You Win Some, You Lose Some Pt. 2

Another two-game day involving the Calgary Flames and the Pittsburgh Penguins resulted in one favourable outcome, and one that was not so favourable.

It was the battle of 2 Canadian division rivals, the Flames and the Vancouver Canucks, that ended badly for my hometown team, breaking their 4-game winning streak. Although the Flames didn't play their worst game, they certainly didn't play their best.
The final score was 3-1 Vancouver, with all 3 of the Canucks' goals scored in the first period, where the Flames played a messy game. The Sedin twins, Daniel and Henrik, each scored a goal, along with Ryan Kesler.
Mikka Kiprusoff was subsequently pulled and replaced with newcomer Vesa Toscala at the start of the second period. The second and third periods showed good plays, patience and effort by the Flames, who at one point outshot the Canucks 20 to 6. The entire third period went by without a shot on goal by the Canucks. There were some great opportunities but the puck never found its way past gold medal-winning goalie Roberto Luongo. Late into the third Robyn Regher scored his second goal of the season, brining the score to 3-1. But despite several more shots on goal and a last-minute power play in favour of the Flames, the Canucks skated off the ice victorious.
It was a crucial game for the Calgary Flames, who have found themselves once again sitting in 9th in the league, as the Detroit Red Wings retook their previous spot at 8th.
The Vancouver Canucks are the highest ranked Canadian team in the league, currently in 4th.

A five-game road trip that began on Thursday, March 11th, hasn't been going too well for the Pittsburgh Penguins, with the first two games ending in losses. But against the Tampa Bay Lightning today, the Penguins did what they do best: stay resilient and rally to reclaim the upper hand.
In the first few minutes of the game, Pens captain Sidney Crosby suffered an injury as a result of a hard-hitting crosscheck by Steve Downie. Downie came up from the side and took out Crosby's right knee, which bent back and got caught beneath both Crosby and Downie's falling bodies. Crosby was slowly escorted off the ice to be attended to, but was able to return to the game.
After a scoreless first period, Tampa Bay captain Vincent Lecavelier delivered a wristshot that sailed past Marc-Andre Fleury, and the entire second period remaind 1-0 in favour of the Lightning. But a few minutes into the third, Pascal Dupuis tied up the scoreboard, and less than 3 minutes later Sergei Gonchar put another one in, allowing the Penguins to take the lead. The Pens continued to hang on to their 1-point lead all the way until the end of the third, thanks to some solid defensive play.
The Penguins' win allowed them to hold on to the 6th spot in the league, just below the Phoenix Coyotes.





Calgary Flames vs Vancouver Canucks, March 14 2010