The net tips over on Calgary Flames goalie Miikka Kiprusoff in NHL action against St. Louis Blues at Scotiabank Saddledome on Sunday.
Photograph by: Ted Jacob, Calgary Herald
Cheated, no. But hexed. Yes, most definitely.
"They ended up with the right call,'' sighed mountainous right-winger David Backes, whose high-stick knock-down in front of the net negated what would've been a tying strike by Brad Boyes - traded, ironically, post-game to Buffalo - with three minutes remaining Sunday night. "But those little breaks give you the small edge in a 1-0 game that could've been 1-1 with three minutes left.
"They're the difference in these tight games that are going to decide playoff races.
"You look at the head referee, he's pointing at the goal and there's that thought in the huddle that maybe you got away with one.
"A tough pill to swallow. We needed two points desperately.''
So, as a matter of fact, did the Calgary Flames. Perhaps not quite as desperately as Backes and his fading St. Louis Blues. But consider this: The difference between a 1-0 victory and a regulation loss meant five spots to the locals in the Western Conference pecking order, sixth to 11th. In fact, assistant coach Dave Lowry marched into the dressing room and reminded the boys of just that fact between the second and third periods, with the score line still reading 0-0.
"We probably carried the flow in the first and third and they took it to us in the second,'' reasoned Backes. "One of those times where you bear down and be the guy that causes the mistake that gets that one chance.''
Alex Tanguay turned out to be that guy, adroiting slapping the puck away from St. Louis defenceman Tyson Strachan on the forecheck along the half-boards and right into David Moss's wheelhouse, in the high slot.
Moss ripped the puck past six-foot-seven rookie goalie Ben Bishop far side to break the stubborn stalemate. And the Flames wobbled a couple of times, but did not fall from there on in.
This was a game more about survival than skill. Scrappy. Disjointed. Little flow. Quality opportunities at a premium. Often seemingly being contested in a quagmire.
A hard night to play. A harder night to win. The careworn cliché from apologists would be to compare it to a chess match, although that'd be an unfair jibe chess.
Suffice to say, Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky it wasn't.
"Our positioning - by both teams actually - was very good,'' adjudged Blues coach Davis Payne. "Getting on the right side of the puck, making sure not to give up odd-man rushes, easy entries. Ice was tough to come by in the interior and that's the type of game you're gonna get when teams are moving down the stretch and fighting for playoff spots.''
"So many teams are in the same situation,'' shrugged Flames goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff. "I guess that's what the league wanted.
"Every game is so important. I don't know if it's FUN, exactly . . . I'd rather be up there with a 20-point lead.''
If the Backes-Boyes incident had fans in the Scotiabank Saddledome perspiring slightly, then Patrik Berglund's snapshot with under 2:30 must've cause 19,000 hearts to skip a beat.
On second and third overhead looks, the shot appeared to bank off both posts. "A TRIPLE poster, actually,'' corrected Backes. "I don't know the math on that. But it's pretty hard to do, even with 100 pucks sitting there.''
That's the difference, it seems, between success and failure in a playoff tussle that's the closest in recent memory.
"We were an inch away,'' lamented assistant captain Barret Jackman.
Kiprusoff admittedly had his concerns.
"He beat me over my shoulder. A pretty nice shot. I heard it (hit a post). I wasn't sure if it was in the net or not. I was lucky there.''
The disallowed Boyes goal was a far more cut-and-dried affair, Backes reaching up to knock the puck downward from in front. Boyes, stationed beside the net, slapped it behind Kiprusoff. General chaos ensued. The Blues were busy celebrating behind the net when referees Gord Dwyer and Dan O'Rourke consulted with their linesman to clarify the play.
"I saw it was a high stick,'' said Kiprusoff. "It was pretty clear. So I didn't worry about that too much.''
In the aftermath, the Blues weren't putting up a stink.
"The far linesman made the call and we believe he made the right call,'' said Payne. "A tight hockey game. Chances were tough to come by. One of theirs went in and none of ours did. That's what we've got to deal with.
"Obviously, we've got some ground to make up, more after tonight, but we get these guys a couple of nights from now.
"It'll be the same type of game. At this time of year, checking's at a premium, puck decisions are at a premium and scoring chances are at a premium. You've gotta make 'em count.''
For the Blues, Sunday's loss left them seven adrift of the Top 8 in the conference. With the Flames up again Tuesday at the Scottrade Centre.
"This makes it twice as important now,'' said Jackman philosophically. "We gave them two points and they're now inching away from us.
No comments:
Post a Comment