Name one thing the Flames didn't want to let happen? Name one thing they definitely didn?t want to be responsible for doing? Got it yet? Two initials. PP. Power Play.


Imagine a bear hibernating. Now imagine you have to walk by the bear. Do you tip toe, or do you stomp your feet? Don't ask the same thing to the Flames. They stomp on by. How else can you explain giving a Detroit power play, who had already scored one goal in the game, not one, but two (IN A ROW) five on three power plays? I don't think Dave Lewis could have scripted it better. Detroit (for a month or so now) has been trying everything to get the power play going. So much so that Steve Yzerman asked Dave Lewis to stop changing the lines. On a side note, when The Captain speaks, you listen. Unless your name is Scotty Bowman. Then you do whatever you want, wearing your nine Cup rings. But Dave Lewis != Scotty Bowman. So he listens.


Anyway, back on track. Detroit has been doing everything to get the power play on track, and nothing seems to be doing the trick. Yes, they got a goal, but that made them 3 for 30 something for the playoffs. Not even close to the 20% pace of the regular season. But thanks to Calgary's dumb penalties, the Flames gave Detroit everything they needed - a confident power play, and the knowledge that Kiprusoff is beatable. Thanks Calgary.


Now, a few notes about the game. It was good to see The Captain take things into his own hands, and play a very solid game, both defensively and offensively. Two goals from Yzerman? When was the last playoff game that happened? The more and more he plays, the better he looks. He looked tired in the middle of the season, but he is flying right now.


Once the game was out of hand, things started getting ugly. Not Bertuzzi-ugly, but ugly. Let's go into a little rant about Iginla for a second. First, he does nothing all game to motivate his team on the ice. No shots, no real set ups, nothing. Then, he vents with his stick on the back of Hatcher's leg (of course he knew about the torn ACL injury). And when Hatcher answers the bell, what does Jarome do? He fights with his visor on. His helmet even started to fall off, but he immediately put it back on. And Hatcher cut his hand on it. I know it was late and it didn't affect anything, but I thought fighting with a visor on was an automatic 2 minute penalty, but looking at the scoresheet, I see nothing. Why? Anyway, almost immediately after ABC said Hatcher was in trouble because of the visor, he ripped it off, and beat on Iginla for a few punches. Then they go down. And Iginla tries to continue the fight! Fighting in hockey has rules. There are certain things you don't do. You don't attack from behind. You don't fight with a visor on. You don't hit after the fight is over.


As a comparison, Mike Commodore came over to step in for Iginla (protecting his captain), and McCarty took him off to fight him. What does McCarty do? He takes his helmet off to do it - and he doesn't even wear a visor! Mr. Iginla, you are a very good hockey player, but you are also a poor sport when it comes to fighting. If you are going to bite off more than you can chew, you better be ready to deal with the consequences.


In other news, the Avs are down 2-0. I'm unsure how I feel about this? I WANT to see Wings/Avs '04. But I watched the game Thursday night, and when San Jose scored, I was happy. When Forsberg was frustrated, and taking stupid penalties, I was happy. When Aebischer got beat (every time), I was happy. How can I want them to win the series, but still be happy when they lose? I'm not sure, but that's how it is.


In the east, the Lightning killed Montreal last night. I watched some of it, and they flew past the Habs. I think they'll escape easily now. I haven't watched any of the Leafs/Flyers series, so I won't comment there.


Now, Tuesday night, the Wings just need to prove they are ready to play, and the power play is fixed. If they do that, they'll come back to the Joe one more time, then wait for the Conference finals!