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"The opinion of the uninformed"
Calgary, AB • Canada • 24 Years Old • Male
(After a 5 month absence from posting) I went to the game tonight against the Panthers, and these were my thoughts on some individual performances...

The Good:
Iginla:
-Looked in mid season form
-Scored a beauty off a Boyd feed
-Just hope he stays healthy and plays a full season *knock on wood*
Boyd:
-Made a nice play on his goal, and a great pass on Iginla's
-Perhaps this is the year where he gets a shot to play top 6 minutes and produce
Negrin:
-For "a kid", he sure sees the ice well
-Moved the puck better than both Sarich and Regehr, and he had to play with that bum Eriksson

The Bad:
Bertuzzi:
-He looked rusty for most of the night; couple of direct (passes) giveaways in our own end
-His breakaway attempt was vintage Bertuzzi, and if the puck had been about an inch and half lower, it would have been in
-I really hope he is going to be able to find his way to producing consistently on the top line with Iginla
Regehr and Sarich:
-They just didn't look good - passes were (same as most of last year) two feet off the ice
-Hopefully it's just rust...
Lundmark:
-Not that it really matters, but he was all over the ice; he was simply trying to do too much, for the most part, which led to turn overs

The Ugly:
Eriksson:
-Nothing more needs to be said

Others:
Backlund
-I didn't want to put him in the "Bad" category, because he wasn't, but at the same time he didn't fit in with the pace set by Iginla, or even the pace set by the Lombardi-Bourque-Glencross or Lundmark-Boyd-Moss lines.
-I think he will turn out to be a top 6 forward (hopefully with the Flames) but I just don't see it happening this year.
McElhinney:
-He played fine; just unfortunate the Flames couldn't get him the win, regardless of it being pre-season
Pardy:
-Looked good, but didn't really stand out either positively or negatively

I'll likely be at the game on the 3rd, and hopefully by then there will be a clearer picture of what is going on with the defense and forwards, but until then if there are any questions on my take of the game, feel free to comment and I will attempt to reply back.
Filed Under:   Flames   pre-season  
September 24, 2008 12:40 AM ET | Delete
Nice summary...great to see Boyd and Negrin playing great tonight. Maybe if Backlund doesn't make it they'll promote Boyd to the top six eventually? I'm also reassured that Eriksson seems to be playing his way off the team...sooner I get complete confirmation that bum is officially off the Calgary Flames active roster the better.
September 24, 2008 9:41 AM ET | Delete
I agree with Iginla - he looked great. Boyd as well looked good. I was extremely impressed with Borque and Lombardi - great speed and what a PK tandem that will be.What surprised me is how ugly the vets looked at times - Sarich, Eriksson and even Regehr.Bertuzzi at times looked like he was playing pond hockey...
September 24, 2008 10:24 AM ET | Delete
Yeah I was there as well and thought Bertuzzi got better as it went on, his first shift was horrible but he got a lot better and made some very slick passes later on. I was disappointed to not see Prust, he didn't stand out at all and he needs to to be affective. Pardy looked really good to me, very composes in sticky situations and led the team in ice time. Boyd was awesome... Erikson decided to chip in by taking a penalty right after they scroed the game winner...thanks anders. All in all I thought they played well, Mcelhinny played well except for not hugging the post on j-bo allowing the game winner but it IS the first game...
September 24, 2008 10:49 AM ET | Delete
what else do sutter and keenan need to see of eriksson? can't they just drop him NOW to the minors, or just don't play him at all in any more preseason games. those minutes could be used up by true hockey players trying to make the team. i think it's time sutter admits the worst move he made as a gm (the signing of this guy). it was bad when it originally happened, and is getting more and more sour by each goal this guy gives up.
September 24, 2008 5:26 PM ET | Delete
Erickson will be gone. I heard Kerr saying that it has something to do with his contract. Plus I'm sure they would rather trade him then just let him rot in the minors. I wouldn't look for Erickson to even be the 7th man this year. I hear that Wrett Warrener is in great shape and has a big chip on his shoulder as he wants to prove he is still able to play. I am looking forward to seeing what he can do tonight. I would like to see him as part of the third pairing of d.
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