GDT Wild vs Flames 11/5/10

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After losing their last three games at home, the Calgary Flames may be looking forward to hitting the road.

The Flames begin a four-game trip Friday night in Minnesota hoping to defeat a Wild team against which they've had little recent success.

Calgary (6-6-0) lost 2-1 to Detroit on Wednesday despite leading after the first period for the seventh straight game -- a stretch in which it's merely 3-4-0.

Rene Bourque went scoreless for the second straight game and has been held to two assists over his last four since totaling five goals in back-to-back victories Oct. 22 and 24.

"We've got to make plays and that's the bottom line," Bourque said. "We had a lot of passes that got intercepted. I threw away pucks a few times myself and that eats up a lot of time."

Captain Jarome Iginla assisted on Mark Giordano's goal, but has scored only two goals in his last 23 games dating back to last season.

Leading scorer Brendan Morrison, meanwhile, has cooled off after a fast start, totaling one assist over his last three games.

"We have to regroup. There's no other way we go about it," Morrison told the Flames' official website. "We've now lost three in a row and that's concerning to us. We can't sit here and feel sorry for ourselves. We have to regroup and we've got to get on with it."

Miikka Kiprusoff stopped 31 of 33 shots against the Red Wings -- an improvement after he allowed six goals in Saturday's 7-2 loss to Washington -- but he hasn't fared well against the Wild recently. Kiprusoff is 0-4-2 in his last six appearances against Minnesota, and the Flames have lost six of seven overall to the Wild.

Minnesota (5-4-2) is coming off a 1-0 win Tuesday against San Jose. Niklas Backstrom made 36 saves for his 20th career shutout and first since March 3, when he blanked Calgary 4-0.

Andrew Brunette scored the lone goal, converting on a power play when Martin Havlat slipped him a pass through the crease. It was the Wild's second power-play goal in their last 20 chances.

"All over the ice, we played a smart game," said Backstrom, who is 4-1-1 while holding his last six opponents to two or fewer goals. "We're playing some good hockey, and we have to keep building like this."

Backstrom is 4-1-0 with two shutouts and a 1.19 goals-against average in his last five decisions against Calgary. That doesn't include his last start against the Flames on April 8, when he left a 2-1 shootout win early in the third period after getting hit in the neck with a David Moss slapshot.

Against the Sharks, Mikko Koivu assisted on Brunette's goal, giving the Minnesota captain a point in his last seven games.

The Wild have a void to fill offensively after placing left wing Guillaume Latendresse on the injured list with a groin problem Wednesday. They recalled 6-foot-5 forward Matt Kassian, who has yet to make his NHL debut, from the AHL's Houston Aeros to take the roster spot.

Lot of guys on the shelf tonight so it will be good to see some of our young guys try and step it up. Wild win in OT 2-1.

tonights game is brought to you by 4Loko and MHF. Being recently banned in Michigan this admin feels the need to suck down a can or two. Admins from this board have had several experiences with 4Loko and we can tell you stay far away from Watermellon. Fruit Punch is ok, Lemonade is good. Tonight will consist of Lemonade, Grape, and possible Blue Raspberry if I am still walking after the first two. 4Loko, drink it and you don't know if you are high, drunk, or about to die.

Couple weeks ago I got a watermelon and a cranberry lemonade and they were the two worst flavors I've tried..I like fruit punch and blue raspberry

noted on the cran lemonade. store by my house has that one. looked intriguing, but if i hear people state it sucks, then i stay away.

My heart rate went up just thinking about drinking that thing.

The first time I drank one I didn't realize how powerful they actually are...so after a long night of already drinking other things I decided to have one of those and was drinking wayyyy too much at a time. That night did not end well..I learned a valuable lesson.

bwahahahaha. i stuck with just a lemonade and a blue raspberry. i didn't wanna fuck with grape and orange as i can imagine those are just as bad as watermellon. be on the lookout tonight on Twitter, drunken updates will happen!

*waits for you to use that random text service thing again*

keep in mind folks, all of tonights in game updates will be coming from my DSi.

buzz + stylus = goofy

You know, I seem to be less interested in the actual outcome of the games this year than even last, even though I think the team is better than last year. It's just knowing they are not a playoff team for so long has numbed me to any loss, and I simply care if they played well or not.

ya gotta have at least a little optimism or no?

I mean... sure I hope to win, but if they lose it doesn't seem to phase me at all.

As for optimism... AT BEST this is a 10th place in the West team... not a top 8 team.

right on. i guess i am happy because i see bits of progess. tal u going to black friday game? oh and dee gets 10000000000 points for blue raspberry 4loko. good shit

ok, sooo the buzzed styus is tough. keyboard seems better. can't imagine how my laundry folding is bout to go. ha!

Next game I'm going to is Nov 20th vs the Rag$, then not until sometime in December.

right on man, we will have to chat and see if we can meet up again during a game. always good talking with ya

Absolutely... let me know!

got the score right, but not the whole OT part. good job Wild on an impressive homestand.

Good to see Havlat popped his cherry on the season finally. He's been playing well all season thus far, but didn't have the goals to show for it. Tonight he scores his first and it's the game winner. Hopefully that means he's about to get a hot hand.

i can't quite pinpoint what has been holding havlat back on the goal area. hes been awesome in assists though. i hope he starts rocking it. i miss latendresse

Wild vs. Flames Post-Game

Backstrom, Havlat douse the Flames in 2-1 home victory

Written by Derek Felska
Friday, 05 November 2010 10:55

Sports can't seem to get enough drama these days, and few teams embody this penchant for staging its own sort of soap opera as the Minnesota Vikings. From the never ending saga that is Brett Favre who can turn every interview into one with mixed messages and intrigue that gets all the pundits at the NFL Network or ESPN to prognosticate what he is really trying to say, to the hard edged tension filled web that Vikings Head Coach Brad Childress seems to have following around him after each game whether its dealing with his aforementioned quarterback or his latest decision to dump wide reciever Randy Moss. Moss, never one to avoid controversy has managed to bring the microscope of criticism a little closer after making comments about his ability to coach the team. The tight-lipped coach who seems to like the guy at work who never seems all that happy and makes you wonder if he's just going to go postal one of these days. There is probably good reason for his anxiety as he has taken a team that came within one game of the Super Bowl last season to being 2-5, with your star quarterback looking like a mini-M*A*S*H ward and playoff hopes appearing to be fleeting at best there is no doubt Vikings ownership is not too happy about how the 2010-11 season has unfolded thus far. Then you have ESPN insiders like Chris Mortensen discussing rumors of discontent in the Vikings locker room where they question his ability to coach an NFL team and you have one fierce pressure cooker at Winter Park. I don't envy Childress at all right now. He is still a very well paid person, coaching a professional football team but the stress has to be getting pretty extreme and its only a matter of time before something has to give. Whether its a Mike Ditka-like meltdown on the sideline or Childress simply crouching down into a fetal position and crying uncontrollably we will see what happens as the face the Arizona Cardinals this Sunday.

However this is not the only coach in professional sport to be on the proverbial hot seat. Toss into this a general manager that just happens to be your brother and you've described the situation in Calgary rather well. For Flames GM Darryl Sutter and his brother Brent Sutter they are really starting to feel the heat from the fanbase and media in Southern Alberta. The Flames came within one controversial call of winning its 2nd Stanley Cup back in 2003-04 and since the lockout Calgary has been a high priced disappointment. After casting off fan favorite Dion Phaneuf to Toronto late last season for a slew of support players the Flames hoped to regroup by having more depth. The fans were not convinced, and Darryl Sutter did not help his cause by adding ineffective forwards Olli Jokinen and Alex Tanguay in free agent deals that had many NHL fans and experts scratching their heads wondering why you would give these guys another chance after they were so disappointing the first time around. So far it has been mixed results as Jokinen has been very ordinary while Tanguay may be salvaging his career. Yet the up and down performances of the team so far this season has not made the Sutter brothers the toast of the town; but rather still the subjects to roast. Much the same could be said in Minnesota although the tensions revolving around Wild Head Coach Todd Richards have toned down a bit after the team started playing more responsible defensively and it certainly hasn't hurt to have played most of their games at home, a place where the team normally performs rather well. A bad losing streak could easily turn the heat back up on Richards, so its important for Minnesota to make the most of its last game at home before it goes on a 4-game road trip. So which coach will be feeling the heat tonight besides Buffalo's Lindy Ruff? (click on the link for the rest of the article)

There is a prospect report on Colton Jobke, Aeros update, as well as a complete WCHA Men's hockey roundup as well as a complete write up on tonight's Wild game! Enjoy!