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**Update **
- Per TSN: Reports indicate that the injury the veteran Flames netminder suffered during Tuesday's 4-1 victory over the Detroit Red Wings is related to the MCL in his knee but is not considered to be serious at this point.
- Baertchi has been listed on the IR which provides contract relief for Taylor
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The Calgary Flames carried the momentum from Saturday’s game in Chicago to burn the Detroit Red Wings last night with a 4-1 victory. It seems like Calgary finally has something positive on the score sheet to show for after a few tough losses of late.
Previous to the game, I mentioned how the success of this team will be largely due to Jarome Iginla and Miikka Kiprusoff finding their groove. Albeit several good games and opportunities, it took Iginla 8 games to pot his first goal of the season in the opening three minutes of the game. Offensively, blueliners Giordano and Wideman each put up a powerplay goal and Cammalleri had 2 assists of his own.
As discussed, it appears Calgary was able to take advantage of Detroit’s weak penalty kill, converting on 2 of 5 powerplays. This is the second game in a row where Calgary has dominated their opponents offensively. Last night they dictated the game by forcing Detroit to chase the puck and were able to strip them of the puck at times with ease. Oddly enough, this is the first time this season the Flames were outshot 23 to 26 and came away with a victory. It appears as though they are more focused on quality scoring chances than merely high shot totals as we’ve seen in previous games. They earned 4 goals on 23 shots compared to 2 on 47 shots in their last game.
In addition to the offensive pressure, we are able to see that between the last two games played, the Flames have been working hard on their defense as they have been able to keep their opponent shot totals rather low. While they may not have been getting stellar tending from Kiprusoff to start the season, they have been focusing on strong defensive coverage and zone play which was severely lacking in the first handful of games.
Despite their win, the Flames will be facing a new setback. Kipursoff left the game after 2 periods last night with what was called a lower body injury when he collided with Detroit’s Johan Franzen. He is currently listed as day to day by the team.
Kipursoff is known to be quite durable and has played at least 70 games in his last 7 seasons, but Calgary has neglected their back up goal program and now they could pay the price. That being said, Irving stopped all 6 shots he faced last night and looked good. With only 394 minutes of total playing time in the NHL, Irving will need to be relied upon for the next few games while Kiprusoff tends to his injury.
Calgary is currently waiting on Karri Ramo to finish up in the KHL and are hopeful he can step in to take some pressure off their current starter. To backup Irving in the interim, the Flames have signed Abbotsford Heat netminder, Danny Taylor, to a league minimum $525,000 one year/two way contract. This is somewhat unfortunate as it burns an NHL contract for the Flames, who were hopeful to have room for improvements down the road. Taylor has been rather impressive for the Heat this year and should provide a good option for a backup to Irving, or even fight for the starting position himself as neither tender are slotted in just yet.
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Even though Baertschi has yet to record a point for the Flames and has been injured for the past few weeks, there is much debate and anxiousness from fans regarding the timeframe for his return. The Flames listed him as week to week with a hip flexor injury after he caught a rut in the ice during practice. Hartley said at the end of January “In several days, he’s going to be ready to go” but there’s still no sign of Baertschi’s return.
The good news for Baerschi is that it’s a hip flexor and not a concussion. Earlier this year he worried Flames fans after suffering concussion like symptoms after a hit while playing with the Abbotsford Heat. About a year before that, Baertschi missed time due to a concussion suffered during the Calgary-hosted World Junior Hockey Championship, in which he played for Switzerland. Hopefully these injuries are not something that we see often with one of Calgary’s top prospects.
Hartley and the training staff have been working on Baertschi’s upper body strength while he nurses his hip flexor. The sidelined forward is only 5’11” 185lbs but will work with conditioning coach to get stronger before being reinserted into the lineup. A smart move by coach Hartley, as it’s only his first year in the NHL and with a shortened season, you want to make sure he properly develops his abilities as a rookie. The potential is definitely there; he’s dynamic and adds a spark on the ice…he’s been exciting to watch.
Even though there is no current update on Baertschi, when he does comes back he should be a little better and a little stronger. I will update later when I hear anything on the status of his injury.
Thanks for reading!
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