Sat Game Notes

[Terryray]

Boston at TB. Grahame will start, he's 3-1-2 this season. I imagine Khabib will be in pipes for TB, he's given up 9 goals in last 3 starts. Lost last one, should concentrate tonight. Needs to, TB 1-5 vs NE division this season, 0-4 vs Boston this year, 7-22-6-0 vs Boston all time. Boston on a big roll, but TB 4 game win streak snapped by fluky Carolina win thurs.

Buffalo at Columbus. Buff 5-12 ATS away, Colum 6-9-3 ATS at home. Columbus just 2-9 in Dec, but they can play hard when they want to. Buffalo played very well indeed Wednesday. Columbus won both meetings this year, both in Buff. Some revenge?

Ottawa at Pitt. Hedberg or Aubin in net? Ference and Laukkanen "excused from practice due to health...hope to play saturday" sez paper. Important defenceman Moran can now skate, won't be back for a while. Team 2-9 since he left. Wins came against nemesis WA and lame AT. Coach gave Penguin hard ass workout after 0-4 loss Wed. Like hard workout after 0-7 loss to Canes on 16th, still lost to Montreal 1-3 on 19th. Combined away-home/last 5 game offense: Ott-3.06, Pitt-2.22. Combined away-home/last 5 defense: Ott-2.62, Pitt-3.52 goals given up. Ott just a slight favorite--they are 2-16-4 in Pittsburg!

NJ at Vancouver. Brodeur to start, and next night in Edmonton? Possible, but he is excellent after a rest. NJ injuries: Panolfo didn't make trip, Daneyko hopes to play in Edmonton, Zyuzin didn't practice. NJ has sudden momentum after big win, Van does too after win and spark from Hlavac. NJ 5-8-3 ATS away, Van 9-7-3 at home ATS.

Detroit at Nashville. Hasek is 3-1-0 vs Nash, 2.28 gga, .921 pct. Dunham not nearly as fine record, but so good lately, who cares? Det 4-0-1 since mini slump, and that one tie was a predictable one. Nashville injuries: captain Fitzgerald "I don't see why I couldn't play saturday". Walker and Delmore (goal leader) hope to play tues. Grimsom hasn't skated yet. Poor Nash take on STL, Ahvs, then NJ next. "Three of the last four Stanley Cup Champions...as well as a St. Louis team that finished with the fourth-most points in the Western Conference last season" sez paper. That's got to depress you off the bat, if injuries and Detroit doesn't!

 

[Terryray]

Phila at Colorado. Roy will be in net, others at the doctor: Tanguay is questionable, Podein and Foote on I-R, Larsen "return indefinite", Vrbata not cleared to skate. Two players just called up from minors, one a rookie. Roy 5-7-4 vs Phila, 3.77 gga, .869 pct. Phila hasn't won in Denver yet, 0-2-4-0 there. But 10-5-3 ATS on road this year, and 9-2 coming off a loss.

Toronto at FL. Here's two embarrassed teams. Toronto losing to cellar-dweller of the division, and FL getting pummeled 1-7 by Boston...Toronto 11-2 after a loss. Cujo will be in the crease, he dropped his last outing too. He's 7-0-2 after a personal loss. He's 11-2-2 vs FL, 2.22 gga, .920 pct. Would be very embarrassing for Leafs to lose in consecutive nights to the last place bottom-dwellers!

 

[TORONTO-VIGILANTE]

nice write-ups !!!

I'm going with the LEAFZ tonite.

 

[wigs]

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Saturday, December 29, 2001

MINNESOTA WILD (13-15-6-3) AT CALGARY FLAMES (16-13-7-2)
By JEAN LEFEBVRE -- For SLAM! Sports

The Calgary Flames are in a breathtaking freefall and they're desperately trying to find the ripcord for the parachute.

The limping Flames are back home for the first time in 17 days after a stretch of six consecutive road games. They won on their first stop of the trip 4-3 in Dallas but managed just one more point -- a tie at Colorado -- the rest of the way.

The Flames have played 38 games this season and there has been a stunning contrast between their first 19 games (13-2-2-2) and the last 19 (3-11-5-0). After Calgary's most recent setback, a 4-2 loss Thursday night in Vancouver that extended a winless streak to five games, a lengthy team meeting was held.

"The basic, general point of the meeting," said defenceman Bob Boughner, "was getting out of this together and not feeling sorry for ourselves. We've got to find ways to win games."

The veteran says the players are beyond the point of being hot under the collar because of the scarcity of victories.

"I don't think it's anger," replied Boughner. "The anger is out there already in the last little while, there's been a lot of anger. It was more disappointment and discouragement. On the other hand, we ended up pulling positives (out of the situation). That's what we're trying to do right now."

The Flames, once 11 games over .500 and the leaders of the Northwest Division, are now just three games over the break-even mark and are closer to the division cellar than first place -- seven points ahead of last-place Vancouver and eight points back of frontrunners Edmonton.

The Wild are having plenty of problems of their own. After a 3-2 loss Friday night in Edmonton, the Minnesotans are winless in three and 2-6-2-1 in December.

"Very frustrating," Wild forward Andrew Brunette told reporters after the loss to the Oilers. "we played well and probably deserved at least a point out of this effort but we didn't get it.

"And the thing is, we need points," continued Brunette, Minnesota's leading scorer. "We don't want to be out of this thing (the race for a playoff spot) come February."

Jacques Lemaire's club has a reputation as master trappers who are infuriating to play against but the Wild have allowed an average of more than three-and-a-half goals a game since the start of December.

THE HISTORY

This is the second meeting of the season between the Northwest Division rivals. The Flames were 4-2 winners on Oct. 27 at the Saddledome as Jarome Iginla and Craig Conroy each chipped in a goal and an assist. Calgary is unbeaten (2-0-2) in its last four matchups with Minnesota.

BETWEEN THE POSTS

Mike Vernon gets his first start for the Flames since blanking the Detroit Red Wings 2-0 on Dec. 10 at the Saddledome. Manny Fernandez will be in nets for the Wild.

INJURIES

Minnesota -- Rugged blueliner Brad Brown (broken ankle) and LW Cam Stewart (concussion) are out.

Calgary -- Defenceman Derek Morris (wrist surgery) will be sidelined for another month. The Flames hope blueliner Toni Lydman will be back in the lineup after missing a couple of games because of a bout with the flu bug. Centre Rob Niedermayer, who was cut near the eye, and winger Jukka Hentunen, who came up limping after a hit from Henrik Sedin, both were casualties during Thursday's loss in Vancouver and their status for tonight is questionable.