The Big Monday Thing - Lanny McDonald Calls Andrew Mangiapane "Manny"
The Michael McNiven trade review spectacular
The Flames are on fire, playing the strongest, most sustainable hockey we’ve probably ever seen, and that calls for one thing: pictures of Blake Coleman as a child.
How ‘bout dem Cowboys?
The Week of: February 28th-March 6th
Results From Past Week: Is this the Easter month or is that April this year? The Flames ended February and maybe started the Easter month off the same way: by dismantling the Minnesota Wild. It almost felt TOO easy, but then the team dropped their follow up to the last place Montreal Canadiens in a game they absolutely did not deserve to win, demonstrating how funny this league can be. The week ended with a heavyweight matchup between the Flames and Colorado Avalanche that lived up to the hype surrounding it before the game, with Johnny Gaudreau outplaying noted psychopath Nathan MacKinnon for the overtime winner.
Hello to the Calgary Flames.
Flames Overall Record: 33-14-7, 73 pts
Standings: 1st place in the Pacific Division, 2nd in the Western Conference. Mahalo.
Soundtrack: I Love Bread - Parry Grip
I genuinely don’t know what the fuck this is. The Flames listed this as their goal song for Andrew Mangiapane, but beyond that, I don’t have much info on this one. Kinda slaps though. I also love bread, for the record.
What We Liked:
While I absolutely do not want the Flames to meet up again with the Colorado Avalanche in the playoffs, going to to toe with the best team in the league and not only hanging with them but taking them down, that to me clears just about the highest bar you can find.
The Flames established a strong forecheck and cycle, and feasted off those developments to the tune of an endless supply of Elias Lindholm slot chances (2 of which ended up in the back of the net). By no means did they play a perfect game, but the Avalanche are an unendingly talented team, and taking the win is a big deal. You still don’t want to have see them have to endure this over a 7 game series, but at least if they do, it doesn’t feel like it would be such a leap to see them win.
What We Would Prefer Not To See:
Remember this:
This was when Brett Ritchie caught some hands and was banished to the shadow realm.
Wouldn’t it be something if he went back there?
Enemy of the Week:
The Edmonton Oilers are lecherous cowards. Mike Smith is a man of the people, and the people love Mike Smith. It is unconscionable that the Oilers would deny all of us the one thing we wanted to see.
What are they so afraid of anyway?
What Comes Next:
Get used to the Calgary Flames. The team plays 5 games over the next 7 days, including 4 in a row in a maskless, vaccine not checkingest, mandate free Saddledome. Catch the fever! No, seriously.
Calgary faces off against a tragically Mike Smith-less Oilers, before welcoming the now cancelled (???) Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals. The week ends with games against the T*mp* B*y L*ghtn*ng, the Detroit Red Wings and the now highly anticipated rematch with the Avs.
Kind of an important week! Buckle up.
Jarome Iginla In Front Of A Zoom Background Or Quite Possibly A Real Stunning Mountain Vista Of The Week:
I hate to bury the lede here, so I won’t. I love Mark Giordano, and an absolutely deserved congratulations to the former Flames captain for being an unheralded, undrafted afterthought to a Norris Trophy winning defenseman with 1000 NHL games under his belt. But the real story here is this tribute video from Jarome Iginla taken from like, I don’t know, Narnia or something. This dude is spectacular at everything. (You gotta click this and scroll over one image. I don’t know why instagram doesn’t let you embed things properly. Sorry. Sorry)
Unrelated Fact:
Presented without comment.
See You Next Week:
Johhny Gaudreau is just like you and I. He loves pizza and is an elite hockey player putting together an MVP calibre season.