I think "the thing I liked most" about this game is that it was not in any way a spectacular effort by the Flames. Nobody was amazing, we did not seriously outwork the opposition and we were not obviously the better team. And yet the Flames played a good game, and they won. That feels so good.
It feels like an eternity since the last time when the Flames didn't need to play out of their minds to be in the game and even take home a well-deserved win with a good goal margin even. (Oilers don't count.) Two evenly matched teams, with my team being slightly better all the way, that's hockey at it's best
As to Detroit, they're really going down fast at this rate. None of their replacements for their retired golden core look like difference makers, and Zetterberg and Datsyuk are past being the game-dominating superstars of old.
Flames played a solid team game, and the results were evident. No need to dominate the game to have a chance. No need to outwork the opposition all the time. Getting hemmed in our own zone was not a sure goal against or a penalty. Goaltending didn't need to be anything crazy. Some lines can have a bit of an off-night and it's not a big deal. That's what a good team game does; not everything needs to be perfect, as one thing will cover for the other.
The last two games the Flames have made those "leaps and bounds" of improvement I felt was needed to catch up with the way the other teams have been playing. Much to my surprise, I admit
This team hasn't given me that many pleasant surprise in the last few years, so I'm definitely happy that they're feeding me some crow.
Also, 7 games in and it looks like we've found pretty good chemistry with the forward lines. I think some of that has to be on coaching also, as Brent always seemed to take forever to find the right combinations. (Had to get that in. The more I see this team play, the more I actually hate Brent Sutters coaching. )
(Bad news for Baertchi though, the chemistry thing.)
It's too early to say if this team is good enough to dig themselves out of their little hole, but our division isn't very good, so everything is still very much in the open. I'm afraid we'll still be in big trouble against more physical teams, but if they play this way, the games should be worth watching anyway
As to the individuals: Iginla and Glencross scoring is great for the team. Cammalleri seemed re-ignited. As good as Hudler has been, I don't think there's any question that the crown of the best off-season addition goes to Wideman. I was a little sceptical of his game, but he seems made for this team. Kudos to Feaster for that. Heck, kudos for getting Hudler too.
Brodie is just getting better. Backlund seems to have found his place. And we are so not missing Sarich.