Flames light up; burn Canucks
Canadian Press
12/5/2003
VANCOUVER (CP) - The learning curve is getting steeper for the Calgary Flames.
After missing the NHL playoffs for seven straight years, right-winger Jarome Iginla said his club is starting to show the type of maturity where it feels it can win every night.
Just ask the Vancouver Canucks, who were leading the Western Conference standings before a 4-1 loss to Calgary on Thursday night.
`It snowballs,'' Iginla said after opening the scoring on a power play and finishing it with an empty-netter. ``The confidence goes really up. In this streak we've had, we've been down in third periods against some very good teams - Colorado, Vancouver - and it feels good to come back and win games differently.''
The Flames have not lost in regulation time in their last eight games with a 5-0-1-2 mark.
``It wasn't there last year,'' said Iginla, the former scoring champion who has two goals in his last three games. ``We weren't as good a team. We've been a young team, we've been trying to mature each year in different areas.
``This year things are more solid. We don't give up as many scoring chances night in and night out.''
The Flames dominated the Canucks in the first period, outskating them and winning battles along the boards.
``Right from the beginning there was no emotion on the bench,'' said Vancouver centre Brendan Morrison, whose club was playing its first game at home after a four-game road trip. ``It was an all-around poor effort. It was one of those nights you have to forget about.''
Iginla's first goal was the result of perseverance. Shean Donovan counted his fifth goal in four games by knocking down a pass in traffic and beating Vancouver goalie Dan Cloutier by using defenceman Ed Jovanovski as a screen.
Martin Gelinas put the game out of reach and provided the steady Miikka Kiprusoff with a three-goal cushion when he had an open net to shoot at after Cloutier misplayed a shoot-in behind the Vancouver net.
Kiprusoff had a hot glove on Vancouver power plays and played well positionally to keep the Canucks scoreless when he had to protect a 1-0 lead.
Trevor Linden was the only Canuck to beat him as the Finn finished with 28 saves.
Iginla said the Calgary blue-line corps has been the key to the Flames' rekindling as they gain experience.
``They've been getting shots through and they're a hard group to play against and they've been contributing key goals.
``Also it seems to be someone different every night who's contributing a big goal. Right now Donovan's so hot. You look at the good teams and that's what happens. It's someone different picking up the pace.
Donovan said Darryl Sutter, who joined the Flames as general manager and head coach last December after being fired by the San Jose Sharks, has also made a big difference.
``Everybody's getting into Darryl's program and everybody's playing the same system,'' Donovan said. ``You can just tell from our (penalty kill) out that everybody's jumping at the right times, playing good positionally.''
Vancouver coach Marc Crawford said his club was outworked.
``I thought our defence needed to be more physical than they were,'' he said. ``I thought up front there wasn't a lot of guys that had a lot of compete. In the one-on-one battles they won more than we did.''
NOTES: Markus Naslund, the Canucks' leading scorer, made only a brief appearance at the game-day skate because of a recurring groin problem and did not play in the third period ... Canuck agitator Matt Cooke will likely be out longer than expected with a shoulder injury coach Marc Crawford says is taking time to settle down ... Vancouver centre Mats Lindgren is back on skates after October back surgery to repair a herniated disc ... Vancouver veteran Mike Keane has joined the ranks of visor wearers after a couple of close calls in Vancouver's last two games ... Keane was a healthy scratch Thursday.
Cheers,
Aquaman