Hawks soar over flat Flames

November 20, 12:50 AMCalgary Flames ExaminerJames Duplacey

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Like many of his teammates, Daymond Langkow (r) found himself off balance during Calgary's 7-1 loss

AP

Calgary drubbed 7-1 down at the 'dome

“We had a lapse in the second and they capitalized on that.That's not acceptable. As a group, we have to be better, we have to play a full 60-minute game.” – Dion Phaneuf

All day long, the Calgary Flames preached unity, family values and downplayed the significance of yesterday’s behind closed doors paint-peeling tete-a-tete between Dion Phaneuf and coach Brent Sutter.

The club contended that heat-of-the-moment exchanges between the bench boss and his on-ice employees are healthy, natural and necessary. Whatever. Between the diatribe and the demolition, the club clearly lost their focus and appeared sorely unprepared – and uninterested - to compete with a team of Chicago’s caliber.

In a game that was classified as part grudge match and part retribution ride, the Flames were passengers, not participants. After a fairly evenly-played first period, the Chicago Blackhawks put their pedal to their mettle and exploded for a quintet of second period goals on their way to a alarmingly easy – and dramatically daunting – 7-1 decimation of the Flames. Kris Versteeg led the onslaught with a pair of goals, while rearguard Duncan Keith chipped in with a trio of assists.

The Hawks controlled every aspect of the contest, jumping on every Calgary mistake and depositing many of those miscues behind a bewildered Miikka Kiprusoff. Lethargic line changes, timid turnovers and porous passes documented what can only be classified as a drubbing at the ‘dome. Since many of the Flames were passengers and observers on this night, let’s recap what they saw.

Calgary watched Chicago notch four power-play goals, receive a nine-point performance from their blueline brigade and win every battle in the corners, around the slot and on the scoreboard. On the Hawks’ opening marker, Troy Brouwer was surrounded by a flock of Flames but he somehow managed to stay on his skates and poke a rebound past Kipper the Keeper without paying any kind of physical price.

Kiprusoff was yanked after 40 minutes giving Curtis McElhinney the opportunity to feel part of the pain by allowing a goal on one of the two shots he faced in the final frame. Chicago has now beaten the Flames in 10 of their last 12 games, including the last six regular season meetings.

Thursday’s effort – or lack there of – was unacceptable. The players may get the boos – and there were plenty as the crimson-coated casualties departed the ice surface - but coach Sutter must accept the blame. Sutter claims he wants more emotion from his players and extra accountability, but shouldn’t that rocky road be a two-way street?

The bench boss can spin the botched reaction to the Phaneuf incident – a classic non-denial denial if ever there was one - and the events of last evening’s deluge any way he likes, but the scoreboard spells the story and the tale it tells is ugly, unfortunate and unanimously unsavory. If Thursday’s performance was a retaliatory response to the coach’s storming and spewing, then it’s up to Sutter to start simmering before the boiling pot burns the broth.

The Flames now hit the road for a pair of games against left coast opponents. On Saturday afternoon, Calgary visits the surprising Los Angeles Kings – led by the league’s top scorer Anže Kopitar – before trekking down the interstate for a match with the struggling Anaheim Ducks.