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Calgary Flames
Sigh. As a Flames fan, the 2010-11 season was a bit of a letdown. The start of the season was an utter disaster, seeing the boys from Calgary get shutout twice in their first three games. In that same time span, Raitis Ivanans, Rene Bourque and Adam Pardy were lost to injury, while the top line was held scoreless. Bad times.
The struggles continued, and although the Flames ended 2010 with three consecutive wins, they sat in 14th place heading into 2011. Things started to look up when heading into the All-Star break, Calgary was riding a four-game win streak and just two points out of a playoff spot. After the break, the Flames went on a 7-0-1 run that kept them in the playoff picture and culminated with Miikka Kiprusoff’s 250th win as a Calgary Flame.
The Flames hosted the Habs at McMahon Stadium in February for the 2011 Heritage Classic. The ugly stepsister of the Winter Classic was played in front of 41,022 fans who braved wind chills as low as−6 °F. The Flames did not disappoint, winning 4-0 and giving Kiprusoff the honor of being the first goaltender in NHL history to record a shutout at an outdoor game.
In early March, the Flames moved into 5th place in the West. Soon after, Jarome Iginla scored his 30th goal of the season, becoming the 10th player in NHL history to score at least 30 goals in 10 consecutive seasons. On March 15, Jay Bouwmeester, the NHL's active ironman leader, broke the league record for consecutive games played by a defenseman when he appeared in his 496th consecutive game. He last missed a game in the 2003–04.
The wheels started to fall off as March went on, and the Flames found themselves one point out of eighth place. Despite being on the outside looking in, they got a much-need boost when Daymond Langkow returned to action on April 1. It was Langkow's first game in over a year after suffering a cracked vertebra in his neck late in the 2009–10 season. The 3–2 victory found Iginla reaching the 1,000th point benchmark, as he was involved in all three goals scored evening.
I spent many a nights falling asleep to Flames radio broadcasts, holding on to hope that they would make the playoffs, but alas, fell short. (If you have a Smartphone, download the TuneIn radio app. Best $1.99 you’ll ever spend) Games in hand did them in and they weren’t able to catch up.
Because the Flames didn’t make the playoffs, I’ll highlight some of the other awesome things that did happen:
• In November, Curtis Glencross scored the 10,000th goal in franchise history
dating back to the founding of the Atlanta Flames in 1972.
• In January, the Flames played their 3,000th game.
• Forward Craig Conroy played his 1,000th game before retiring mid season.
• Jarome Iginla scored his 500th career assist in January
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General Manager - Jay Feaster
Head Coach - Brent Sutter
Team Captain - Jarome Iginla
Player(s) everyone should love - Miikka Kiprusoff, Jarome Iginla, dorky Jay Bouwmeester and his glasses.
Player(s) we don’t love - Olli Jokinen
I love the Finns, but he just scares me.
Who they got:
The headline, “Free agency likely to yield more second-tier players” appeared on the Flames website on June 30. Although referring to the shallow UFA pool this year, it also was a bit of foreshadowing for the Flames. Jay Feaster didn’t do too much to bulk up the Flames in terms of notable names. Instead, he went the route of adding several AHL-caliber guys that will most likely see most of their time spent in Abbotsford. Also signed, was Christ Butler, who is expected to compete for a spot with the big club.
Who they lost:
Highly touted prospect, Tim Erixon, Robyn Regehr, Adam Pardy and Ales Kotalik
Located at:
Scotiabank (formerly Pengrowth) Saddledome
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Hotness level – 6.5
Ok, so the Calgary Flames aren’t the best looking team, but they’re also not the worst. Jarome Iginla, , Cory Sarich and Rene Bourque definitely do raise their stock a little. I also have to give some points to Miikka Kiprusoff’s creepy/crazy/amazing eyes
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