Havlat has at Cowtown

Aside from cringing at the complete lack of elocution from the team's governor, the Calgary Flames organization did a wonderful job in raising Mike Vernon's number 30 to the Saddledome rafters. It was a classy display and I especially enjoyed Vernon's acceptance speech, finding that it was delivered remarkably well. It's too bad the rest of the team didn't put on quite as exciting a show afterward, losing 3-2 to the Chicago Blackhawks in a shootout which shouldn't have happened.

After sitting on the bench for an hour before, I can give the boys a bit of slack for missing that bit of jump in the first period. Even Dion Phaneuf'smauling of Chicago's Brent Seabrook, they of epic WHL battles past, was not effective in waking the team from their ceremony-induced slumber. However, throughout the entire game, there was very little to get the Saddle rockin'. It's not like the fans didn't want to cheer; hell, even little dump-outs into the neutral zone were eliciting hoots and hollers from the crowd. Nothing could get the team get its collective head out of its collective ass.

To the Blackhawks' benefit, they played an excellent road game. They were tight, didn't lose control in their own zone, and relied on their goaltender. Martin Havlat, in particular, was the best skater on the ice. He didn't piss around with the puck and cost his team defensively, and showed tremendous leadership on the ice. He impressed me so well that, in fact, it wouldn't surprise me that if in a year the man will be the odds-on favorite for the Hart Trophy. He took advantage of a pair of boneheaded penalties late in the third to tie the Flames and gave his team a chance to win. Martin Havlat is an excellent, excellent hockey player.

As for the Flames, I didn't notice anything remarkable about anything they did, although Matthew Lombardi impressed me a few times. The young centre is beginning to use his speed more strategically. By that, I mean he is becoming more comfortable in recognizing the proper time and place to explode with the puck, catching the opposition on a line change and while the defense pairing is a touch askew. When he turns on the afterburners, the entire play shifts down-ice and the Flames gather momentum. It is almost as if he's developed an entire year in these past two months, and Playfair might want to consider putting some more speed on his line. It's too bad Chuck Kobasew is on the IR, but there is no excuse for keeping Alex Tanguay off the Lombardi wing for very long.

But that was just a recurring thought during an otherwise unengaging affair. That's not to say the Flames were awful and that now is time to jump off the bandwagon, a la Calgary sports commentators after a late-game collapse. Remember, the boys still were able to snag a point to stay ahead of the Canucks in the race for first. For the moment, I'll give them a pass; hopefully they learned a little something about themselves, mainly that there is no such thing as a sure win, and that it takes more than a run of a few games to get your jersey number raised to the roof.