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"Calgary Flames Insider"
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The Flames' struggles for offensive production continued tonight, as they lost 3 - 1 to the Detroit Red Wings. A common theme since the beginning of the season, and for the past few seasons at that. The dump-and-chase system that Calgary has so long employed is stagnant, and has clearly not produced results.

Detroit outplayed Calgary in the first, and was up 1 - 0 heading into the second. Right before the 1st period ended, Kipper made a beautiful save to keep it at a 1 - 0 game. While on a Powerplay in the 2nd period, Mike Cammalleri tied it up with a nice goal. He needed that as a confidence booster. He's been having chances, with little success as of late.

The 3rd period was dominated by the Wings'. A couple of bad turnovers, and a penalty led to Detroit scoring 2 goals on similar plays. A rush down the right-wing, and a pass in front of the net led to both goals.

Notes:

- Chris Butler played 2 more minutes then Mark Giordano, a clear cut mistake by the coach (Butler cost Calgary the 3rd goal). He was also a - 3. Giordano was a +/- 0.

- Jay Bouwmeester played awful. Had a chance at the end, but completely missed the puck. He also lost his man several times, and played a rather disappointing game...(But hey, what else can we expect from him). Ended up with a - 2.

- TJ Brodie, again played a nice game. Had a few good chances, just could not convert.

- Jarome Iginla played a solid game. Seemed like he had an extra burst of energy in his stride tonight, after coming off of the All-Star weekend. He finished with 5 shots on goal, and a - 2.

- Mike Cammalleri had several good chances, and had 1 goal, and was a - 1.

- Matt Stajan : What can I say about him, except for the fact that he never does anything so terrible that we notice, but he never does anything good. He has the weakest shot I've ever seen, and some of the worst passes. So much for playing up to his contract.

- Lee Stempniak left during the 1st period and was being evaluated for an injury. Have heard nothing as of yet.

All in all, the Flames' played a terrible 1st and 3rd period which inevitably cost them the game. The Playoff race started tonight, and Calgary is already behind. On a good note, Minnesota lost tonight which does help Calgary.

Rumors:

Just some rumors I hear flying around Twitter, and the league.

- Tuomo Ruutu to Calgary
- Schenn to Philly (more apparent with the Gleason Signing)
- Zidlicky to Philly (heard it a bunch today)
- On Nash rumors (Brian Burke came out directly and said he's never had any discussions regarding Nash)
- Heard the Devils could be going after Grabovski

To reiterate - I'm not saying these are true, I'm just posting them for your entertainment and discussion folks.

I will also be posting my trade blog tomorrow, or the day after.

Have a good week!

Twitter (for more updates) - @RyanHB
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Filed Under:   Calgary   Detroit   Trades   Flames  
February 1, 2012 2:13 AM ET | Delete
Tough loss. Minni still got a loser point tonight. We just dont have the horses or young game changer.
February 1, 2012 9:04 AM ET | Delete
Minny couldn't even get it to OT either. They do have 1 game in hand aswell. Something needs to change in Calgary asap.
February 1, 2012 12:51 PM ET | Delete
Thought Minny got 1 pt. Hate to say it but I think it's too late but perhaps a new coach. Dont think there is a blockbuster that will help at this point.
February 1, 2012 8:16 PM ET | Delete
stajan's shot is reflective of his confidence.. never seen him really lean into it and try to beat the goalie,... always just a weak shot at the goalie..... errrr..... for a faceoff- yeah defensive awareness.....uhhhhhh... yeah... stajan just has really good defensive awareness
February 1, 2012 8:16 PM ET | Delete
Yeah at least everyone else lost
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