November 20 News and Notes

Robert Cleave
November 20 2010 02:24PM

 

New Jersey Devils coach Pat Burns yells at the referee during an NHL hockey game in East Rutherford in this November 9, 2002 file photo. The tough-talking Quebec cop who coached the New Jersey Devils to a Stanley Cup and became the only man to win NHL coach of the year honours with three different teams, died on Friday after a long battle with cancer. Burns was 58. REUTERS/Ray Stubblebine /Files  (UNITED STATES - Tags: SPORT ICE HOCKEY OBITUARY)

There are weeks where finding anything that interests me enough to put a round-up together is a bit of a chore. I suspect you'll be unsurprised to read that this isn't one of those weeks, so let's get to it. In this installment, the Flames make a move and bust a string, I agree with Mike Milbury on something (and live to tell the tale), and a good man of the game passes.

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Gameday Preview: Bête Noire, still?

Robert Cleave
November 19 2010 10:45AM

 

Chicago Blackhawks' Viktor Stalberg (L), Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane (R) celebrate a goal as Edmonton Oilers' Ales Hemsky skates by during the first period of their NHL hockey game in Edmonton November 17, 2010.  REUTERS/Dan Riedlhuber (CANADA - Tags: SPORT ICE HOCKEY)

 

 

The Flames, fresh off another blah outing on Wednesday, have an opportunity to enjoy the company of the defending champs this evening. Enjoy is a relative term, of course, since the Blackhawks have spent the last couple of years treating the Flames in roughly the same manner that a band saw treats a side of beef.

 

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Teardown time?

Robert Cleave
November 16 2010 02:09PM

 

EDMONTON, CANADA - OCTOBER 16: Calgary Flames right wing Jarome Iginla  concentrates against the Edmonton Oilers at the Scotiabank Saddledome on October 16, 2010 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The Flames beat the Oilers 5-3. (Photo by Dylan Lynch/Getty Images)

With the Flames struggling to begin the season, talk of blowing up the team and the management group has started again, with the potential move of the captain as the beginning of that move. I have to question if people really get what a teardown looks like, though, and if their understandable desire to see the Flames improve isn't blinding them to what has happened around the league as of late.

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Gameday Preview: Shark Attack

Robert Cleave
November 13 2010 09:52AM

 

SAN JOSE, CA - NOVEMBER 11: Joe Pavelski  of the San Jose Sharks puts a shot on goal during their game against the New York Islanders on November 11, 2010 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

 

 

The Flames finish their road trip with an appointment in San Jose. Last night's game reinforced entirely too many of the suspicions I had about the good guys, and tonight's affair makes me a bit nervous, because just as with the Washington game a couple of Saturdays ago, the Flames are meeting a team due for a bit of a breakout.

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November 11 News and Notes

Robert Cleave
November 11 2010 05:57PM

                                                    He's a Mo(n)sster!!!!

With the Flames calming the waters in Denver the other night, today seems a good time to examine their plight and that of the other clubs around the league. In this week's round-up, Calgary heads to the desert, the Blues hit a roadblock, and the Leafs feel the cold slap of reality.

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