In Memoriam: 2005-2006 Calgary Flames (8th of 15)

1-2-3-4, 5-6-7-8. East and West.

Last night, the Calgary Flames failed to prevent what will certainly be a rarity in the history of the NHL playoffs. The Flames loss in the seventh game of the series to the Anaheim Mighty Ducks set up a situation where the top seeds in the Western Conference all exited the playoffs, while all four top seeds advanced in the East.

This series was a war, make no mistake about it. The two teams combined for eighty-seven powerplays in seven games- with both capitalizing six times. Nearly dead even- the odd opportunity went to the Ducks, but the Flames had a pair of shorthanded markers to only one for Anaheim. Seventeen goals for the Ducks, sixteen for the Flames. Flames with an edge in faceoff percentage, 50.3% to 49.7%, Ducks with the edge in shots on goal per game, 29.0 to 25.3.

It's a shame to have to boil a series like this down to one determining factor, because there was so much from both sides which showed what makes playoff hockey a breed apart, but only one factor seems to really stand out- balanced attack- as a decided difference between the two.

Of the sixteen Calgary goals, only one player had more than two- Jarome Iginla, who had five. Even more, Iginla registered eight points in the series- accounting for involvement in the scoring play of half of the Flames offense. Anaheim didn't have a player with more than three goals, and spread the scoring amongst twelve different players, in comparison to Calgary's nine.

This gets further accented by the fact that Iginla led the Flames in ice time- logging almost nine more minutes than top defenceman Andrew Ference. Win or lose, the Flames had a horse to ride to get through the series, and by the final game, there may not have been enough left in his legs to singlehandedly carry the team through. It's probably only fair to note that the Anaheim blueline tandem of Scott Niedermayer and Francois Beauchemin both logged more time than Iginla (Niedermayer with a huge 206:40- over thirty-five minutes more than Iginla), but in general, defencemen log more time, and Niedermayer only exceeded his season average by about four minutes- or about the time he'd have spent out during the overtime periods.

(no subject)

Hmmm. The PNB has adult beginner classes- $110 for ten weeks. Subscribers get a 20% discount from that, even- which would make it $88.

I'm thinking about taking the next series. I figure that although my knees are going to be something of a liability, anything additional in flexibility or general range of movement is going to be an enhancement, and if i don't do something, the stiffness is just going to get progressively worse. Combined with some skating- either inline or ice, i might even manage to get into decent enough shape to not completely feel like i've embarrassed myself trying to play recreational hockey.

Poking around a bit, there's a place in Edmonds which has the same $110 price for a ten class series, but taking twenty percent off and being instructed by people who work with (and sometimes include) the principals of the PNB company sounds like a good thing.

NHL Playoff: Conference Semifinal Predictions

Eastern Conference:
1 - Ottawa Senators v. 4 - Buffalo Sabres. These two teams are fairly similar in the way they succeed- speed and finesse. Both have young goaltenders who lack significant playoff experience, with Buffalo's Ryan Miller having a small edge statistically over Ottawa's Ray Emery. The deciding factor, though, should be that Ottawa has more players who can play a physical game, and can potentially wear down the Sabres' top forwards. Look for Zdeno Chara, Anton Volchenkov and Chris Neil to be hitting anything wearing a Sabres uniform. Senators in 5.

2 - Carolina Hurricanes v. 3 - New Jersey Devils. Cam Ward had an outstanding series against the Montreal Canadiens. Martin Brodeur has had an outstanding career against most teams. Neither the 'Canes nor the Devils are going to light the scoreboard up, but neither needs to do so. Devils in six.

Western Conference:
5 - San Jose Sharks v. 8 - Edmonton Oilers. Pavel Datsyuk was invisible in the first round for the Detroit Red Wings, and teammate Brendan Shanahan the faintest of glimmers. Joe Thornton and Jonathan Cheechoo haven't been invisible. Sharks in six.

6 - Anaheim Mighty Ducks v. 7 - Colorado Avalanche. After their series against Calgary, the Ducks may come in a bit banged up, but are better in goal with either Bryzhgalov or Giguere than the Avs are with Theodore, and better defensively as well. Ducks in six.

Quarterfinal results:
Senators in five: right on both accounts.
Hurricanes in seven: right team, one game too many.
Devils in four: spot-on perfect.
Sabres in six: both correct.

Red Wings in five: Nope.
Stars in six: Nope.
Flames in seven: Right number of games, wrong team.
Sharks in five: Perfect.

Totals: Four perfect predictions, two one off, 10 of 16 overall.