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.