Miikka Kiprusoff had yet another fantastic game last night for the Flames. He won the opening face-off, he put pressure on the defense, he caused a turnover and sniped a big-time goal, all within 30 seconds. He later slammed a bullet for another goal, not before he laid Eric Staal to the ice with a hard-ass body check, and he ended it off with an empty-netter for his 14th tally of the season. Indeed, it was all Kipper, all the time.
(Sorry. I spent most of the third period in the Saddledome Whisky lounge making fun of an Oiler fan who insists of making that oh-so-original argument that the Flames would be nothing without the Kipper between the pipes. What a maroon.)
I wanted to see first-hand how a Selke Trophy winner takes on one of the hottest lines in the NHL and was treated to just that as I witnessed Rod Brind'Amour led his Carolina Hurricanes visiting Jarome Igina and his Calgary Flames.
Clearly, it was a match-up that was underwhelming from the get-go. Iginla won the first face-off, the Flames got the puck in the Carolina end, Rhett Warrener forced a turnover, and Daymond Langkow dribbled a loose puck past a inexplicably awful, sprawling John Grahame. And it got worse for the Hurricanes, who limped into the first intermission with a 16-5 shot deficit and down two goals. Iginla sniped an empty-netter and the Flames beat the defending Stanley Cup champs in fine form.
But you can read about that here or here.
What you won't read about elsewhere is that the game featured arguably the two most complete hockey players in the game, the aforementioned Brinds and Iggy, and the latter certainly proved his mettle over the former. Jim Playfair kept Iginla & co. on the ice whenever last year's proclaimed best defensive forward was on the ice, and it was no contest. Alex Tanguay, Langkow and Iginla did whatever they wanted, moving the puck around, keeping the pressure on, getting near-perfect breakouts from their own zone. As with most of the season already, the only thing wrong with that line was the attempt to make the pretty play, though plenty a pretty play went performed, to be sure.
Meanwhile, Brind'Amour, skating between Ray Whitney and Justin Williams, couldn't get anything going. The veteran centre who is known for his prowress in the face-off circle, couldn't even win most of his draws, at least not the ones which mattered. He looked flustered and without poise. In contrast, Iggy and friends looked as if they designed the Saddledome ice surface for their legs only.
Not that I'm down on Rod the Bod; I've been following his career since he was drafted #9 overall to St Louis after winning a national Junior A championship with the Notre Dame Hounds, and think he's the bee's knees. He's always been one of my favorite players and I have nothing of respect for him. Having said that, if that performance was even minutely indicative of how a prototypical defensive forward plays, then I take back my recommendation of Stephane Yelle as a perennial candidate of the Selke (though, due to a devastating ankle injury, not this year).
Until last night, I had always thought that a good defensive forward is someone who is able, game in and game out, to frustrate the opponents' top lines. Apparently, I was wong. That being said, if anything, Iginla has shown that he is far more deserving of that award than almost anyone else in the league; last night, he dominated his own zone, he kept control of the puck, and, most importantly, he kept the top line off the scoresheet.
Maybe this explains the stellar home record for the Flames, especially as of late. While on the road, it is much more difficult for Playfair to get the match-ups he wants, that being Iginla's line paired against the opposing #1; at home, Iginla gets against the top line and because of his excellent two-way play, the opposing superstars rarely get an opportunty to break out in multiple point games.
In other words, the Flames are more than a nice set of limbs between the pipes.
