Quips and Quotes: Flames lose to Wild 4-2

The Calgary Flames lost to the Minnesota Wild by a 4-2 score on Saturday night. Here are selected reactions from players and coaches following the game.

So, uh, Smith didn’t have a great third period. Officially, he gave up three goals on 11 shots in the final 20 minutes of regulation time. The nature of two of the three goals was probably enough to make Flames fans nervous.

The fourth Minnesota goal was a shot that beat Smith five-hole. The second goal was a product of a malfunction at the junction that resulted in a goal scored while Smith was still behind his net.

Post-game, Flames head coach Bill Peters and captain Mark Giordano attempted to downplay criticisms of their netminder. Peters noted that the team was a bit “off” in their execution in several areas, while Giordano pointed to the frequency with which Smith’s puck-handling leads to rushes the other way.

Regardless of your opinion of Smith’s puck-handling, it’s probably safe to pencil David Rittich in for Monday’s game against Toronto.

Hathaway had just six shifts overall, and his night ended 3:45 into the second period when he took a match penalty for smashing Luke Kunin’s face into the top of the Minnesota bench while countering a body-check.

It’s safe to say that Peters wasn’t overly pleased with the call; he basically shrugged and downplayed the explanation he was given by the officials. The Department of Player Safety automatically reviews every match penalty, but considering that Kunin finished the game and that Hathaway doesn’t have a history of predatory play it’s likely that he gets at most a fine or a stern lecture.

It’s worth repeating: the Flames did a superb job with the Iginla jersey retirement. It wasn’t too long, it hit all the right emotional beats, and the in-game production and programming staff did a superb job. A ton of people did a ton of hard work behind the scenes to put the whole thing together, and it’s hard to imagine it turning out better than it did.