STOKING THE FIRE - MARCH 19th
Vintage Flame
March 19 2012 04:04PM
As quickly as he came into our lives, he was also sent away. For five games we all had the pleasure to take a peek through the looking glass that was the Flames future, and for that brief glimpse, the future looked bright. It would be a little presumptuous to label Bärtschi a “rookie phenom”, but the excitement that surrounds the kid isn’t merely a desperate attempt from fans to grasp onto any measure of change to this hockey club. Three goals in his first five professional hockey games help that argument as well. While the goals certainly helped the team on the scoreboard, Sven’s influence, as the youngest member of the team, might also have been more noticeable than most people realize.
POSTGAME: Avoiding the Doghouse
Vintage Flame
March 15 2012 10:38PM
The most common theme of every game now is that it is a must-win, but this was definitely a game that epitomized that philosophy. The Flames entered the game trailing the 7th place Coyotes by three points, while a win wouldn't quite put them in 8th, they could close the gap and maintain the games in hand they had on both the Yotes and the Avs, who earlier lost in a shoot-out.
POSTGAME: The Little SVENgine That Could
Vintage Flame
March 11 2012 09:45PM
After grounding the Jets in Calgary, the Flames landed in Minnesota without TJ Brodie but with the chance to move back into a playoff spot, if they could pull off a win against the Wild. The game went from a sheer snoozefest to a nail-biter, as fans have come to expect on a game by game basis. Once again Calgary opened a two goal lead only to let it slip away. The good news? They were able to regain it and then hold on to preserve the two points and leapfrog two teams into eighth place in the West.
STOKING THE FIRE - MARCH 9th
Vintage Flame
March 09 2012 08:29AM
With just fifteen games left in the regular season, the story is a simple one - do or die. It's a cliche that many teams throw around this time of year and for most of them it is true to varying degrees. In the case of the Calgary Flames, it has literally been the writing on the wall for the 2011-12 campaign.
Remember "Every Game Matters"? We know the fans have. It has been the butt of too many jokes for the past sixty-seven games. Beneath the sarcastic jokes, we the fans, the city, the ones that can't do a thing to effect any change, seem to be the only ones taking the mantra to heart.
VOICE OF THE NATION - TOOTHLESS AGRESSION
Vintage Flame
February 28 2012 09:41AM
We all sat and watched as Jay Feaster made what we thought was a shot across the bow of this team, and specifically the vets that lead it. It was somewhat cathartic to hear him be so indicative and precise that many of us don't even recall what happened in the third period of that game against Phoenix. It didn't matter anymore because according to Jay and all his intellectual honesty, it was apparent that finally change was coming as the players looked to be forcing Feaster's hand and he was going to be active on Deadline Day.
