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Thursday, December 9, 1999
Homeboys
Flames thrilled to be back after strong showing on the road
Naughty, naughty. Through no fault of their own, they all missed the midnight curfew.
Yet not one player was fined. Or reprimanded. Or dispatched to Saint John as a let-this-be-a-lesson warning.
It would've been downright shameful for Brian Sutter to mete out any discipline, however, when he and the rest of the coaching staff missed curfew with 'em.
No, not an in-your-room curfew. The Dorval Airport curfew of midnight, or no flight.
And, point of fact, Air Canada allowed the witching hour to slip by, not the Flames.
The travelling party sat on the charter aircraft on the tarmac for half an hour. The airline was two minutes late getting ready, so at 12:02 EST they were told no go.
Find a bus ("Oh no!" wailed Jason Wiemer from the back. "We've missed the bus curfew! The guy can't drive us!"), scrounge 30 hotel rooms in the dead of the Montreal night, get three hours sleep, back on the bus and to a charter flight at 6:45 a.m., that by the mercy of providence, manage to wriggle through the red tape and get off the ground.
This after 12 days and six difficult games.
"Even this can't put a damper on the trip," said Sutter. "We finished a long, hard trip with three games in four nights, two of them went into overtime, and in the last one we carried the play in OT. If we were running on an empty tank, we never showed it.
"We should've had points in five of the six games, which is quite an accomplishment."
Technically, the Flames finished the junket at 2-3-1-1, under .500. But, under the league's revisionist thinking, they picked up a point for the regulation tie/OT loss in New York and were credited with six points out of a possible 12, or .500.
So, go figure.
What impressed the coach the most?
"First and foremost, the way everybody hung together," answered Sutter. "I mean, we outshoot Colorado 47-16, put 70 some pucks at the net, and lose 7-1? What are the odds of that ever happening? Then we got into Carolina, play a helluva hockey game and lose a lead.
"At that point, we could've hung our heads, thrown in the towel. But we battled back and did something I'm told no other team has ever done -- manage five of six points against the three New York teams."
That accomplished, they arrived in Montreal at 2 a.m. the day of the game, had to make due without the suspended Denis Gauthier and injured Jeff Shantz, and still managed a point. Granted, the '99 Habs are nobody's idea of a rival to the mid-'70s powerhouses, and they were all beat to heck to boot, but still, for Calgary, it was a gutsy closing effort.
On the downside, Brian's boys showed a disturbing propensity to blow leads. A two-goal advantage in Raleigh ended up in a loss. Twice they had the Rangers by the throat, up a pair, and were beaten in OT. Same script at the Molson Centre, but they managed to hang on for a legitimate point.
All of which is probably to quibble a bit too loudly. There were, for certain, many positives to draw on.
The re-emergence of Cory Stillman as an offensive force, scoring five goals in the six games. The consistent play of the Stillman-Martin St. Louis-Jason Wiemer trio. The feisty St. Louis came in for special praise.
"I thought he was outstanding the entire trip," said Sutter. "He and Wiems helped Cory get going again, which was something we needed to have happen.
"The game in Montreal was special for Louis, being his hometown. And he had five or six chances, one in overtime to win it. He's provided us with a lot of energy."
Goaltender Fred Brathwaite rebounded from a horrific start in Denver -- giving up three goals on six shots and getting the hook -- to perform well in the next four. And when called upon, the much-maligned Grant Fuhr stepped into the void against the Habs and didn't show much rust.
Phil Housley continues to amaze. The veteran defenceman played over 30 minutes in Montreal and still had spring in his legs. Housley, Tommy Albelin and Val Bure have been invaluable constants.
Shantz could be ready as early as tomorrow when the Flames host Vancouver, Gauthier is eligible to return Sunday against the Hawks in the Windy City.
"You can feel the enthusiasm," Sutter said. "Everybody wants to be a part of it. Nobody wants to be left behind. We knew it was going to be a long, tough trip, but being on the road has been good for us."
And the great thing? They get to do it all again, after a one-game pitstop.
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