Game No. 22: Don’t be a turkey

Given that this is happening around 10 a.m. your time, I bet you’re not watching.

Boy, you guys gotta be pumped. We had our Thanksgiving down here in America yesterday and we got today off to.. I dunno, go shopping at 3 a.m. or something. So anyway, as a result, the League says "Those people coming home with their $8 52-inch plasma TVs probably really want to watch hockey for the rest of the day."

Unfortunately for you Canadians, our boys got caught in the middle of it. The Bruins and Hurricanes played at noon here in Boston, there are a couple games at 1 p.m., including the Flames’, there’s a 2 o’clock tilt, one at 4, one at 5, then a couple at normal Friday hockey times.

Not that this probably matters to you. It doesn’t really make sense to play this game in particular at 1 p.m., or 11 a.m. Calgary time. Canadians don’t have the day off, and they sure as hell don’t want to watch THIS team on a semi-legal feed two hours after they get into the office. Senators fans don’t have it much better: they’re on at 1 against the Penguins. So know you’re not alone.

The good news for you is that you’re probably not going to have to watch this garbage. I am. I’m gonna watch every dreadful second of a game, as the best team in the league right now, statistically, carves up the Flames’ defense like so much Thanksgiving turkey. At least Staios and Mikkelson aren’t paired together for this one (they’re with Giordano and Babchuk, respectively, though I’m not sure how much of an improvement that bottom pairing is). More good news: Craig Conroy’s back in the lineup.

Of course, Olli Jokinen remains on the top line, so we still don’t have much to be thankful for.