There are some questions that mankind has been searching to answer for ages. How were the pyramids built? Why was Mike Milbury never fired? And of course, there is the one that dwarfs all the others, which member of the Calgary Flames is the best at the video game Guitar Hero?
Today, we are a little bit closer to finding out the answer to that question, as Dion Phaneuf takes on Mark Smith in the accompanying video. The Flames have been airing a segment dedicated to a Guitar Hero tournament between Phaneuf, Smith and their teammates Eric Nystrom, Eric Godard and Wayne Primeau during games that are televised on Pay-Per-View.
These days, when it comes to knowing anything and everything about athletes, we are slowly inching closer to the point where we'll know them better than our own family members. It scares me and to a lesser extent bores the crud out of me. Society has gone off the deep end, but I'm still waiting for the day a network spawns that follows Paris Hilton's every move 24/7 until I throw in the towel. Or maybe that's what E! is for.
Every day from Monday to Saturday, The Ice Sheet will take a look at the biggest stories in the league that happened on the ice and elsewhere the night before.
That it came against his former team likely made it hurt a little bit more. But, reality is that after all the talk by the Leafs about having each other's backs, all they did was stick in the knife and twist last night.
(After the jump: The NHL Store opens in New York, The Marc Chouinard Award, The NHL finally goes HD where it counts and Tonight's Games You Should Be Watching.)
It is going to be a fairly tough off-season for Flames GM Darryl Sutter, who must spend his finite resources (money) to retain his current roster and possibly get stronger for next year.
With the two capable of commanding $8 or $9 million a year on the open market come July 2008, few believe Sutter will be able to shoehorn them into a salary cap that should be no more than $50 million by then.
Given a (possible) $50mil salary cap, signing both should be very possible. BUT, if you were forced between choosing either one, who would you go with?
Iginla is coming off a steller year, which he tends to do when his contract is coming to expiration. With 94 points in 70 games, Iginla was one of the top scorers in the NHL this season, and adds a level of physical play that many other scoring stars do not.
Iginla is also the younger of the two, as he'll be 30 when next season kicks off.
Kiprusoff? He's coming off of a poor season (by his standards), where he had just a 91.7SV% after seasons of 92.3% and 93.3%. He's also a year older than Iginla.
For my money? Well, I'd take Kiprusoff. We've seen this season, in New Jersey and Vancouver, that a great goaltender can carry a team a lot further than one lone forward.
Iginla does not strike me as the type of forward you build a franchise around, given that he doesn't tend to make his linemates significantly better. Notice how he had a great year after the Flames got some help for him? Guys like Joe Thornton and Sidney Crosby make their linemates better and more productive, but Iginla doesn't have that same effect.
In addition, I believe Iginla's true level of production is found in his non-contract years.
When Iginla's contract was up, he put up 96 and 94 point seasons. In other seasons, he's put up 71, 67, 73, and 67 points. If you sign Iginla to a 3 or 4-year deal, it's quite likely he'll revert to being just a very good player.
It's often the case that the coach of a first round playoff loser is speculated to be on the guillotine, especially if expectations were high.
While coaches are all too often scapegoated for their team's defeats (only so many teams can win, you know), we can't ignore the old adage that you can fire a coach, but you can't fire 22 players.
Should Playfair be fired? Would the Flames benefit from a different coach?
In my opinion, the answers to both questions are a resounding YES.
The Flames, on paper, have a great looking team: Improved offence, great goaltender, a deep and talented group of defensemen, and a well-balanced team makeup. I, along with many others, expected more from the Flames all year long.
Yet, the Flames barely made the playoffs, had a terrible record on the road, and never seemed to have an identity of any sort. Good coaches mould teams, and the Flames never seemed to get on a roll or define themselves as any type of team. One couldn't tell if the Flames were an offensive-minded club, crash-and-bang, or something else ... like the Canucks who are built on cycling and great goaltending, or the Stars and their passive trap. The Flames just kind of 'existed', and managed to secure a playoff spot purely based on their talent, alone.
Seeing Playfair lose control of his bench late in Game Five, and then seeing the Flames roll over at home in Game Six pretty much should seal his fate.
Just how cooked is Jamie "Noodles" McLennan going to be by the NHL?
McLennan had just entered the game and then took a slashing penalty against Johan Franzen 18 seconds later. Apparently, McLennan wasn't pleased with his first attempt, so, as we see in the video, he took a nice two-handed chop at Franzen's midsection. This pretty much says 'Sore Loser', eh?
This wasn't a headshot, and Franzen wasn't hurt too badly, so I wouldn't expect the Chris Simon treatment. Still, the NHL can't just allow some backup goalie to enter a game and then go on a hacking rampage like a bad horror movie villian.
I'm guessing a five game suspension that will carry into next season (as we know the Flames won't win Game Seven, right?)
Even a 1-800-Psychic could predict this series, with the home teams winning every single game; utilizing the powers of their home house to channel the positive energies of the universe into victory. It was a pretty easy 5-1 win for the Wings, who faced the bad 'Road Flames' that can't win away from Calgary to save their lives.
This game had it's share of oddities and action ...
Dan Cleary converted the first playoff shorthanded penalty shot goal in over 15 years (Neal Broten did it back in the 80s), and the first playoff penalty shot shorthanded goal in Detroit for like, ever!
Cleary then took a very weird spill into the boards near his own bench on the second period. He appeared to catch an edge, fell down, and hit his head against the boards. The crowd didn't realize what had happened, and surely some of them thought back to Jiri Fischer's heart failure that nearly caused his death. Fortunately, Cleary is OK, and probably had his ego bruised more than anything.
Chris Chelios, who didn't have a goal all season, and none in the playoffs since 2002, potted a goal ... shorthanded!!!
Henrik Zetterberg finally woke up and scored his first two goals of the series (and added an assist). Hank has been unusually quiet this series, and chose a good time to show his talents.
Bad Blood - Backup Jamie McLennan replaced Miikka Kiprusoff and then speared Johan Franzen quite viciously. I wonder what kind of suspension will be handed down, and what random penalty Colin Campbell will give "Noodles" ... Bertuzzi basically bodyslammed Dion Phaneuf, and Jarome Iginla was getting slicy-dicey with his own stick ... Daymond Langkow pounding on Brett Lebda UFC style ... family fun, all around!
Game Six is in Calgary, and should be a donneybrook. Expect a Flames win, and then a Flames loss in Game Seven on the road. Madame Cleo told me so.
Flames fans, especially the women, are notorious for being wild party animals. The "Red Mile Girls", especially, are prone to flashing random passers-by after Jarome Iginla buries a wrister.
Unfortunately, the party poopers, aka the Calgary RCMP and officials at the Calgary Stampede, decided to turn Calgary into a "No Fun Zone" like Vancouver has managed done so well.
The ban for tailgate parties at the Stampede parking lot will remain in effect prior to Thursday's Flames game against Detroit.
The practice was also outlawed prior to the game on Tuesday night.
Calgary Stampede officials say it is being done to maintain crowd control and ensure safety for those attending the game.
Oh, how dare hockey fans be allowed to party and whoop it up in the streets! They might even break out into random acts of ... dancing!!! *GASP* Yet, the cops have no problem with people buying scalped tickets.
The unusually cold, snowy April weather has also dampened the party atmosphere, forcing fans inside bars and restaurants to watch the game.
Hopefully, the Flames will advance, the weather will warm up, and the police will chill out so we can see some more 'action' on the Red Mile.
Is it the Alberta beef? The red hot Flames girls? Massages from Harvey the Hound?
Whatever the case may be, the Flames are simply a different team when they are in Calgary, recording the NHL's best home record in the regular season, and taking both home games thus far in this series. Unlike the passive and undisciplined squad that took a trip to Detroit last week, this home-bound Flames squad is far more intense and aggressive. The Flames used their home ice advatange to their ... err ... advantage, and took Game Four by a 3-2 score.
Why does Jim Playfair coach two totally different styles? *boggle* The Flames might actually win some games on the road if they didn't sit back and play a passive game. Given Calgary's roster makeup, playing a waiting game just doesn't work for them like it does for the Dallas Starzzzzzz.
The Flames used their aggressiveness to goad the Wings into taking some bad penalties, giving the Flames six Power Plays on the night. Daymond Langkow capitalized twice with the man-advantage, and that was the main difference.
"Their special teams were better, not a little bit better, they were much better and it's a big difference," Wings goaltender Dominik Hasek said. "Five-on-five it was a pretty even game, but it's exactly the same as what happened the last game. You're going to get 5-6 penalties a game and the difference is to kill them. ? If we don't change it, we could be in trouble."
Of course, it would help is Hasek didn't take dumb penalties, himself. He made a 'fake' slash at Iginla, giving the Flames a 2-man advantage.
Let's also give some props to Todd "Grumpy Bear" Bertuzzi, who was one of the more effective Wings forwards on the night. Bertuzzi finished with a goal and an assist, 3 shots on goal, and was showing glimpses of the star player that we here in Vancouver used to see years ago. When Bertuzzi decides to use his size and strength and be assertive about it, it's pretty frickin' hard to stop him.
Now, it's great that the Flames have made this a series again, and may make my upset prediction come true. Of course, the Flames will need to actually win a road game to win the series, which is about as likely as Sanjaya recording a Platinum album.
"Well, hello Mr. Iginla! Welcome back! We haven't seen you in ages, but we're always glad when you show up. Please feel free to stay awhile"
Yes, Jarome Iginla, who didn't show up for the first two games of the series, snapped the game winning goal (and had a team-high five shots on goal) as the Flames got back into the series with a 3-2 win. It seems the home ice advantage continues for both squads, as the Flames showed a lot more fire than in the first two contests.
The Flames were so hot, in fact, that the arena fire alarm went off during the third period. Flames fans were too busy to care and there was no mass panic or crazy building evacuation. Damn!
Dominik Hasek was anything but dominating as Iginla beat him from across the Alberta/Montana border while Mark Giordano scored on a weak wrister just five minutes previous to that goal. For a goalie who's usually 'in the money', Hasek let the game slip away with two goals that should have been stopped.
For some odd reason, the Wings decided to break their chemistry and dress Todd Bertuzzi for this game. He was his usual ineffective self as he went pointless and -1 in 13:30 of ice time. Bertuzzi, who was booed every time he touched the puck, also left the ice wincing, in the third period, after taking a bodycheck from a Flames player.
It's bad enough that Bertuzzi has mental issues, but now he's become more fragile than Humpty Dumpty. Would you want your team signing this guy to a big free agent contract?
While the Wings star players decided to loaf around, the industrious Kris Draper provided the Flames with both of their goals, with the help of Dan Cleary, in just over 15 minutes of ice time. The likes of Robert Lang, Pavel Datsyuk, and Henrik Zetterberg could not convert on a single one of the Wings four Power Play opportunities.
At least we finally have a series now, and the Flames won't have to take drastic measures, such as firing their head coach, or sacrificing Harvey the Hound to the hockey gods.
TSN's Bob MacKenzie is one of the most well-known, well-connected, and respected hockey 'insiders' in the business. MacKenzie rarely reports false information and doesn't usually allow personal bias to affect his reporting. Bob is not known for making opinionated statements, such as calling for the firing of an NHL head coach, as he did today in his column:
... if I were general manager Darryl Sutter and the Flames' ownership, I would look long and hard at replacing Jim Playfair going into Game 3.
Is it dramatic? Absolutely.
But if you looked at the way this Calgary Flames team showed up in Detroit in their first two games, they weren't even there. They weren't playing with discipline, they weren't playing for their coach and they weren't playing for each other.
You have to look at this from a practical point as well.
If the Flames - who just squeaked into the playoffs - lose this series in four or five games with Playfair behind the bench, do you honestly believe he will be behind the bench next year? I don't think so.
Bob's idea is unorthodox, and reeks of panic, but it's also an idea worthy of consideration. The Flames have been a disappointment all year, and have rarely looked like they are playing to their full potential.
Before the season, how many fans outside of Edmonton expected this club to barely squeak into the playoffs?
Many of the Flames players are already familiar with Sutter's coaching style, and Sutter has a proven track record of coaching excellence.
I doubt such a drastic move will happen, as Sutter has had ample opportunity to get rid of Playfair before and never took advantage of it. Still, it's something to chew on.
Every day from Monday to Saturday, The Ice Sheet will take a look at the biggest stories in the league that happened on the ice and elsewhere the night before.
It is going to be a fairly tough off-season for Flames GM Darryl Sutter, who must spend his finite resources (money) to retain his current roster and possibly get stronger for next year.
It's often the case that the coach of a first round playoff loser is speculated to be on the guillotine, especially if expectations were high. 
Even a 1-800-Psychic could predict this series, with the home teams winning every single game; utilizing the powers of their home house to channel the positive energies of the universe into victory. It was a pretty easy 
Flames fans, especially the women, are notorious for being wild party animals. The "Red Mile Girls", especially, are prone to flashing random passers-by after Jarome Iginla buries a wrister.
Is it the Alberta beef? The red hot Flames girls? Massages from Harvey the Hound?
"Well, hello Mr. Iginla! Welcome back! We haven't seen you in ages, but we're always glad when you show up. Please feel free to stay awhile"
TSN's Bob MacKenzie is one of the most well-known, well-connected, and respected hockey 'insiders' in the business. MacKenzie rarely reports false information and doesn't usually allow personal bias to affect his reporting. Bob is not known for making opinionated statements, such as calling for the firing of an NHL head coach, 
