Calgary Flames Hockey Team

The Calgary Flames traded disgruntled center Doug Gilmour to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday in a 10-player trade. Three other players who won Stanley Cup rings with the Flames in 1989--defensemen Jamie Macoun and Ric Nattress and goaltender Rick Wamsley--and Kent Manderville, the club's first draft pick in 1989, also were sent to Toronto. The Flames got wings Gary Leeman and Craig Berube, defensemen Michel Petit and Alexander Godynyuk and goaltender Jeff Reese.

Johan Franzen scored early in the second overtime period, leading the Detroit Red Wings to a series-clinching 2-1 victory over the Calgary Flames on Sunday night in Calgary, Canada. Detroit, the top-seeded team in the Western Conference, won the series, 4-2, and will play either sixth-seeded Dallas or No. 5 San Jose in the second round. Dallas plays at third-seeded Vancouver in Game 7 tonight. The second-seeded Ducks will play either Vancouver or San Jose in the second round.

Hulk Hogan screams "Are you ready?" into a microphone, then rips a T-shirt off his body, whipping 22,000 people into a frenzy. A WWF cage match? Nope, an NHL pregame moment. Public opinion is being expressed with a banner near the St. Pete Times Forum -- no, not the uncomplimentary one about President Bush, the smaller one just down the street that says "Go Bolts." A plea from a struggling hardware store? Nope, Tampa Bay Lightning hockey.

When push came to shove Tuesday night at the Arrowhead Pond -- and it often did for the home team -- the Mighty Ducks were wearing ice shavings on their backs, battered into submission, and the Calgary Flames were listening to Johnny Cash's inimitable version of "Ring of Fire," wearing the satisfied expressions of winners. The Flames wasted no chance to send messages that were as obvious as the flaming "C" on the front of their uniforms. Want to go to the net, Andy McDonald?

Johan Franzen scored early in the second overtime period, leading the Detroit Red Wings to a series-clinching 2-1 victory over the Calgary Flames on Sunday night in Calgary, Canada. Detroit, the top-seeded team in the Western Conference, won the series, 4-2, and will play either sixth-seeded Dallas or No. 5 San Jose in the second round. Dallas plays at third-seeded Vancouver in Game 7 tonight. The second-seeded Ducks will play either Vancouver or San Jose in the second round.

The Stanley Cup was on Canadian soil Saturday, back where the millions of it's-our-game zealots feel it belongs. Satisfaction was so close. This, though, was a short visit, a tease that had to torture millions north of the border. Martin St. Louis' hack at a rebound raised a welt on a national psyche. He pushed a shot just inside the post to give the Tampa Bay Lightning a 3-2 victory over Calgary 33 seconds into the second overtime to send the series back to Tampa for Game 7.

Sure, this is Canada's game, as residents north of the border proclaim often, including Calgary Coach Darryl Sutter. Miikka Kiprusoff, though, is becoming Finland's treasure, and as cool in net as his homeland on Christmas. The Flames incited a raucous behavior, on the ice and among the 19,221 fans Saturday at the Pengrowth Saddledome.

The Calgary Flames have reached a level of importance rarely enjoyed by a sports team. They prompt leaders of government to take a break. They cause the wheels of justice to grind to a halt. And they will bring a city to a standstill tonight, when they play Tampa Bay in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup finals. These are heady days in Calgary, where Flame flags fly from nearly every car. Even Canada's Prime Minister Paul Martin is on board.

Tampa Bay Lightning center Dave Andreychuk is looking to make Dale Hunter the answer to a trivia question: Who has played the most NHL games without winning a Stanley Cup? Andreychuk holds that distinction at the moment, 1,752. Sitting right below him, though, is Hunter, who played 1,593 games before calling it a career.

All NHL questions will be answered tonight. Will Jarome Iginla lead the Calgary Flames to drink from the Stanley Cup, thus sating a nation that views the Cup as a personal possession too long misplaced? Can Tampa Bay's Dave Andreychuk end 22 years of wandering in the NHL wilderness, following in the skates of Ray Bourque to touch the Cup for the first time? Does Lightning Coach John Tortorella have a personality slightly less abrasive than a power sander?

Tampa Bay Lightning captain Dave Andreychuk, perhaps fittingly, had to watch the last 22 seconds from the penalty box. He had to watch so many Stanley Cup finals in the past. The clocked ticked down. The Calgary Flames pressed to tie the score. And all Andreychuk could do was agonize. "I was disappointed that I couldn't be on the other side with my teammates savoring the moment," Andreychuk said, then shook his head. "I have been on the other side so many times."

All NHL questions will be answered tonight. Will Jarome Iginla lead the Calgary Flames to drink from the Stanley Cup, thus sating a nation that views the Cup as a personal possession too long misplaced? Can Tampa Bay's Dave Andreychuk end 22 years of wandering in the NHL wilderness, following in the skates of Ray Bourque to touch the Cup for the first time? Does Lightning Coach John Tortorella have a personality slightly less abrasive than a power sander?

The Stanley Cup was on Canadian soil Saturday, back where the millions of it's-our-game zealots feel it belongs. Satisfaction was so close. This, though, was a short visit, a tease that had to torture millions north of the border. Martin St. Louis' hack at a rebound raised a welt on a national psyche. He pushed a shot just inside the post to give the Tampa Bay Lightning a 3-2 victory over Calgary 33 seconds into the second overtime to send the series back to Tampa for Game 7.

The country is ready to celebrate. The city is prepared to combust. Through two months, hockey has burned in this city, as thousands have been drawn to the Calgary Flames like moths. Only one more victory gives the Flames the Stanley Cup, something no Canadian team has possessed since Montreal in 1993.

Calgary Flame Coach Darryl Sutter, having lost forward Ville Nieminen to a one-game suspension, insinuated that NHL officials are trying to make it difficult for his team to win the Stanley Cup. Nieminen will not play against Tampa Bay in Game 5 tonight for having slammed Vincent Lecavalier into the glass during Game 4 on Monday. Sutter, speaking at a news conference Wednesday, was ready to indulge in conspiracy theories.

Jarome Iginla is talking about his teammates, again, in another love-fest news conference. Yadayadayada. Now he's gushing over the Calgary Flames' fans. Yeah, they're great, we know, we know. Moving on, he's thanking the media ... wait, thanking the media? Finally, someone in the pack poses a pointed question. You have the reputation of being a really nice guy, is that something your colleagues rib you about? Iginla laughs and answers, "I don't think they think I am a nice guy."

This was a crib sheet that the Tampa Bay Lightning had better study. All the things that got the Calgary Flames to the Stanley Cup finals were on display Tuesday night. It was enough to make the 21,674 at the St. Pete Times Forum cringe and another reason for an entire nation to be sent into an it's-our-game frenzy. The Flames' 4-1 victory in Game 1 made certain facts clear to the Lightning, and anyone else who wasn't paying attention to a team that has become a Canadian national treasure.

If this was Sunday, the Calgary Flames must have been in . . . wait a second, the itinerary is around here someplace. Let's see, there was Washington on March 4, Hartford on March 5, Florida on March 7, Tampa Bay on March 9, Colorado last Wednesday, Inglewood on Saturday and . . . oh, yeah, the Pond on Sunday. Finally, the Flames reached the end of a grueling seven-game, 15-day tour of the United States.

Calgary left wing Ville Nieminen is expected to be suspended by the NHL for a hit on Tampa Bay's Vincent Lecavalier in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup finals Monday. Nieminen slammed Lecavalier into the glass late in the third period and received a major penalty for boarding and a misconduct penalty. NHL officials had no comment on possible disciplinary action but have dealt harshly with Nieminen already in the playoffs. He was suspended for Game 4 against Detroit in a second-round series.

Sure, this is Canada's game, as residents north of the border proclaim often, including Calgary Coach Darryl Sutter. Miikka Kiprusoff, though, is becoming Finland's treasure, and as cool in net as his homeland on Christmas. The Flames incited a raucous behavior, on the ice and among the 19,221 fans Saturday at the Pengrowth Saddledome.