Happy Monday!
This week on the show we break down the Mike Cammalleri trade, we discuss the Jordan Eberle All-Star “snub” and we try to figure out what is wrong with the Edmonton Oilers. Also: Will we ever see a fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao?
In the GABBYs: Leo Messi, Tim Tebow, Thierry Henry, Rick DiPietro, Josh Blanchard and the Jacksonville Jaguars. This week’s Punchline is Dustin Penner!
The Los Angeles Kings defeated the Calgary Flames 4-1 Saturday night at the Scotiabank Saddledome in a game loaded with unique storylines.
In this particular game you had Brent Sutter coach for the Flames against his brother Darryl, who coaches the Kings. When the two worked in Calgary, with Brent as the head coach and Darryl as the general manager, they had somewhat of a rocky relationship.
You also had the return of forward Michael Cammalleri, who was traded to Calgary from Montreal for Rene Bourque this week. Cammalleri scored the only Flames goal, his tenth of the season.
After a scoreless first period, the Kings jumped out to a 3-0 lead on goals by Anze Kopitar, Mike Richards and Matt Greene.
Kings forward Dustin Penner was back in the lineup after suffering back spasms from eating his wife’s pancakes.
In other Flames news, General Manager Jay Feaster cleared up why Cammalleri wasn’t told immediately where he had been traded on Thursday night. According to CBC, the reason is Feaster didn’t want to make the trade official until the Flames’ game against Anaheim started so Bourque could serve one extra game of his five game suspension. This was a very classy move by Feaster that should strengthen his relationship with other General Managers in the National Hockey League.
Tom Brady (Keith Allison, Wikimedia Commons)
We are down to eight teams left now in the National Football League.
In the AFC, the New England Patriots (13-3) will host the Denver Broncos (8-8) this evening (CBS, 6pm) in the most anticipated game of the weekend.
Tebownmania is larger now than it ever has, and possibly ever will be. But the bottom line is how many championships in the NFL has Tim Tebow won? The answer is zero and he will be up against a quarterback that has won three Super Bowls, is a two-time MVP and is a seven-time Pro Bowler in Tom Brady. And oh yes, the Patriots hammered the Broncos 41-23 in Denver on December 18, as Brady threw for 320 yards, including 129 yards to underrated tight end Aaron Hernandez. I’m picking New England in a rout.
Michael Cammalleri (Wikimedia Commons)
Michael Cammalleri is coming back to the Calgary Flames.
On Thursday, the Flames acquired Cammalleri, goaltender Karri Ramo, and a fifth round pick in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft from the Montreal Canadiens for Rene Bourque, Patrick Holland and a second round pick in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.
Cammalleri played for the Flames in 2008-09 before signing as an unrestricted free agent, scored nine goals and 13 assists in 37 games this season. He recorded 82 points for the Flames in 2009 after coming to Calgary in a trade with Los Angeles.
Bourque had three goals and 13 assists this season– a significant drop from his 50 points a year ago.
Ramo gives the Flames goaltending depth, even though he is currently playing for Omsk in the KHL, amd Holland is currently playing for the Tri-City Americans in the WHL.
The events surrounding Cammalleri were very bizarre tonight because he got traded during Montreal’s game against Boston this evening. In the third period, Cammalleri left the bench, and the media heard the reason why. Cammalleri had been critical of the Canadiens lately in the media for a lack of playing time.
In other Flames news, Jarome Iginla will represent the hockey team later this month in Ottawa. He leads the team with 36 points.
On Thursday night, Blair Jones scored in overtime as the Flames beat the Anaheim Ducks 1-0. Jones was recently acquired by the Flames in a trade that saw Brendan Mikkelson go to Tampa Bay. Miikka Kiprusoff made 23 saves for the shutout as the Flames move within two points of the Los Angeles Kings for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Another chapter has been written in the ongoing feud between the Boston Bruins and the Vancouver Canucks.
On Monday afternoon, the NHL suspended Bruins forward Brad Marchand for five games for a hit on Canucks defenceman Sami Salo in a 4-3 Vancouver win on the weekend. If you didn’t see it – here’s my take on what went down:
As both players skated towards a loose puck, Marchand heads south for a low hit (which isn’t a great idea) and Salo starts to turn away (again, perhaps not a great idea). The latter ends up flipping over the former’s back and landing awkwardly against the boards, suffering a concussion.
The Bruins agitator was given the gate for “clipping” on the play, which is one you don’t hear very often, and will now forfeit over $152,000 while he sits and watches. (AFTER THE JUMP: The the full explanation from the NHL…) (more…)
Happy Monday!
This week on 15 Minutes of Fame, we’re looking back on the World Juniors, discussing the NHLPA’s rejection of the league realignment plan, and we’re playing a little game of “Are Guys Getting the Hint” as in pertains to headshots in the NHL.
In the GABBYs: Everton goalie Tim Howard, Habs forward Lars Eller, Randy Cunneyworth and the language debate, Samardo Samuels and West Virginia’s Darwin Cook. The Punchline this week is Rick DiPietro!
Rene Bourque (Wikimedia Commons)
The Calgary Flames found out today that forward Rene Bourque of Lac La Biche, Alberta was suspended five games for a hit on Nicklas Backstrom in Calgary’s 3-1 loss to the Washington Capitals last night.
Bourque, who elbowed Backstrom in the jaw area, acted in “recklessness” according to Brendan Shanahan, the National Hockey League’s Vice-President of Hockey and Business development. Bourque received a two-minute minor for the incident.
Bourque, who previously was suspended for two games on December 19, will have to forfeit over $200,000 in salary. He previously hit Chicago Blackhawk defenceman Brent Seabrook from behind and was disciplined by the NHL.
Backstrom meanwhile, will be out for a few days, before bein reevaluated by the team according to Capitals head coach Dale Hunter.
Bourque is scheduled to return to the lineup on January 17 against the San Jose Sharks. The Flames have a record of 18-18-5 and are four points back of the eighth place Colorado Avalanche in the Western Conference. The Flames next play in Boston tomorrow night.
Rene Bourque (Wikimedia Commons)
Calgary Flames forward Rene Bourque has been suspended two games for his hit last night on Brent Seabrook of the Chicago Blackhawks.
With 4:35 left in the third period, Bourque hit Seabrook from behind and was given a five minute major and a game misconduct. Chicago did not score on the powerplay, but used the penalty as momentum. Niklas Hjalmarsson scored his first of the season for Chicago in the second period and then Patrick Kane put the Blackhawks up by three, en route to a 4-2 victory. Seabrook did not return.
For Bourque, who is 30 years old, and has played in the National Hockey League for seven seasons with the Flames and Blackhawks, it was his first NHL suspension.
Bourque will not play Tuesday against the Minnesota Wild and Thursday against the Detroit Red Wings.
Interestingly though Bourque was not the only player suspended Monday. Boston Bruin forward Milan Lucic was suspended for a hit on Zac Rinaldo of the Philadelphia Flyers.
Steven Stamkos (Wikimedia Commons)
The Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames both lost Thursday night, but the Flames lost in overtime, meaning they are now tied with the Oilers for 11th place in the Western Conference standings.
Last night in Tampa Bay, 2010 Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy winner Steven Stamkos scored his 19th goal of the season, just thirty seconds into overtime to give the Lightning a 5-4 win over the Calgary Flames.
The Flames however showed an exemplary effort in mounting a comeback to get themselves a single point. Rene Bourque and Olli Jokinen each scored for the Flames in the third period to tie the game at four, and get themselves a single point out of the contest.
The Oilers meanwhile lost 4-2 to the Phoenix Coyotes. Oliver Ekman-Larsson led Phoenix with a goal and an assist. Devan Dubnyk played well in net, but gave up a weak insurance goal to Ekman-Larsson to put Phoenix up by two late in the third period.
Calgary and Edmonton now have identical 14-14-3 records, and are tied for 11th in the Western Conference, four points back of the San Jose Sharks and Phoenix Coyotes.
Calgary next plays in Florida tonight, while the Oilers are in San Jose tomorrow night.
You don’t have to analyze the scoresheet too much before a glaring statistic appears loud and clear.
In the Calgary Flames’ 5-3 win over the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday night it was abundantly evident that special teams played a significant role.
The Flames’ penalty killing was spot on. Curtis Glencross was terrific as the Flames killed all six Edmonton Oiler power plays. The Flames power play was also productive with two goals with the man advantage, as Olli Jokinen and Mikael Backlund were both able to place the puck past Nikolai Khabibulin.
For Backlund, his goal was also his first of the year and the game winning goal that broke a 3-3 tie at the halfway mark of the third period. The Swede was able to tip a shot from the point, and make promise on a tweet he posted earlier in the day where he said he had a good feeling about tonight.
The Flames were down 2-0 early but bounced back to tie the game at two immediately after a Brent Sutter timeout. Jokinen scored twice, while Rene Bourque and Craig Smith also scored for the Flames who improved to 11-12-2 and five points back of Edmonton for a playoff spot. Jarome Iginla meanwhile, added three assists.
The Flames next play Sunday in Vancouver, while the Oilers next play Wednesday at home against Carolina.
Curtis Glencross (Wikimedia Commons)
The Calgary Flames came up with their most complete effort of the season Friday night at the Scotiabank Saddledome.
In their best offensive performance of the year, the Flames scored a season high five goals in a 5-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks.
Curtis Glencross scored two goals and one assist, while Olli Jokinen was the other Flame with a multi-point game as he notched two assists himself.
Paul Byron, who came over to the Flames in the deal that saw Robyn Regehr and Ales Kotalik get traded from Calgary to Buffalo for Chris Butler, scored the game winning goal at 0:57 of the second period to make the score 3-1 Calgary at the time. It was actually the Flames’ second goal of the period as Rene Bourque had scored just 17 seconds earlier. Lee Stempniak also scored for the Flames, who improve to 8-9-1 and are four points back of the St. Louis Blues, Phoenix Coyotes and San Jose Sharks for a Western Conference playoff spot.
It was a very meaningful win for the Flames because the Chicago Blackhawks are currently the best team in the Western Conference at 12-5-3.
The Flames next play in Columbus on Monday night.
Rene Bourque (Wikimedia Commons)
The Calgary Flames capitalized on their second period opportunities Wednesday night at the Pengrowth Saddledome in defeating the Colorado Avalanche 4-2.
After completely dominating the first period by outshooting the Avalanche 21-5, the game was only tied up at one goal apiece.
But in the second period, the Flames scored twice on seven shots as Lee Stempniak and Rene Bourque both placed the puck past Jean-Sebastien Giguere.
Bourque would add his second of the game, fifth of the season, in an empty net with 58 seconds left in the game.
Rookie Roman Horak scored his first National Hockey League career goal in the first period to tie the game at one. Horak was traded from the New York Rangers to the Calgary Flames with two second round draft picks in 2011 for Swedish prospect Tim Erixon and a fifth round pick in 2011 on June 1.
Miikka Kiprusoff, celebrating his 35th birthday, made 35 saves in the win.
Prior to the game, the Flames honoured former owner Harley Hotchkiss, who passed away on June 22 of cancer.
The Flames improve to 3-4-1 on the season, while the Avalanche fall to 6-3.
Devan Dubnyk (Barry Gutierrez, Associated Press)
Heading into the weekend, there is one particular statistic that stands out to me over all the others.
After eight days in the NHL’s regular season, the Edmonton Oilers are tied with the Detroit Red Wings for the fewest goals allowed in the entire league! That’s right folks, the Oilers and Red Wings have only disallowed three goals each.
Oilers’ goaltenders Devan Dubnyk and Nikolai Khabibulin have actually only given up two regulation goals between them. Dubnyk gave up a softy to Kris Letang in the Oilers’ 2-1 shootout win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday, while Khabibulin gave up a regulation goal to Matt Cullen in Edmonton’s 2-1 shootout loss to Minnesota on Thursday.
On Saturday night, the Oilers will entertain the Vancouver Canucks at Rexall Place. They will have a tough time containing Daniel and Henrik Sedin though, who have combined for 114 points in 123 games in their career versus the Oilers. Game time is 8pm and can be seen on CBC.
Miikka Kiprusoff (James Teterenko, Wikimedia Commons)
The Calgary Flames (1-2) won their first game of the season Thursday night in Montreal against the Canadiens and goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff set a prestigious team record.
In making 35 saves, Kiprusoff passed Mike Vernon as the all-time leader for the Calgary Flames in goaltending wins with 263.
It was a significant night for Rene Bourque who scored two goals on three shots. His first goal came on the power play to tie the game at one. Then he scored his third of the season in the second period from Matt Stajan and Chris Butler.
Butler, who picked up two assists, recorded his first two points as a member of the Flames. The young defenceman was acquired by Calgary in the deal that saw Robyn Regehr go to the Sabres. Alex Tanguay also notched a multi-point game with two assists. David Moss and Niklas Hagman also scored the Flames.
The Flames will continue on the road, as they next play the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Air Canada Centre on Saturday night. Game time is 5pm.
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