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Goaltender, Miikka Kiprusoff, got his third shutout of the season in the Flames’ 5-0 victory over the Nashville Predators, who had been on a bit of a hot streak.

The best part is that it looks like Calgary is utilizing all of their players and it’s paying off.  They’ve won their third straight road game and that’s with backup Curtis McElhinney in net for one game and guys like Nigel Dawes and David Moss stepping up.

It seems like the team has developed a system that’s working.  It will be interesting to see how this half of the season ends.

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Before you jump all over me, let me just say that I don’t particularly like the Red Wings so I’m not trying to defend their honor or anything.  They did, however, put the puck in the net twice, only to have both goals not count.

First, Dan Cleary scored during a power-play at the end of the first but then the ref ruled that he was in the crease.  Unfortunately, Cleary was denied a second time when he put the puck behind Kipper just as the ref whistled the play dead.

Weirdness… Again, it’s almost like the rumors about a conspiracy against Detroit are actually true.

Still, I don’t want to take the moment from Kiprusoff who made 32 saves in the first two periods alone.  He was really tested and he came up huge for the team.  Let’s hope he keeps this going.

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The Flames would have to be heartless to not have been affected by that awful loss and their pattern in recent seasons has been to fall apart after performing so badly.  I think that Sutter’s best contribution so far has been helping the team become more resilient.  They are bouncing back more and more and it’s great to see.

Captain Jarome Iginla delivered right when his team needed him.  He recorded his ninth hat trick in the 5-2 win over the Los Angeles Kings who have been crazy hot so far this season.  Iggy scored a goal in each period, with the first coming just 13 seconds after the opening faceoff.

It looked like everything might come undone in the third when he was called for tripping but the team hung on.  “I was hoping and praying,” said Iginla who, in talking about the penalty killers, added: “They worked hard all night and were so determined.”

“We were assertive, we played an intelligent game, and we were smart,” said coach Sutter. “Iginla played a whale of a game, just not the fact that he scored. He was just rock solid in a lot of areas.”

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When they announced that Brent Sutter would be coming over from the New Jersey Devils, I was mostly happy but I was particularly relieved for Kiprusoff.  He responded very well to Daryl Sutter’s coaching style and Brent has a somewhat similar philosophy and I also figured he’d work well with older brother, Daryl, who is now the team’s GM.  So far, Kip seems to be slowly returning to his former self and I’m growing confident about his record this season.

I grew up in Montreal so I have a real allegiance to both teams and I really love when they play against each other, particularly since it happens so rarely.  When the Montreal Canadiens hosted the Flames last night, I wasn’t sure what to expect.  They battled here in Calgary back on October 6, 2009 and the Flames handed the Habs a 4-3 loss with Jaroslav Halak between the pipes.

Halak was backstopping the Habs again and, although he made 30 saves, he was the losing goaltender while Kiprusoff got to enjoy his first shutout this season.  It was a low-scoring game, 1-0, and I know that some people complain about those but I found it very exciting.

Calgary captain, Jarome Iginla, scored the lone goal and has scored in the last four games.  The Flames have also won the last four consecutive contests.  If Iggy and Kipper can find a rhythm, who knows how this season will end?

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Unfortunately, things have been chaotic and disorganized so some people have had to wait as much as 7 hours while others have even been turned away.  Needless to say, Alberta has some pretty frustrated residents and some have freaked out over reports that the Calgary Flames and their families were vaccinated against the virus in a private clinic.

I personally agree with the decision to vaccinate them for a few reasons but the most important is that they do fall within the higher risk age group, they travel and they have small children who could catch something from them and then give it to their classmates here in Calgary.  I know it seems ridiculous to some people but so does the fact that local healthcare workers, like nurses, actually turned down the shot.

With half of the Edmonton Oilers out with the virus last week, I think this makes sense.  What do you think?

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Sure, Calgary didn’t really need it with 4:05 left in the third since they were already up two goals but since Sjostrom is new to the team, I haven’t really seen what he can do and last night I was totally surprised.

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He approached the net and couldn’t get a shot away, faked out Columbus goalie, Steve Mason, and then did a spin-o-rama right into the net.  It really was awesome so I thought I’d share the video:

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The improved start comes along with new head coach, Brent Sutter, and I really think that he is making a major difference with the players and goaltender, Miikka Kiprusoff.  We’re seeing the big names doing well but also guys like Eric Nystrom, Rene Bourque and Nigel Dawes stepping it up.

Tonight, they are going to host the Dallas Stars and it will be interesting to see what transpires.  I would have liked to have seen Kip go up against Marty Turco but I’m hearing that the Stars will be putting Alex Auld in net for the first time this season.

After tonight, the Flames will start a two-game road trip on Monday against the Chicago Blackhawks followed by a matchup against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

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The Flames can thank some unlikely heroes for saving the day, though.  Staffan Kronwall and Adam Pardy really stepped it up adding two assists each (Kronwall actually got his first NHL goal which ended up being the game-winner!) but it was Eric Nystrom who really made the difference.  He scored two goals and I’m willing to go on record saying that I think this game would have gone very differently had he not been so active on the ice.  Captain Jarome Iginla also scored a goal (his first of the season).

“A couple fights, a few goals, it was a great game for them,” said Iginla. “It’s huge momentum when they go out and play in the other team’s end, and play physical, and play with energy.”

“They played very well, both of them,” coach Brent Sutter said. “Pards has started to come and the last couple games, he’s certainly been really strong. I thought Krons, this was certainly his best game. He was really solid.”

The Habs weren’t held scoreless.  Scott Gomez, Guillaume Latendresse and Tomas Plekanec each scored a goal.  I think Gomez could end up being a real asset to the Canadiens especially seeing how he played with them tonight.  Maybe there is hope for Montreal…

I was a little surprised that they put Jaroslav Halak in net.  I’m not saying I like Carey Price any better (I actually think that Halak has a lot of potential) but we play Montreal so rarely that it would have been nice to have the two #1 goalies in opposing nets.

Flames netminder, Miikka Kiprusoff has added another win with 27 saves so maybe he’s got a shot at being the most winningest goaltender again this season.

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After the Calgary Flames were stonewalled by goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin in the Stanley Cup playoffs against the Tampa Bay Lightning, I’ve always hated playing against him.  I wanted to see how Miikka Kiprusoff would hold up after such a spectacular start to the season but I really just wanted to see the Flames burn the Oilers.

Things started well for Calgary.  We got on the scoreboard just 1:52 into the first when Curtis Glencross easily beat Khabibulin.  Surely, that was a fluke, I thought.  Edmonton answered with a goal by Dustin Penner but then David Moss scored on Khabi again.

In the second period, each team scored a goal making the score 3-2 in favor of Calgary going into the second intermission.  When Sam Gagner tied the game and the clock began to wind down, I got myself ready for overtime but seriously couldn’t believe what happened next.

I’m sitting there with my family watching and with less than a minute left, Khabibulin comes out of the net to try to deal with a bouncing puck only to have it plucked away from him by Moss, who, in one flukey/crazy movement, managed to score on the unmanned net.  It took us all a second to register what we’d seen and then we just erupted in laughter – deep, slightly painful, pointing-at-the-screen laughter.  I’m serious.  I had tears running down my face.  Maybe it’s because I hate Edmonton since they are our natural rivals but seeing Sheldon Souray lying facedown as Khabibulin looked down at him in shame still has me chuckling.  I’m such an asshole.

Here’s the real kicker – Kiprusoff had to make 31 saves while Khabibulin struggled with 17.  Lame.  Let’s hope things improve for the newly acquired Edmonton goalie.  You gotta watch this video.

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The Flames in general were peppier and more aggressive than usual and Kipper was just part of their 5-3 victory.  He stopped 39 of the 42 shots he faced including one save that really should have gone in.  He managed to scramble back and put his stick out just in time to stop it and it really was a save that I wasn’t expecting him to make on opening night.

Then there’s Dion Phaneuf.  He’s got a history with Coach Sutter and he was looking like his old grinding self after a terribly lackluster season in 2008-2009.  He was hitting and taking shots and being the on-ice presence that he used to be and I was pretty excited by it.

I was surprised by Roberto Luongo’s lack of focus in net for the Canucks.  He is human after all and I know it’s been a long summer but it was still surprising to see him so frazzled.  You know, those long-term contracts can really be a curse…

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