[Bourque's Twin]

Originally Posted by browna

Loss, fine.

I have a real problem though after the Stars knocked down Cammalleri, pushed around Monahan, and forced Stempniak into fighting, all on the same sequence.

No push back at all on the physical level. Why not throw McGrattan out there to stand in front of the net and or take some flagrant roughing penalty. WHo cares at that point, but the message is you can't push the Flames around in their own arena, even if the skill isnt there.

Oh, but we scored then, yay! 6-2. Oooh, then 6-3. That will show them, right?

Then, the Stars roll out a guy who's got 3 goals, and another guy with 5 points at that point, onto a meaningless PP...running up the score.

Another chance after that PP goal to show displeasure with that tactic and send a message. Nothing.

But I think, between that Flames PP goal and the end of the game, Jackman and Mcgrattan got out there once.

Ridiculous. Show some heart, don't let teams think they can roll in here and push the team around on the ice and disrespect them, no matter the score.

Smid was the only one (probably missed on TV) ready to go with a guy after that, after he hit a guy in the Flames zone, but the other player skated away.

As much as McGrattan and Jackman should've done something, Hartley gave them little to no ice time to do that. Unacceptable.

Do I remember the score from March 2004 when Sutter sent out Oliwa, Regher, Warrener and Commodore after Kostitsyn (I think) hot dogged on an EN goal? Nope. But I remember the aftermath. Simon already got kicked out for not letting an opposing player to do that to the team in its own building and took shots at him and got kicked out, and then the next faceoff, Sutter sent that quartet out against 5 Predators.

The Flames were not going to be pushed around, or disrespected that night, or any night.

Tonight, the Stars rubbed salt into the Flames wound twice, with the coach oblivious to that, trying to get back into an unwinnable game at the expense of showing the Flames as a pushover in the process.

Edit: And now seeing the pic of the Stars goalie sitting on the net like that? Garbage...but what were the Flames going to do about it? Send Stajan and Jones out to dump it in and grind out a meaningless goal (for his credit, superb work on the SH goal by Stajan)?

This. I completely agree with everything you said above.

Hartley should be blamed 100% and, in my opinion, Burke will have something to say about it. Hartley should've sent out McGratts and Jackman to pick fights and he should've told the boys to start finishing their checks. The game was unwinnable and the Stars ran up the score. It was embarrassing being a Flames fan. In 2004, Oliwa, Simon, Regehr, Warrener, Iggy , and everyone else would not have taken that.

If we want to build a winning mentality then we have to play tough as nails and not get pushed around, ever. It was so frustrating to watch.