Flames: 9-14-2, 20 points, 6th in the Pacific, 13th in West, 28th in NHL.
Bruins: 13-8-2, 28 points, 4th in the Atlantic, 8th in East, 14th in NHL.
Hamilton faces his old team for the first time. This might be a bit of a tough game for him emotionally. Players often have an affinity for the team that drafted and brought them into the NHL. That being said, I doubt he regrets leaving too much with the way he was talked about by management on his way out. He was traded for a decent return however, garnering a mid 1st round pick and two mid-2nd round picks. Those picks were then used to get the following players with their numbers this year:
Apart from Senyshyn (who they probably reached on) they look like good picks, so maybe they got a better return than we figured at the time. However, Hamilton is an NHL player right now, and a pretty good one too. Since a rough start with the Flames where he was having trouble figuring out his role, the system, and finding an appropriate d-partner, he’s become arguably the 2nd best defenseman on the team. There’s no doubt he was not very good early. His 1st 9 games he was a collective -11 with just 1 point, taking 10 minute in penalties. As a result he had his ice time drastically reduced (a season low 12:07 against Edmonton), and he’s gradually been given more and more responsibility as the season has gone on, averaging close to 21 minutes a game over the last 7 games or so. In the 16 games since that first 9 game stretch, he has 5 points, is a collective +6, and has taken just 2 minor penalties. Finding a home on the 2nd pairing with Kris Russell, Hamilton has nicely settled into his role on the team, even scoring a big goal late in the last game against Dallas to tie it up.
Of course, you’ll probably hear the Boston media today talk about how bad he’s been this year and how the Flames should regret the trade they made considering how well the prospects for Boston have been doing. No dice Beantown. You do that trade every single time and never look back. I have no doubt that Hamilton’s early struggles were just a blip on the radar for a guy that’s destined to be a top pairing defenseman for years to come.
Down to the game today, the Bruins have been about the same as last year, even with the losses of Lucic and Hamilton to their lineup. Part of that is due to the fact they have a healthy David Krejci again, who missed much of last year due to injury. He leads the team with 25 points in 23 games, and has been a catalyst for a guy like Loui Eriksson, who has suddenly become a point producer again with 21 on the year. The pick up of Matt Beleskey has filled the gap of Lucic somewhat, but I’m sure they’d like him to be scoring more than 2 goals and 10 points on the season. Bergeron is as effective as ever, Krug has continued to produce offense from the back end, and Chara is healthy…but aging. Tuukka Rask had an uncharacteristically awful start to the year, but is definitely back to his old self of late, although his numbers don’t show it yet.
The Flames as a group have been hit or miss of late. When they show up they’re competitive and tough to beat. When they don’t they’re an easy win for anyone playing them. It’s tough to figure out what is keeping this team from firing on all cylinders, but there are times when they do it and look like a team to be reckoned with. Unfortunately, in the NHL consistent strong play is what gets you higher in the standings, and until this young team figures it out it will be a struggle to win on a regular basis.
Roster Notes: Russell didn't skate yesterday, but is supposed to be available for tonight's game. The Bruins continue to miss the services of David Pastrnak, Alex Khokhlachev, Chris Kelly, and Kevan Miller. Lines are from yesterday's practice.
Forget debating ketchup. We can all agree that relish is the Mason Raymond of hot dog condiments. When I see relish in someone's fridge I wonder about their sanity
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I'll be attending a fundraiser tonight, so I'm sure the dinner provided will be very nice high end food. But damn it all if I don't just want hot dogs and beer for dinner now.
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"You know, that's kinda why I came here, to show that I don't suck that much" ~ Devin Cooley, Professional Goaltender
I'm going to a family dinner tonight but I'm going to ask if they can throw some hot dogs on the grill for...my son.
And I actually tried the PB&J with captain crunch somewhere in NY, it was amazing. I always go with at least one hot dog with savory toppings (but there has to be some element of spice to it) and the second on will be more sweet.
If Raymond is relish then Jooris has to be the thing you really want from the fridge and you can swear it was in there but when you really want it, it's disappeared.
The B's PP is going to do us in tonight I think.
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Fan of the Flames, where being OK has become OK.
Flames vs. Bruins, 7 pm, SNF
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