Calgary Flames vs. Detroit Red Wings - Red Wings win Series 4-2

Well, I think first and foremost, you have to hand it to the Red Wings for their execution of their gameplan. I would say in every aspect of the game, they for the most part had their way with the Calgary Flames. 3 of the 4 lines were constant scoring threats and just general pains in the asses to play against. It's a bit of a lark to call the Cleary - Draper - Maltby line a '3rd line' because they were a true two-way force and arguably made the difference in the series. MVP for Detroit might have to go to Danny Cleary, I would say he was their best all around player in the series.

Mike Babcock in particular deserves kudos for imposing his will upon the Calgary Flames. If you want any more proof of the superiority of his in game systems (compared to Playfair's joke of a system) then simply look at the shots on net. While Calgary managed 129 shots in 6 games, Detroit managed to put 255 shots on Miikka Kipprusoff and Co. I think if you looked at possession times or in zone times, the results would be just as overwhelming.

I know this isn't really a coaching stat, but if I could find face % I think Detroit would show their domination once again.

All in all, Calgary's 'team game' came down to one thing: relying on the heroics of Kipprusoff. Otherwise, this wouldn't have even been a series, it would have been a Germany on France blitzkreig.

The good news for Calgary? Well, I would bet Amonte's done with the team. Same goes for McCarty who actually dressed for the warm up. Most importantly: I think Playfair got his chance, and he showed how embarresingly antiquated his coaching techniques were. Someone suggested to me he might 'step down/resign' to save face, but I just hope he's gone. Can I get an amen?

Calgary Flames vs. Detroit Red Wings Game 3 Post Game

Just overall a wierd time at the 'Dome. The place was rocking 10 minutes before puck drop, and it was a lot more raucus then I thought it would be. I don't know if the TV michs picked it up, but the speakers (I assume) went crazy in the third and started emitting a very low frequency pulse; it sounded like there were several helicopters circling the building. Eventually the speakers started making a ringing sound, as if it was a fire alarm. These wierd sounds lasted at least 10 minutes, and I must say, they really added to the tension in the game. To tell you the truth, I didn't think Calgary had what it took to come back. Dion looked hurt, the Flames looked dejected. For the Red Wing readers, THAT was the good Flames that had (have?) at least a chance to win the series.

For the rest of the game story, just read this post of mine. Looks like all of us got our wish. Apologies to any of the Flames blogs I missed who may have mentioned it.

Calgary Flames vs. Detroit Red Wings - Pre Series Analysis final

Unsung Heroes – to preface this section, I wanted to take into account guys that do a really nice job every night but in general aren’t taken into consideration the same way guys like Iginla or Lidstrom might be. These are the ‘Fernando Pisanis’ of the playoffs, or at least, the potential ones.

Calgary

David Moss – first and foremost among the Calgary group. Everyone in Calgary likes Moss, but I don’t think they realize how consistent he is. He’s a 3^rd line guy, but his garbage game plays really nice with Huselius and Langkow, and maybe more than anyone else on Calgary, plays a ‘playoff style’ game all year round.

Mark Giordano – Marc has been in and out of the Calgary lineup this year, but he really should be a regular. Remember ‘The Doors’ combo of Montador and Commodore of ’04? This guy could have the same type of impact, and you cannot overestimate the importance of having a reliable 3^rd pairing defensive guy. Especially one that teases you with his two-way play.

Matthew Lombardi – Everyone knows Lombardi has had a decent year, but it seems as if he’s a constant whipping boy for the coaching staff (note his benching for one off game). In fact, Matthew has been one of Calgary’s most consistent guys this year. He creates a lot of chances single handily and has the potential to break a game wide open with his speed.

Robyn Regehr – While Dion Phanuef and Brad Stuart grab the headlines, Regehr puts his head down and quietly dominates. Robyn has been taken to task for his play this year, but the fact remains Robyn managed to amass the team’s most impressive +/- (+27) playing with a slew of under performing partners. He’s always willing to finish his checks, and last year he saved his top offensive performances for the playoffs.

Detroit

Tomas Holmstrom – Sure, he’s heralded, but right now he’s playing at least 4^th or 5^th fiddle behind Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Lidstrom, Bertuzzi, Hasek, and maybe even Lang. Holmstrom just keeps doing what he does, over and over and over. 1^st or 2^nd in the league in terms of skill in front of the net.

Kris Draper – I think Drapes is just one of those guys, like Stephane Yelle, that has been around for so long people forget the level at which he can (or is capable of) contribute. He hasn’t yet matched his 24 goal year of a few, but his penalty killing ability, his speed, and his tenacity make him a constant threat.

Johan Franzen – although I confess I don’t know a lot about this guy, they really seem to like him over at Abel to Yzerman. Something to the effect of, if you don’t know his name now, you will by the end of the series.

Dan Cleary – As I mentioned before, Cleary was a nice rescue operation for Detroit. He has a lot of skill, and Detroit has the type of depth that the pressure on Cleary is somewhat minimal. He’ll be going up against soft D-pairings at times, so his secondary (or tertiary) scoring ability could be the difference in this series.

Edge: Even

It’s a pretty even contest here, as I like all the guys I mentioned. The main difference between the two groups is that from Calgary there are a lot of younger guys who we don’t really know what we’re going to see from. From Detroit, we can probably guess pretty accurately what we’ll see from the players mentioned, and what we’ll see is very good, but maybe only slightly above average play. I think the guys from Calgary could have a higher top end.

Conclusion

It’s a bit of a shame I couldn’t get into the special teams analysis, or get to some other intangibles like home vs. away advantages, but there just aren’t enough hours in the day for me to get it all done.

When all is said and done, this series is going to depend mostly on which Calgary team shows up. Detroit has been very consistent, we know what Detroit we’ll see, and they’re a very good team. But in my opinion, when Calgary gets its motor going, there aren’t a lot of teams that can hang with them. Unfortunately for Flames fans, Calgary rarely gets its motor going. Sometimes though the playoffs really are a new season, and this could be just the motivation Calgary needs to play at their peak.