head coach: Brian Sutter

roster: C - Andrew Cassels, Aaron Gavey, Eric Landry, Michael Nylander, Cory Stillman. RW - Eric Andersson, Theoren Fleury, Jarome Iginla, Sandy McCarthy, Ron Stern. LW - Chris Dingman, Hnat Domenichelli, Todd Hlushko, Jonas Hoglund, Marty McInnis, German Titov, Ed Ward. D - Tommy Albelin, Jamie Allison, Joel Bouchard, Cale Hulse, Derek Morris, James Patrick, Todd Simpson, Zarley Zalapski. G - Dwayne Roloson, Rick Tabaracci.

injuries: Joel Bouchard, d (concussion, d, day-to-day); Jarome Iginla, rw (broken hand, indefinite); Jamie Allison, d (broken hand, indefinite); Aaron Gavey, c (abdominal strain, day-to-day); Ron Stern, rw (knee injury, indefinite).

transactions: sent Eric Andersson, rw, to Saint John (AHL) January 15; sent Eric Landry, c, to Saint John January 15; sent Todd Hlushko, lw, to Saint John January 15; sent Tyler Moss, g, to Saint John January 15; recalled Eric Andersson, rw, from Saint John January 19; recalled Eric Landry, c, from Saint John January 29; recalled Tyler Moss, g, from Saint John January 19; recalled Hnat Domenichelli, lw, from Saint John January 22; recalled Todd Hlushko, lw, from Saint John January 22; sent Tyler Moss, g, to Saint John January 24.

standings:

Western Conference - Pacific Division
Team         GP   W   L   T   PTS   GF   GA   
Colorado     52  24  12  16    64  153  126
Los Angeles  49  21  19   9    51  139  136
Edmonton     50  18  23   9    45  129  143
San Jose     49  18  24   7    43  120  132
Anaheim      51  17  25   9    43  124  151
Calgary      51  13  28  10    36  128  160
Vancouver    50  12  30   8    32  129  180

game results:

1/14 at Edmonton     L 5-2
1/20 at Los Angeles  L 4-3
1/21 at San Jose     L 7-1
1/24 Vancouver       W 5-2

team news:

by Tony Wong, Calgary Correspondents

Two Weeks at a Glance:

Still within spitting distance of a playoff spot, the Flames headed toward the All Star break with a good chance to make up ground. With all four games wrapped around the break against Pacific Division opponents not named "Colorado", Calgary had a realistic chance at grabbing all eight points and a playoff spot.

So, what happened?

Let's just say that they didn't get eight points.

The last game before the break, the Flames simply played fantastic. Hard forechecking, tough defense and great enthusiasm all around. However, as the story has been too many times this year, the final score didn't do the Flames justice. Outshot 16-6 in the third period and 42-28 overall by the Flames, the Oilers simply leaned on Curtis Joseph. With a mere mortal in net for Calgary, what should have been a close game or a win for Calgary became a blowout for Edmonton. 'Nuff said.

With only Fleury making the All Star team, everyone else was off for a five-day holiday. Most of the (ahem) "bachelor based" team took the opportunity to hit Las Vegas before returning to work against the Kings in LA. And for two periods, the boys worked up a 2-0 lead.

But in the third, they let up. And in less than two minutes (actually for 118 seconds), the win had been turned into a loss. Held off the score sheet all game, the Kings opened the period with two goals in 37 seconds. Bang, bang - tie game. Undaunted, the Flames forged ahead on Eric Andersson's first goal. With less than two minutes left, the game looked safe. But then "How do you spell, much less pronounce my name" Tsyplakov struck. Bang, bang. Two goals and a minute and twenty-one seconds later, the Flames were behind 4-3 with 16 seconds left. Needless to say, the Flames didn't come back. Ugh. Mr. Sutter, could you pass the Pepto?

The next night, the Flames drove up the road to San Jose. The Sharks are always an easy team to play, right? Old guys who can't cut it anymore, right? An easy two points, right?

Well will someone tell Mike Vernon please? With Vernon playing like a Stanley Cup goalie (oh, he is isn't he?), the Sharks figured they should start scoring like the Red Wings. Up 3-0 after the first period mainly on the strength of several spectacular saves by Vernon and two goals by Granato, the Sharks went on to paste the Flames, 7-1. While the Sharks weren't really THAT dominant, the Flames truly DID suck that much.

And to cap it off? How about a game against Mike Keenan's mega-million Canucks? Bure. Mogilny. Messier. Another beautiful loss? Not on your life. Masters of providing a sliver of hope for the hometown fans, the Flames came out and pasted the Canucks, with a little help from Sean Burke. Marty McInnis: scoreless for 28 games. Against the Canucks? A hat trick. The power play: 25th in a 26-team league, operating at a sterling 10.9%. Against the Canucks? 3-for-5. You name it, it was working. Three periods later and the Flames look like a Stanley Cup contender with a 5-2 win.

So what did the four games mean overall? Not a lot in terms of points. But in terms of quality, only one conclusion could be made. In two words: we suck.

Okay, the "we" part of that statement is stretching it a little, but to put it bluntly, the Flames DO suck.

Other than a freak, astrologically related win against the Canucks, the Flames failed to answer the bell yet again. With a chance to move up in the standings against wholly beatable teams, Calgary choked. Where can we start? How about with the goaltending?

Presented with more than ample opportunities as the second goaltender in Calgary for the past year and a half, Dwayne Roloson has blown his chance. When Kidd struggled last year and Tabaracci early this year, a consistent effort from Roloson would have handed him the number one job. However, more often than not, Roloson has wilted under the heat of the spotlight. Right now, Roloson cannot be considered anything more than a marginal NHL backup goalie. On many teams, he would be in the minors.

As for Tyler Moss, it's too early to pass a long-term judgment. But right now, he simply still needs work. Brilliant at times, Moss seems to fall apart after he lets one in. When he lets one by, another two or three are sure to follow. It's a disturbing habit to say the least. If Moss can start to show the consistency that he has this year in the minors, he will quickly displace Roloson as the number two guy in Calgary. Today though, Moss is little more than an average prospect.

To be fair, the best goalie in the world can't do a thing without some help from the rest of the team. But in each of the three losses, the Flames netminders were outplayed. Curtis Joseph stole a game for Edmonton. LA scored at will in the third and Moss couldn't come up with a key save. With a few spectacular stops, Vernon gave San Jose confidence and an undeserved first period lead. And in their only win, Burke was so bad that he made the pop gun offense of the Flames look good. While we all can't have Patrick Roy in net, solid play and a few key stops is all we're asking for.

All Star Fleury

On a brighter note was the play of Theoren Fleury in the All Star game. The little one truly does belong. While all the noise was about the "Finnish connection" of Selanne-Koivu-Lehtinen racking up nine points, the line of Fleury-Modano-Tkachuk picked up eight itself. With a goal and two assists Fleury tied the three Finns and Tkachuk for the most points in the game. Not too shabby. Lucky for Canada that Theo isn't an American, or Team USA would have one hell of a scary line.

Broken Hand for Iginla

In addition to getting embarrassed by San Jose 7-1, the Flames lost Jarome Iginla with broken hand in the first period. Checked awkwardly into the boards, Iginla will be lost for at least four weeks. For a team that is already short on firepower, Iginla's will be sorely missed. Luckily, with the NHL shut down for the Olympics in Nagano, Iginla will only miss eight or nine games instead of the usual twenty-odd games that such an injury would bring. Ironically, Iginla's injury finally resulted in the call-up of his junior linemate Hnat Domenichelli. While his junior linemate status and chemistry with Iginla was one of the main reasons that Calgary traded for Hnat, it was an injury to Iginla that finally convinced the Flames to call him up. Leading the AHL in goal scoring, Domenichelli definitely deserves the chance. Let's hope he's ready for the big leagues.

Zalapski Part Deux

As we had guessed here, Zalapski's moaning and groaning has finally run its course. A negative effect on the young Flames, Coates finally sent Zalapski home, instructing Zalapski to stay away from the team until further notice. With his trade value now at virtually nil, Coates needs to get whatever he can and ship Zalapski off. Obviously, Zalapski's tenure as a Flame is over for good, so Coates needs to trade him or release him. For 1.6 million a year, the Flames can't afford to pay Zarley to stay at home.

Where to? How about Montreal? I can't believe that Dave King couldn't convince the braintrust in Montreal to part with a third rounder for one of his favorites. Sure Zalapski is better than that, but it's time to cut our losses and move on. Face it Mr. Coates, life ain't fair.

Upcoming Games:

1/28    at Anaheim      
1/29    at Los Angeles
1/31    New Jersey
2/3     Los Angeles
2/5     San Jose
2/7     Edmonton
**  Olympic Break  **

Last Chance - Part 23. Okay, we've said that it was the "last chance" for the Flames to get back in it about a million times here. And they've batted 1.000 and disappointed us each time. But this time, we believe it. While you're actually never really out of it in the pathetic Western Conference, a bunch of losses here would make it extremely difficult to make it. So, with five of the six games against Pacific Division rivals who are not named Colorado, this is at least a REALLY GOOD CHANCE to make it up. While we'll no longer say it's the last chance, it is a definite missed opportunity at the very least.

So ignoring the reality of the Devils, we're gonna believe one more time. Like Charlie Brown, Lucy and her football, we're gonna kick that ball to the moon and say that the Flames win four of their six games. While eight points won't get them into the playoffs, it will get them a heck of a lot closer. From there, it's onto the Olympic break. Playing the way that they are right now, eight points is definitely optimistic and we really can't see that glass being any fuller. If it is, we're ecstatic.

Here's hoping that glass ain't half empty.

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