As bad as people might be thinking things are going for Calgary, things are even worse in Columbus where recently acquired Jeff Carter has apparently already asked to moved. Although Carter is being painted as the bad guy by many. It's not like he pulled a Dany Heatley and went public, or signed a big contract with Columbus and later demanded a trade. He was signed by Philly, where he expected to be a big part of their organization for the foreseeable future, then was traded to Columbus in a deal he clearly didn't want. Maybe Jeff is the "bad guy" here. Maybe he's not holding up his end of the bargain, but at least he asked for the move privately (if he asked at all, depending on what you believe). Injuries have been a factor, but better play by Carter would help facilitate a move quicker than anything else, since Columbus doesn't want to dump a young, former 40 goal player, for peanuts. He likely has to be moved at some point, but he'll need to help Columbus help him, and he needs to do it by showing he can be a "good soldier" on the ice.
Although the Jackets do sit last in the league, their play recently has been better as they've earned points in 3 of their last four games with 2 wins and a tie over that span. Some of the help has been provided by Curtis Sanford, who in two games is undefeated in regulation and boasts a miniscule 1.64 goals against average as he makes his third consecutive start tonight thanks largely due to the struggles of former Calder winner Steve Mason who has never been able to find the form he displayed in his rookie season. Somewhere Andrew Raycroft is feeling his pain.
The Flames showed last time out against the Hawks that they can actually keep the pedal to the floor for 60 minutes, although the Hawks subsequent drubbing the following night in Edmonton might suggest that it was possibly more the failure of the Hawks to play their game then the success of the Flames to impose theirs. Either way, the game should do a lot for the confidence of the Flames who haven't had a whole lot of positives to build on early this season aside from the play of their goaltenders who have allowed them to stay competitive in almost every game.
The start tonight looks like it will go to Henrik Karlsson, the big Flames goalie who has failed to earn a win this season despite playing well between the pipes. The game against the Sabres he was especially impressive and was the only reason the Flames had a chance at earning any points that night as he stopped 42 of 44 shots in losing 2-1. His start means 2 things: 1 - The Flames trust his abilities to earn wins as this game is an important one for the team and 2 - The coaching staff looks to be sticking to its preseason mandate of letting Karlsson play 2 out of every 10 games. The hope is that the rest will allow Miikka Kiprusoff to maintain his focus. With Game #20 being in Detroit on Wednesday, and considering that Miikka has a great career record against the Wings, it was likely that Karlsson would be named the starter tonight.
Although many Flames (Bourque, Glencross, etc) were able to get off the schnide against the Hawks, the first line was unable to join the festivities. If the Flames are going to be able to put any sort of streak together as far as wins go, that line must start to connect. Their overall play was encouraging as they certainly generated chances, but they were unable to cash-in. The Flames need Jarome Iginla to get hot in a hurray.
The powerplay continues to be a sore spot for the Flames. simply put: They NEED to start capitalizing on the man advantage. To be honest, the less said right now about the Flames powerplay, the better.
Puck drop is at 5pm Calgary time, so it's an early start.
Have a great day!
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