allen is back in net last night after Jaroslav Halak's team-record tying 16th shutout as a Blue. There's no reason that the Blues can't get a couple more points tonight. The Blues are in fifth place now. They could be in fourth after a win tonight; they've already beaten the Flames at home 5-2 once this season.</p>
https://www.stlouisgametime.com/2013/3/24/4141524/blues-at-flames-morning-thread-will-the-blues-wrap-up-the-trip-with-ahildymac