Brutal PGT, take the .500 fight elsewhere.
About the game:
Not very good, not very bad. The Flames played down to their opponent again but they took control of the game as it got closer to the end, and really I think the BJ's were somewhat lucky to get that point. (They did work for it though.)
Irving was okay. I wouldn't say great, but he did all that was needed. Let's hope this win gets some of that rust and nerves out, as he was a bit jumpy at times. What I liked though was that he played the best when the game was on the line. That's a top goalie quality.
As to individuals:
Tanguay has been great. Backlund is looking really good, let's hope the injury is not too bad. Butler seems much less hazardous with Smith for some reason. Can't really see why that would be, and I don't really care. Hard not to like that anyway. Got to love Wideman-Brodie. Cervenka deserved his goal, the guy has been promising.
And it's so odd not needing to worry about Bouwmeester
He still has a couple of bad habits I think he needs to shed (like just following guys around the defensive zone when there's a clear chance to break up the cycle for example), but I have a good feeling that the coaching staff is on it. Other than that, these days even when he's not playing great, he's constantly actually useful out there, like a star defenseman should these days.
Rant time:
I am really starting to get tired of Iginlas game this season. His defensive work ethic is too often just atrocious. Way too many times the guy just skates around idly, zero pushback, no physicality, just waiting for someone else to get the puck back so he can get on the offense. He has also become even more of a perimeter player on the offense. He'll be lucky to score 10 goals this season the way he is playing now. Yes, he still has that world-class vision and yes he is setting up some nice goals, but he is way too far from playing like a 7 million dollar superstar scoring captain. On pace for 6 goals this season.
/rant
Stempniak is making me eat some serious crow. I remember thinking there was no point in re-signing this guy, but he has been great, even when he is not on the scoreboard. (The captain could really take some pointers. Flying up the wing and blasting one top corner, that used to be Iggy's shtick.)