Depressing

Another loss for the Flames, falling to the Ducks last night, 4-1. Their third straight loss and it puts them 3 games under .500.

I really dont know what to say, I have already expressed my opinion on some players play and some potential trades, it has been the same thing over again. Consistency and confidence are the two things people cant stop talking about when they gab back and fourth about the Flames. I should just tape my opinion and replay it after every loss.

Please Flames, please, get back on track and bring some excitement back into the city and to the fans.

What Needs to be Done?

After two of the Flames stronger showings at home against Chicago and in Colorado, which was probably their best game this season, the Flames have gone right back to the way they were playing before, losing 3-0 against the Blues on Sunday and 5-3 last night versus the Red Wings. For some reason they took Boyd out of the line-up last night, I'm not sure if was for his play against St.Louis because I dint see that game but they put in Mark Smith and we all know how good he is. I am glad that they brought Boyd up to shake things up a little bit, hopefully he will be right back in the line-up tomorrow against the Ducks.

Anyways I think this is the perfect time for a trade. Something needs to be done to get this ship back on track and really if you look at it, the only thing is a trade. Like I have said so many times, I think the Flames need another defensemen especially with Warrener out. I think we also need another forward who can score goals and plays hard consistently. With Huselius playing so bad lately I think he is the perfect trade bait while his value is still high. I mentioned Huselius's name after last years first round playoff loss to the Red Wings too. He isn't playing well like I said, maybe it is a Keenan thing, who knows and he is not a playoff guy. Lots of people are saying that the Flames might get a veteran back-up to help and push Kipper to get him back on track. I wouldn't might that either but we shouldn't give up to much for that but I highly doubt we would either. There was rumors whether Sutter would pick up Alex Auld off waivers from the Coyotes last week, but that never happened but I think it will be a waiver move to fill in that veteran back-up spot if the move is even made at all. Anyways back to the first trade, here are a couple of possible trades that I think could help the Flames alot.

1) Calgary trades LW Kristian Huselius(1.4 mill/1 year) to Ottawa for RW Chris Neil(3.3 mill/3 years) & D Christoph Schubert(1.75 mill/3 years)
Now I doubt this trade is that likely but I love it and it makes so much sense. All you ever really hear out of Ottawa with them playing so well(maybe not lately) is how they need another top 6 forward. Huselius matches their need perfectly, he only has the one year remaining on his contract and has proven that he can be a top 6 forward. He would help their 2nd PP unit and their 2nd line. He could look very good alongside guys like Fisher and Vermette. Neil comes to Calgary and fits in perfectly with his style of play. He works hard every shift and has the speed and talent to keep up and score goals. Schubert has really come along in the last couple of years. He has a good shot from the point and can be very physical. He has the speed and smarts to play either forward or defense. He would look great on the Flames blueline, maybe even take a shift at forward since the Flames liked what Phaneuf brought when he was up there for a couple of shifts. Schubert could bring the same thing. I think this would be a perfect trade for the Flames right now and it is an out of conference trade which makes it even better.

2) Calgary trades LW Kristian Huselius(1.4 mill/1 year) to Dallas for D Stephane Robidas(4.5 mill/3 years) and C/W Joel Lundqvist(1.45 mill/2 years).
This trade could also work in a very similar way. The Flames would acquire Robidas who is a very good defensemen and would fit in so well in our top 4 especially playing beside Regehr. Also acquiring Lundqvist would give the Flames a gritty, hard-working player who has the potential to be a top 6 forward. Huselius would once again give the Stars another top-6 forward and one who can put the puck in the net, who they have been looking for, for the past couple of seasons. Either one of these trades I definitely wouldn't mind, both trades are pretty equal but I think I like this one a little more cause the Flames would get more help on the back-end. This trade is also an inner-conference trade but there isn't really much to worry about there.

3) Calgary trades D Andres Eriksson(3 mill/2 years) and a 2nd Round Draft Pick to Philadelphia for C Jeff Carter(1.884 mill/2 years).
This trade would be necessary if the Flames did trade away Huselius and acquired some help at the back-end, like Robidas. Carter has been rumored to maybe be on the move with the emergence of Mike Richards and the great play of their new #1 center Daniel Briere. The Flyers have been reportedly looking for a little extra help on the back-end too. Eriksson has played way better lately but I still think he is worth giving up if you can get a player like Carter. Throw a 2nd rounder in there, maybe even a 1st and I think you got yourself a good looking deal.

So let's say, just for fun, the Flames do do trades 2 and 3 lets look at some possible line combinations.

1- TANGUAY-LOMBARDI-IGINLA
2- CARTER-LANGKOW-MOSS
3- NYSTROM-CONROY-NOLAN
4- BOYD-YELLE-LUNDQVIST
EXTRA- PRIMEAU, GODARD, SMITH, NILSON

1- PHANEUF-AUCOIN
2- REGEHR-ROBIDAS
3- SARICH-WARRENER
EXTRA- HALE

1- KIPRUSOFF
2- McELHINNEY

I think that looks very improved. Maybe I'm dreaming a bit but I think all 3 of those deals are pretty fair and fill in holes that both teams would need.

Really I dont mind Huselius when he is playing good and setting up the PP, etc, but when he plays bad he is very bad. There doesn't seem to be any motivation and just doesn't put in the extra effort needed for success. I just think that maybe there is something behind him and Keenan cause he really hasn't played well in the last month. He becomes a free agent at the end of the summer and who know is we can even re-sign him since we have Phaneuf to lock up too. His value is still high and there are some teams that are looking for a top-6 forward who can put the puck in the net.

Anyways November has been a very rough month for the Flames and it isn't going to get much easier. The Ducks are in town tomorrow and they are coming off a very un-discipline loss to the Canucks last night. They will come out hard and hopefully so will the Flames. I think the Flames will come out hard and will get the victory at home for all the fans.

Tough One

Once again I missed the Flames game but was able to catch all the post-game analysis from the radio. It sounded like the Flames played a awesome game, even Chicago forward Patrick Sharp said without Khabibulin, the Blackhawks would have lost. Really the only negative that came from the game was that both Chicago's goals where SH but the first one did take a horrible bounce over Aucoin's stick and right in Chicago's favor. Here are some other notes from the game:

-Iginla scored his 13th goal of the season from a nice pass Phaneuf. Phaneuf had a stint at forward on a couple of the PP's, he just stood in from of the net and caused some commotion.

-Khabibulin really has Calgary's number, he stood on his head and like I said before he was really the only reason the Blackhawks won.

-I still haven't figured out why Tanguay just didn't touch the puck on the Blackhawks first SH goal. He couldn't say that he didn't see Sharp coming down on him, cause Sharp was pretty much at full speed once he got the puck. That was a huge brain fart on Tanguay's behalf, he should of just touched the puck and took the too many men on the ice penalty.

-Finally, my head hurts keep thinking about this but Conroy was once again in between Iggy and Tanguay for most of the game. I heard he did play well but maybe perhaps his talent like I have said over and over again brings down the whole line and that is why the Flames could only muster 1 goal last night. Like did Keenan not see what Lombo and Iggy did in the game against Colorado??

Young Guns

The Chicago Blackhawks head into the Saddledome tonight to face the Flames. The Blackhawks are a very young team, they are the young guns of the NHL and have some very, very good young players. I wanted to head to tonights game to see the young guys like Kane and Toews play but my own hockey is getting in the way again, oh well no big deal. One last point about tonight's game, it marks the return of the great Andrei Zyuzin, every Flames fan favourite player last year, hopefully he will screw up, and give us a couple of easy goals to pay us back for every mistake he made last year. I should say to make up for some mistakes because there are to many mistakes to make up for goals, the goals wouldn't all fit on the scoreboard.

The Flames are coming off a 4-1 win against Colorado on Tuesday and the score doesn't really suggest what kind of game it was. It was kind of a boring game, not very many shots or scoring chances at all. The difference was that the Flames were able to bury the chances they got. Nolan finally played like he had some life in side of him potting 2 goals and was one of the best players on the ice. Lombo finally got a fair chance in between Tanguay and Iggy and set up the GWG to Iggy on a very pretty play. Moss potted his first goal too, so hopefully his line will be able to get some chemistry together. It wasn't the prettiest game but like you can see some good came from it.

Dustin Boyd has been called up from Quad Cities and will play tonight for a uncertain player who has the flu. Like I said before, hopefully Boyd takes full advantage of this and plays well enough to kick someone like Nilson or Smith out of the line-up. Two things I have said the Flames should do(Put Lombo on the top line and bring up a player from the farm), the Flames have done recently, now hopefully it works and I look like a genius and not an idiot. So adding Boyd and from what the lines looked like on Tuesday, here are what the lines should look like tonight.

1- TANGUAY-LOMBARDI-IGINLA
2- HUSELIUS-LANGKOW-MOSS
3- NYSTROM-CONROY-NOLAN
4- SMITH-YELLE-GODARD/BOYD
INJURED- NILSON, PRIMEAU

The Defensive pairs I dont think have really changed at all this year, the only noticeable change I notice was more ice-time for Eriksson, who is playing like a completely different player right now. Here are what the pairings will probably look like.

1- PHANEUF-AUCOIN
2- REGEHR-SARICH
3- ERIKSSON-WARRENER
EXTRA- HALE

Kipper will most likely will get the start tonight sine the Hawks have gotten off to a very good start. Look for McElhinney to get a start probably/hopefully on our up-coming 3 game road trip.

STARTER- KIPRUSOFF
BACK-UP- McELHINNEY

Digging Out

The Flames ended their short 2 game winning streak losing to the Vancouver Canucks 4-1, in from what I heard another dismal performance. I have missed the Flames last two games completely have have only been able to catch the highlights and like everyone knows, those only show you so much and are alot better to watch when your team is winning. So I really dont have much to say about those two games but since the Flames hit the 20 game mark or 1/4 way through the season last night I can talk more about the Flames season so far....not very good.

I first like to say that we all came to the conclusion way to quickly about the the Flames getting off to a good start after a 6-3-3 record in October. Every since we mentioned that the Flames have gone 2-6 and their weakness's have become more evident then ever but that is usually what happens after this kind of a streak.

The Forwards...

For some very strange reason Conroy is still on the top line in between Iggy and Tanguay and why Keenan thinks that line or should I say Conroy can be productive and help the team win playing there is way beyond me. He did score last game but that was his 3rd goal of the season, amazing eh! From the highlights and reaction from the Edmonton game on Saturday Lombo and Nolan seemed to click a little bit, what they did last night or if they even played together I dont no but it could be something to build on especially since Nolan's numbers so far are projected to be worse than Tony Amonte's, UGLY!! Anyways he better pick it up, I did have sort of a quezzy feeling when they first signed him in the off-season but he has lots of time to make up for himself. More production is needed for the bottom 6 on the team this including Nolan so bottom 7 I guess. In the offseason I mentioned that I thought the Flames should add youth rather than aging veterans and typical Sutter went and signed the aging veterans and now it's the vet's who are killing us. Yelle is not the player he has been in recent years, he is still good but not helping the club as much as he had in the past. Primeau is injured and still probably out another 3-4 weeks and the longer he is out the worse that Kobasew, Ference-Primeau, Stuart trade looks. Primeau gives the Flames a ton of energy when he is in the line-up but thats not really what the Flames need right now. He is also locked up for the next two years, kind of scary. Moss has to figure out a way to score some goals. He was lined-up with Huselius and Langkow for the last couple of games so that could help his cause. His lack of scoring hasent been reflected on his play, he works hard very shift and the goals should just come as long as he keeps his work ethic up. Finally Nilson, the guy I thought we should of never re-signed in the first place has been terrible. He is so bad, waste of time and waste of money and is also locked up for another year after this one, very very scary. Good news though, Nilson suffered a concussion in the Vancouver game from a hit dished out by Trevor Linden and will miss at least the game against Colorado. Hopefully the Flames will bring up a guy from the farm like Dustin Boyd or Brandon Prust and will out play Nilson and keep him off the ice.
So like I have done a couple of other times this season, here is what I think the Flames lines should look like for the next game against Colorado.

1- TANGUAY-LANGKOW-IGINLA
2- HUSELIUS-LOMBARDI-NOLAN
3- NYSTROM-CONROY-MOSS
4- SMITH-YELLE-GODARD
INJURED- PRIMEAU-NILSON

The Defense...

Other than Phaneuf and Regehr and Aucoin in recent games, the group has been terrible. Phaneuf has been awesome and if he keeps it up could very well be in the running for the Norris trophy at the end of the season. Regehr got off to a terrible start but has improved drastically over the past couple of games. Aucoin is much of the same as Regehr but hasent played as well as him but still has improved. Sarich has been pretty consistent but needs to pick it up a notch to help the Flames top four. Warrener seemed to add a spark to the Flames D since he returned from injury. So there is something to build on. Eriksson was more than terrible at the start of the season and could of very well of gotten away with wearing a Zyuzin jersey for a game. He has improved the last couple of games but I think the Flames could definitely acquire another defensemen to take his place on the blueline. I really dont know who the Flames could get, I mentioned Danny Markov but he has signed to play in Russia this season. The problem with a trade is that the Flames might have to give up a top 6 forward like Huselius to get something in return and I dont think that is the way to go yet. Here is what I think the pairings should look like.

1- PHANEUF-AUCOIN
2- REGEHR-ERIKSSON
3- WARRENER-SARICH
EXTRA- HALE

The Goalie

Kipper has not played up his full self yet this season through 20 games. His SP is .881% and that is worst in the league among starters. He is not to blame for all the goals but he has let in some very soft and very not like Kipper goals and that needs to change. I really dont have much to say about Kipper who has played every game so far for the Flames cause I'm not worried at all that it will continue. One last note, the Flames swapped Keetley for McElhinney for their back-up role, mostly to get Keetley playing in some games.

STARTER- KIPRUSOFF
BACK-UP- McELHINNEY

All in all, the Flames have to be way more consistent, like you haven't heard that before. It is really the same old story, game after game. I am expecting a trade later on this month or early in December, hopefully for a defensemen but who knows. There has been rumors that the Flames have been talking with the Sharks about acquiring Patrick Marleau but I dont think that is the way to go. Sutter has to do something to make up for his so-so offseason based on the results so far. What the Flames really need is another Kiprusoff trade, a diamond in the rough player. Someone who no one has really ever heard of but will be a top player and over play his contract for the next couple of years. Please Sutter work your magic.

Finally the Flames should be fortunate that this hole they've dug themselves really isn't that deep when you look at it. They are only 5 points back of the division leading Wild and 2 points out of a playoff spot. Work still needs to be done but I think the Flames can do, lets hope anyways.

Finally

The Flames were finally able to break their 5 game losing streak last night against the Wild beating them 3-2. Huselius scored the winning goal with just 52 seconds remaining. Phaneuf and Iginla scored the other 2 while Kipper made 26 saves for the win. I was unable to watch the game but here are some notes from what I heard from post game reaction from the radio and from my friends who were at the game.

- It was a very sloppy win for the Flames but they finally got some bounces and right now we will take any win we can get. Obviously there is still some hard work lacking, but at least the players can loosen the grip on their sticks a little bit now.

- For some really strange reason Conroy once again started in between Iginla and Tanguay and once again(what a surprise!) didn't look in place. He missed a back-check on Mikko Koivu on the Wild's 1st goal but was finally replaced by Lombo, just like I said should happen later on in the game. Lombo was once again one of the better players on the ice and fit in well between Iggy and Tanguay. If Lombo isn't between them to start the game against Edmonton on Saturday, I will really question what Keenan sees in Conroy.

- Regehr was very good from my friends view point. He was hitting people again and playing more like his old shut down shelf again. He is very key to getting the Flames back on track and the goals against down.

- Aucoin went down late in the game with what looked to be an ankle injury. I have not heard any further word on the injury, so lets all hope that is was nothing serious because that isn't what the Flames need right now.

Now the Flames will prepare for their game against the Oilers on Saturday and hopefully get some revenge on our hated rivals.

Healthy Bodies!

Going into tonight's game against the Wild, the Flames look like they will have both Daymond Langkow and Rhett Warrener back in the line-up. With that said here is how I think the lines should look.

FORWARDS
1- TANGUAY-LOMBARDI-IGINLA
2- HUSELIUS-LANGKOW-NOLAN
3- NYSTROM-CONROY-MOSS
4- SMITH-YELLE-GODARD
EXTRA- NILSON

D-PAIRINGS
1- PHANEUF-AUCOIN
2- REGEHR-WARRENER
3- SARICH-ERIKSSON
EXTRA- HALE

STARTER- KIPRUSOFF
BACK-UP- KEETLEY

Lombo needs a chance in between Iggy and Tanguay who are the Flames leading scorers. I thought Lombo was probably the best player on the ice Saturday against the Oilers and should be rewarded for his play. Lombo has 11 points this season to Conroy's 4 and Lombo has spent most of the season on the 3rd line. Really I just dont want Conroy in between Iggy and Tanguay anymore, it is obviously not working and on a 5 game losing streak, the Flames need some change. Nolan has played much better the last 2 games in my opinion and with the return of Langkow, along with Huselius the Flames could finally get some secondary scoring help. Putting Conroy between the young guys could spark him and Moss to start producing more. Mark Smith gets the nod over Nilson since I thought Smith played very well against the Oilers.

The defensive pairings need a switch up along with the rest of the team to try to end this horrendous 5 game losing streak, aside from the Phaneuf, Aucoin pairing. Warrener is also slated to return tonight and maybe his presences will help the Flames in their own zone. Regehr played better against Edmonton but still not his best maybe a healthy and very-well known Warrener will help his play. Eriksson has been pretty decent the last couple of games and will, hopefully, hopefully keep this decent play up. Continuing to switch up the pairings, Sarich in my mind should be paired up with him and could make a good 3rd pairing. Hale is the odd man out, he had another bad game against Edmonton and I think maybe needs some time in the minors.

Kipper is back in net obviously and is the biggest factor to getting himself and the Flames back on track.

Frustration

On the night where a whole lot of Flames fans were banking on a win and a awesome effort from their beloved team to get themselves back into it early on this season, the Flames didn't come out with the effort everyone thought was going to come and came out with a 3-2 loss to the Vancouver Canucks. This marks the 4th straight loss of the Flames and their 4th straight against a division opponent. Frustration is starting to mount on Flames fans and I dont blame them one bit.

Some notes I got from watching the game:

-For some weird reason Rhett Warrener was a healthy scratch in favor of Andres Eriksson, why this happened is mind boggling to me. Eriksson was on for 2 of the Canucks goals but sort of redeemed himself by notching the 1st Flames goal. On the 3rd Canucks goal, a whopping 16 seconds from their last, the Flames turn the puck over, I think it was Hale but not 100% sure on that one, did anyone notice Eriksson just standing completely still right beside Kipper, watching as Alex Burrows scored the goal? In no way am I blaming the whole goal on Eriksson but what on earth was he doing, the Canucks just scored 16 seconds ago, does he even care? Those kind of plays are exactly why most every Flames fans already hate Eriksson. The Hale, Eriksson pairing is a no-no, please Keenan do everyone a favor and take Eriksson out of the line-up.

-The hit on Daymond Langkow by Matt Cooke was a questionable one. Langkow had to leave the game with a concussion and more reports will come out tomorrow with the extent of the concussion. This just adds another one to the head shot/hit from behind debate. Cooke didn't need to hit Langkow, his back was turned to Cooke and the puck had already passed. I dont know if there anything will come of this hit, probably not but I didn't like it and it is bad timing for the Flames and Langkow who has gotten off to such a good start so far.

-Owen Nolan FINALLY potted his first goal as a Flame, just in time too cause I think that monkey on his back was slowly turning into a gorilla. Nolan has been know to be a streaky goal scorer so hopefully this is just one of many especially with Langkow going down.

Anyways, I am very disappointed in the Flames effort excluding the 3rd period but even then they shouldn't of been in that situation in the first place. I mentioned in my last post that I thought it was a must win game for the Flames and the Flames let me down. I'm not really sure what I should say to that other than they better not loose to the Oilers on Saturday. I'll be watching.

What's Going on?

Report from Rob Kerr on the radio is that Dion Phaneuf was not at practice today in favor of going to the doctors' to get x-rays on one of his legs. I am hoping this is just a precaution and that Phaneuf will not miss anytime. Phaneuf has been the Flames best defensemen by a mile so far this season and with the d-corps struggling, this comes at a very bad time.

Anyways things need to be shaken up for Thursday's game against the Canucks so these are what I think the Flames lines should look like to shake things up a little and get things going again.

FORWARDS
1- TANGUAY-LANGKOW-IGINLA
2- HUSELIUS-LOMBARDI-MOSS
3- NYSTROM-CONROY-NOLAN
4- GODARD-YELLE-NILSON
Langkow needs that spark back that he has sort of lost, Conroy just doesn't cut it in between Iggy and Tanguay. Lombardi needs to be given a shot in the top 6 and Moss needs to get some goals. Along side Huselius they could make a very good line.

D-PAIRINGS
1- PHANEUF-AUCOIN
2- REGEHR-HALE
3- SARICH-WARRENER
Warrener practiced today and from Peter Maher was out because of a throat infection. He should be good to go, so now every Flames fan doesn't have to have a heart attack or nervous breakdown every time Eriksson steps onto the ice.

STARTER- KIPRUSOFF
BACK-UP- KEETLEY
No change here, for a must win game in my books anyways.

Some Work Needing to be Done

The Flames lost their 3rd straight game tonight and 3rd straight game against the Colorado Avalanche this year downed by a 4-1 score. Iginla continued his hot start but notching his 10th goal of the season and the only Flames goal off a tip by Tanguay's shot very early in the game to give the Flames a 1-0 lead.

Other than the first period and Kiprusoff's performance there were no highlights from this game. The 2nd and 3rd periods where very bad for the Flames especially the 3rd when they only went into it down 2-1. It was anyones game at that point, Kipper had just made two AMAZING saves and the Flames didn't seem to put in any effort at all. These losses against the Aves could really come back to haunt the Flames later on in the year. Kipper was pulled after the Aves scored their 4th goal just for precaution and some rest since he will most likely be in net on Thursday when the Flames play the Vancouver Canucks.

I know it is very early in the season, only 15 games in but I think it is are two things the Flames need in order to take the next step and win a lot more hockey games. One, a top 4 or 5 defensemen who could just step in and be consistent and be able to take Eriksson and Hale out of the line-up. I was thinking about this and the first name that popped into my head was Danny Markov. He would be perfect for the Flames at this point, a little pricey but worth it. The only problem is that he signed with Moscow Dynamo of the Russian Super League on October the 26th. The other name I thought of was Andrew Ference, should have never let that guy go. Very disappointed with that one, he would have been perfect right now.
Now who else could the Flames acquire? Garnet Exelby from the struggling Thrashers, he is only 25 and could fit in well on the Flames d-corps, but the Thrashers are more likely to dump veterans than youngsters at this point, so very unlikely. The only other thing I can come up with is getting one of Dallas's young defensive prospects, either Matt Niskanen or Niklas Grossman. The only thing with this is that they would probably have to give up some scoring and I dont no if the Flames are in a position to do that. Regehr is the last Flames player who really needs to step it up, just like Keenan did with Kipper, Iggy and co. Keenan needs to call out Regehr and tell him to step it up he hasn't been that good this year and needs to regain his form. Giordano's name will not get out of my head until this problem is solved.

The second thing the Flames need is one more scoring winger. Now this is not even as close of a priority as another defensemen but with Nolan struggling, it would be nice to just get one more young guy to take Nolan's spot on the 2nd line and on the PP and let Nolan have a role on the third line. The only player I can see that could fit in this role is J-P Dumont of the Nashville Predators. I have said this before I think he would be a great fit in Calgary even if he is just a rental player, it would work good for the Flames. He is good in the playoffs and good be very good playing alongside Lombo and Huselius.

Anyways from what I saw tonight and through the first 15 games of the season the defensive corps have to step-up and give Kipper some help. Getting help on the back-end I think is a huge priority with the Flames letting in more goals than ever so far this season. The offensive side of it is just a very minor priority that doesn't have to be made for a long time, maybe not until the trade deadline. Like I said at the start of the year, the Flames need some youth. I love what Nystrom has brought to the Flames so far in the few games he has been up. I think the Flames should bring up guys like Boyd and Peters and maybe sit down guys like Nilson, just to see what the youth can bring to the club. I think it could make a difference. Finally, I think it is evident that Langkow should be on the 1st line in between Iggy and Tanguay while Lombo has to be given a chance playing with some offensive players on the 2nd line, with Huselius and Nolan or Moss etc. Conroy just doesn't have the skill to be a top 2 centerman, he is more suited for the 3rd line center role. Those line-up changes and adding another defensemen is what I think will help the Flames win more games and help them down the road.

The Big One!

Looking at the November schedule for the Flames, I realized that this is an unbelievably important month for them. We can call this the Northwest Division month seeing as 9/14 games are against Division opponents, here is how the shakes down:

Sat Nov.3- Minnesota
Mon Nov.5- Colorado
Thurs Nov.8- Vancouver
Sat Nov.10- Edmonton
Tues Nov.13- Minnesota
Sat Nov.17- Edmonton
Sun Nov.18- Vancouver
Tues Nov.20- Colorado
Sat Nov.24- Colorado

So early in the season but so important. As long as the Flames continue their play of recently, excepting the Detroit game the other night, they should do just fine. They play Colorado 3 times and the Flames have already lost to them twice once in OT and once in shootout, so nothing more can be given to them. When you really look at the Flames November schedule it is a little ridiculous and it really shows why the NHL is going to it's old schedule(5 games against Division opponents) next year.

The Flames need a few players to pick up their play and it is mostly the bottom half of their team. Owen Nolan has gotten off to a terrible start this year and really needs to pick it up if he is going to be anymore of an upgrade over Tony Amonte. Stephane Yelle has slowed down this year but should have another notch as the season goes on. Marcus Nilson is injured again, what a surprise and along with that his play has questions why he is still even on the Flames roster, I said that in the summer, let some old guys go and some young guys in. Matthew Lombardi should be given a shot on one of the top two lines in favor of Conroy. Lombo has 9 points compared to Conroy's 3 but Conroy still finds a way to get himself on the top 2 lines and I cant seem to figure out why that is. The defense is getting better but there still needs to be another step taken so we can cut down on the amount of goals we let in. Eriksson needs to go down to Quad Cities. He is so incredibly bad and is definitely our new Andrei Zyuzin, so bad. I wonder what Sutter thinks now about letting Giordano go?