1.) The high-sticking penalty assessed to Yelle near the end of the 3rd period was not, in fact, a penalty according to the NHL rulebook. For a lengthier discussion on the topic, see this post by Matt over at the Battle of Alberta.
2.) Rob Niedermayer's skate may have been a factor in the overtime GWG. Observe -
Looks like goalie interference to me.
So...Yelle shouldn't have been in the box in overtime and the goal probably shouldn't have counted.
But that's not (completely) why the Flames were losers last night.
If you look closely at the picture above, you'll find a truer example of why Calgary failed to go up 3-1 over the Ducks. Take a look: It's not Kipper or Niedermayer - it's Shean Donovan. And, just out of frame, is Shean Donovan's man, Sean O'Donnell, who is about 1/5th of a second away from celebrating his surprisingly clear look (and therefore) easy shot at the Calgary net.
So...Why was O' Donnell left completely uncovered by Dono (who chose to further crowd the front of the net for no apparent reason)? Who knows? But it's bonehead plays like that one that cause teams to lose games (controversy or no). A veteran penalty killer causelessly leaves his man uncovered and you end up lameting bad officiating rather than celebrating a victory. If Donovan is in position on that play, O'Donnell doesn't get a clear shot and Yelle's back on the ice.
Donovan's not the only guilt party this time, however. The entire club came out listless and disorganized (in the second period, especially). Guys named "Hamrlik", "Simon" and "Phaneuf" (among others) had terrible games all around. I mean, have you ever seen a break-away like Getzlaf's at the professional hockey level before? He skated up the middle, from his own end , and wasn't even touched by either defender (who were both back on the blueline at the time).
I was fairly stunned by that one.
At first I wondered if the "D" had been caught in a change or a pinch or had fallen down, were abducted by aliens, etc, etc...something to explain the embarassingly open lane Getzlaf had to the Calgary net.
There was no explanation. Except, perhaps; slow, stupid hockey.
The lone bright spot for Calgary was probably Jarome Iginla. Iggy single-handedly turned the contest around in the 3rd and changed a potential blow-out into a tie game. Too bad whatever he had didn't rub off on the rest of the team last night...
Positives:
- Jarome Iginla. Two goals in first 3 minutes of the 3rd. Best Flames forward.
- Andrew Ference. He's gone from an inconsistent 6th defenseman to a reliable top 4 man in the last 4 games. Impressive.
- Jordan Leopold. A quiet, but still excellent, game.
Negatives:
- Roman Hamrlik and Dion Phaneuf. Both near the bottom of the league in terms of +/-. Neither looks comfortable or even competent out there right now.
- Chris Simon. Took a giant step-backwards from his game 3. Did little of note and never finished a body-check.
- Shean Donovan. See above.
- Powerplay. A complete reversal from last game. I can't even recall one decent scoring chance from the 6 PP opportunities Calgary had over the course of the game.
- Kristian Huselius. In contrast to his first 3 games, Juice was total non-entity yesterday.
- Matthew Lombardi. When is this kid going to start fulfilling his roll as an offensive weapon? I think he has all of 1 assist in the series so far.
- Entire second period. Allow 2 goals and create absolutely no offensive pressure. Brutal.
Next up - Game 5!
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