And how about his diving first goal? That’s pure net-driving effort right there, not to mention those pretty setup moves by the equally stellar Huselius, who continues to surprise me by continuing to be better than ever.

Looks like our December magic is continuing straight through into January!

this could be the time for you and me

As per usual, TSN.ca shares the same Associated Press story, but with a different (and in this case, not incorrect) headline.

Check it out after the jump!

Last time I checked, the Sharks were in a tie for the Pacific Division lead (despite the loss), and Calgary is still firmly fixed on the the other side of the Rocky Mountains. And we’re closing in on the lead for our division, but we’re not quite there yet (damn you Luongo!)

Although this seems to give away two things:

1. Headline writers come up with a tagline for possible outcomes prior to the actual result, and sometimes try to change them around to make them work both ways (as you can post stories faster, when it works).
2. The editors (if they check this kind of thing?) probably aren’t huge hockey fans, or else they don’t really pay attention sometimes.

she just laughed and said, oh, you’re so funny

Flames go a perfect 6-0 on their road trip, closing out with a solid 3-1 win over the Bluejackets.

Iginla is playing so amazing right now. Screens Leclaire to get the first goal, gets into a fight after being messed with, and then finishes off with yet another goal – 10 points in 4 games!

And Huselius is an awesome wingman, with another multi-point performance. These guys are lighting it up, night after night. And all on the road!

And how ’bout the Kipper eh? Some nice saves on the highlight real! Good to see the whole team coming together. Our PK was perfect tonight too.

Let’s just hope that some homecookin’ doesn’t spoil this magic. Flames play Dallas at the ‘Dome next, and you know it’s gonna be loud in the C of Red on Friday night. Woot!

this is what will be our glory

Twin hat tricks don’t happen very often, but Iggy and Juice had the Midas touch, and Phaneuf chipped in with a career-best 5 helpers.

Kipper has been taking a lot of flak lately, and this last game probably won’t dull that criticism. I guess that’s the weird dichotomy of the Flames – for a few seasons we had our “identity” as gritty-if-goal-challenged stonewallers, a group of defensively-minded hard-hitters backstopped by the best goalie in the game, the kind of team who would gladly take a payout of 2-1 victories straight to the playoff bank. Then we had the whole crazy road team / home team thing going on, a mystery that still defies modern scientific explanation. And now, as of tonight, we have the 4th best goals-for in the West but also the 3rd worst goals-against. So… we’re suddenly an offensively strong team.

I guess the ever-changing names both on the ice and behind the bench are largely responsible for the fluctuating team dynamics. But really, I don’t care how the Flames win (as long as they don’t turn into something like the dirty Flyers or the Devils-of-old) so long as they can win. We got a 3 road game winning streak going right now, which is pretty good (even if Chicago and Florida were involved). And hey, the NW race is a super-close 5 point spread from first to worst. So if the Flames can have a better December than we did November, maybe we’ll actually head into 2008 above the playoff cutoff line.

Looking at the rest of our monthly schedule, I think Calgary can pull at least 2 wins in our remaining 3 games on this current roadtrip (‘Canes, Blues, Jackets), then best at least one of Dallas and NJ at home. Wrap up the year with a home-and-home sweep sandwich over the ‘Nucks (with a solid Saddledome thrashing of Anaheim in the middle), and Flames fans will definitely have a cheerful ringing in of the New Year.

turn the light out say goodnight