2004 Finals-Flames/Bolts

Jim MacDonald

Registered User
Oct 7, 2017
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Hi guys

This series hasn't stood the test of time to me (partly because of the Flames eliminating the Wings in Game 6 this playoff year), although I remember watching the games at my cousins. Looking for feedback from Calgary, Tampa and the rest of my homies/homettes on this series:

1) Did anyone on the Flames have a noticeably bad Final? (Iginla, Craig Conroy and Martin Gelinas come to mind as known-name guys on the team, Rhett Warrener and maybe a young Derek Morris at this point too? I don't know if Phaneuf is in Calgary at this time).

2. Did anyone on the Bolts have a GREAT final? (Khabibulin?....obviously I think Ruslan Fedotenko had two goals in game 7, Lecavalier or St. Louis tear it up? Did Andreychuk do well in his role/for his age?)

3. The final score in game 7 2-1 Bolts or 2-0?

4. Bryan Sutter coaching the Flames at this point?

5. Other thoughts/opinions.

Thanks gang! *hockey head swabs*-Jim
 
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hitman9172

Registered User
Sep 30, 2006
744
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I was in grade 7 at the time and those 2004 playoffs were one of my favourites. Not all related to the Flames-Lightning final, but some things I remember from those playoffs:

1. Flames vs. Canucks round 1: The Flames knocked out my Canucks in game 7 of overtime. I still remember jumping off the couch and high-fiving my uncle as we watched Ed Jovanovski celebrating in the penalty box after Markus Naslund went coast-to-coast with less than 10 seconds left in regulation and Matt Cooke banged home the rebound to tie Game 7 at 2-2 and send it to OT. And then Martin Gelinas scored on the powerplay against Alex Auld in OT to send the Flames through to the second round. From the Flames, I remember Jarome Iginla being a beast (and having a fight vs. Matthias Ohlund I believe), Ville Nieminen being a super-pest, Martin Gelinas and Craig Conroy being reliable veterans, and Miikka Kiprusoff being a wall in net.





2. Khabibulin had a big playoffs for the Lightning.

3. Brad Richards was also a huge performer for the Lightning and took home the Conn Smythe, having scored a bunch of game-winning goals.

4. Martin Gelinas was absolutely clutch those playoffs. Think he scored the series-winning goal against the Canucks, Red Wings, and Sharks, all of whom were favoured against the Flames. He also almost (arguably?) had the Stanley Cup-winning goal against the Lightning in game 6, but it was ruled no goal as it wasn't 100% clear whether the puck crossed the line.

 
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Kyle McMahon

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May 10, 2006
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Even as somebody who liked the grinding defensive hockey of the era, that final (and the previous season's) was a bit much. I believe the final shots on goal tally in Game 7 was 31...total! I want to say 17-14 Lightning or something like that. I don't recall anything particularly memorable about the first two periods, besides the two goals. Calgary made it interesting with a goal in the third, and there was still a decent amount of time left. But Khabibulin made the biggest save he'd ever make with a few minutes left, just getting his pad over in time to deny a one-timer from the faceoff circle that I actually thought was a goal for a split second. I think that was Calgary's last good chance, and they took a penalty in the last minute to pretty much snuff out any hope. Tampa Bay became the first 90s expansion team to win a Cup. 22 years after starting his career in Buffalo, stopping in 4 other cities (and then Buffalo again), Dave Andreychuk finally lifted a Stanley Cup in the state of Florida, of all places.
 

blood gin

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Jan 17, 2017
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To me it was a boring series. Had nothing to do with the markets at all. It was low scoring, low scoring chances, heavy interference rugby hockey. Just ugly ugly hockey

Game 7 was a nightmarish bad game. 32 TOTAL shots on goal.
 

Kyle McMahon

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May 10, 2006
13,301
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To me it was a boring series. Had nothing to do with the markets at all. It was low scoring, low scoring chances, heavy interference rugby hockey. Just ugly ugly hockey

Game 7 was a nightmarish bad game. 32 TOTAL shots on goal.

I see we remember things similarly.

I didn't watch this series extremely closely, besides Games 5-7. But did Tampa even try to push the pace or open it up at any point? They had several somewhat dynamic offensive forwards, whereas Calgary was Iginla and 11 grinders for the most part. If you can believe it, Tampa Bay scored just 6 even strength goals that entire series, and three of them came in one game. Mind you, the fact that this was enough to win the series tells you all you need to know about the Flames' offensive prowess.
 

McGarnagle

Yes.
Aug 5, 2017
28,424
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Great series, intense too. Great playoffs overall, actually. The ECF where Primeau was basically carrying the Flyers on his back was amazing. I believe it was also the year of the Tucker-Kapanen hit right before Roenick finished the Leafs.

Game 6 of the finals was particularly great, including that Gelinas goal that nobody noticed until much later - I believe it crossed the line. Would've given the Flames the lead in the third period. St. Louis eventually kept the Bolts alive in OT, and they win game 7 at home.

I caught the end of game 7 a while back on the NHL Network, and Andrew Ference took a really dumb penalty with about 2 minutes left and the Flames down one. They still almost tied it.
 
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tony d

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Jun 23, 2007
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That was a good spring for the Flames for sure. One of the closest times a Canadian team has come to a cup since 1993. That said it was good to see Andreychuk finally win a Cup.
 

vadim sharifijanov

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Oct 10, 2007
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some stray things i remember...

two european goalies, i think the first euro-against-euro finals. i think there was some perception at the time that kipper might be a giant flash in the pan; i know that i thought it could be the case. on the other hand, for reasons i still don't really understand khabi was thought of as a top 5 guy, or close to it, basically right from when he came over to winnipeg, even though iirc he hadn't ever really proven it yet. i remember especially when he was holding out and there was that long protracted bidding war that tampa eventually won, i was thinking, why are we all treating khabibulin like he's a franchise goalie? but man was he good in the finals. that's when i said, okay right, this guy really is that good.

tampa was also seen as a pretty boy team, most notably because of all the attention richards and lecavalier were getting. there was also the stupid western canadian tribalism that hailed the flames as this blue-collar hardhat wearing oil drilling beef eating ozone-layer depleting team, with guys like mccarty, regehr, yelle, chris clark, chris simon, and other dudes whose faces look like the bottom of my shoe. lecavalier going with iginla was a big moment to counter that narrative. the effect it had on the actual series and the players on the ice, probably far less.

the two guys who i was really impressed by were richards (obviously) and jordan leopold. richards, especially the way he ran the point, just felt like joe sakic to me. him scoring wrist shot goals from far out, the clutch GWGs, wearing number 19 and just looking cool as a cucumber, i really thought he was going to built up his all-round game, like the other #19s, and put together a HHOf career. and leopold, that guy's first pass and the way he ran the point too, i just thought he was a future superstar. his tape-to-tape along the blue line on the PP was phenomenal. whereas in fact neither team had a real #1 defenseman, offensive or all-round, and it showed in a wildly unentertaining series. dan boyle, despite what we might think now looking back, was not there yet.

i also remember, after watching ray bourque get his cup not too long ago, being totally and profoundly nonchalant about andreychuk hotstepping on the ice like a little kid when bettman handed him the cup. i was like, dave andreychuk? and i should care about all the years this guy didn't win the cup, seriously?
 

JackSlater

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Apr 27, 2010
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I hated that Calgary team for what it represented (admittedly also for eliminating my team), which put me in the vast minority in my section of Canada. Ugly hockey that should have been penalized far more often than it was. It was an entertaining narrative even if the games weren't though. Most memorable moment was probably the Iginla-Lecavalier fight. I think that Gelinas' shot in game six was in the net too.
 

Jim MacDonald

Registered User
Oct 7, 2017
703
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I just got done checking out that Gelinas shot in game 6 too....boy...I know the puck is "fuzzy" in the replay...but it sure looks like you can see the complete disc over the line......do you speculate the Flames lost the cup due to the lack of HD television? Or not HD enough? lol!
 

Sadekuuro

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Aug 23, 2005
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It's an optical illusion; the puck is in the air, not flat on the ice. It never crossed the line completely.
 

GlitchMarner

Typical malevolent, devious & vile Maple Leafs fan
Jul 21, 2017
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Brampton, ON
the two guys who i was really impressed by were richards (obviously) and jordan leopold. richards, especially the way he ran the point, just felt like joe sakic to me. him scoring wrist shot goals from far out, the clutch GWGs, wearing number 19 and just looking cool as a cucumber, i really thought he was going to built up his all-round game, like the other #19s, and put together a HHOf career.

Those playoffs really made me a big of Richards.

He had some seasons where he was a top 10 scorer (2004, 2010, 2011) and another one where he finished 12th in scoring (2006). He started off with back-to-back 60+ point seasons and then put up 74 points, then 79 and then 91 in the high-scoring 2006 season. His production sagged between 2006 and 2009 (although usage and TB's garbage depth after 2006 played a role in that, I suppose) and then he had a couple of big years in DAL and a solid first year in New York before falling off after the latest lockout. He had some playoffs runs that stand out as well (2004 obviously, 2008 when he scored 15 points and helped DAL reach the WCF, 15 points in 2012 when he helped the Rags get to the ECF for the first time in years and even in 2014 when he did some damage in the first two rounds and 2015 when he scored 14 points for CHI in a secondary role).

Ir sucks that the 2005 lockout cost him what would have been a prime season if he there had been a 2004-2005 season and he had been healthy. I think he could have easily put up 70+ points in 2005. He ended up about 70 shy of 1000 in his career. The latest lockout may have hampered his career as well.
 
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GlitchMarner

Typical malevolent, devious & vile Maple Leafs fan
Jul 21, 2017
9,712
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Brampton, ON
It's an optical illusion; the puck is in the air, not flat on the ice. It never crossed the line completely.

It looks like Gelinas kicks the puck (or at least "propels" it toward the net with his skate anyway). Even if the puck was in, I don't know if it would have been possible to tell that it was definitely all the way across the line (assuming the NHL didn't officially review the play - I don't remember there being an official review before the game resumed, but the NHL may have decided it was no goal before the next puck drop). There was enough time on the clock for a comeback anyway.
 

blood gin

Registered User
Jan 17, 2017
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I hated that Calgary team for what it represented (admittedly also for eliminating my team), which put me in the vast minority in my section of Canada. Ugly hockey that should have been penalized far more often than it was. It was an entertaining narrative even if the games weren't though. Most memorable moment was probably the Iginla-Lecavalier fight. I think that Gelinas' shot in game six was in the net too.

No dog in the fight, but ESPN did a computer recreation of the goal and determined that the puck was not actually over the line even from that angle it really appeared over the line.
 

kruezer

Registered User
Apr 21, 2002
6,717
274
North Bay
Hi guys

This series hasn't stood the test of time to me (partly because of the Flames eliminating the Wings in Game 6 this playoff year), although I remember watching the games at my cousins. Looking for feedback from Calgary, Tampa and the rest of my homies/homettes on this series:

1) Did anyone on the Flames have a noticeably bad Final? (Iginla, Craig Conroy and Martin Gelinas come to mind as known-name guys on the team, Rhett Warrener and maybe a young Derek Morris at this point too? I don't know if Phaneuf is in Calgary at this time).

2. Did anyone on the Bolts have a GREAT final? (Khabibulin?....obviously I think Ruslan Fedotenko had two goals in game 7, Lecavalier or St. Louis tear it up? Did Andreychuk do well in his role/for his age?)

3. The final score in game 7 2-1 Bolts or 2-0?

4. Bryan Sutter coaching the Flames at this point?

5. Other thoughts/opinions.

Thanks gang! *hockey head swabs*-Jim

As a flames fan this playoff as a whole was intense, the lack of scoring/shots makes the games more stressful in the POs I find, if you are a fan of a team in the mix.

1. I don't feel like anyone had a particularly bad final for Calgary, as none of them were exactly all that talented to begin with, excluding Iggy of course. I think Iginla had a nice finals going until game 5/6/7 when Tampa shut him down. That probably won Tampa the series (also, Morris was long gone at this point, Drury (who they traded him for mostly) was gone. But Stephane Yelle who was a part of the Morris trade was still around and was one of the key foot soldiers for the team).

2. Richards seemed like he was everywhere.

3. 2-1

4. Darryl Sutter took over mid season, got Kipper and the rest was history. Sutter's work in this POs was just as impressive as the two cup wins in LA in my eyes. Even more so as Calgary's D at the time didn't hold a candle to LAs. Its too bad Calgary couldn't convince Sutter to just stick with coaching, as the team got better in the mid to late 00s I believe they would have had more PO success with him behind he bench rather than upstairs.

5. Kipper during this season/POs was insane. Damn shame the lockout stole a year of his prime the next season.
 
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Jim MacDonald

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Oct 7, 2017
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No dog in the fight, but ESPN did a computer recreation of the goal and determined that the puck was not actually over the line even from that angle it really appeared over the line.

Wow! That's pretty wild/cool. A computer recreation! Way to go Worldwide Leader in Sports! lol
 

Jim MacDonald

Registered User
Oct 7, 2017
703
180
As a flames fan this playoff as a whole was intense, the lack of scoring/shots makes the games more stressful in the POs I find, if you are a fan of a team in the mix.

1. I don't feel like anyone had a particularly bad final for Calgary, as none of them were exactly all that talented to begin with, excluding Iggy of course. I think Iginla had a nice finals going until game 5/6/7 when Tampa shut him down. That probably won Tampa the series (also, Morris was long gone at this point, Drury (who they traded him for mostly) was gone. But Stephane Yelle who was a part of the Morris trade was still around and was one of the key foot soldiers for the team).

2. Richards seemed like he was everywhere.

3. 2-1

4. Darryl Sutter took over mid season, got Kipper and the rest was history. Sutter's work in this POs was just as impressive as the two cup wins in LA in my eyes. Even more so as Calgary's D at the time didn't hold a candle to LAs. Its too bad Calgary couldn't convince Sutter to just stick with coaching, as the team got better in the mid to late 00s I believe they would have had more PO success with him behind he bench rather than upstairs.

5. Kipper during this season/POs was insane. Damn shame the lockout stole a year of his prime the next season.


Love the feedback Kruezer *thumbs up* thank ya!
 

vadim sharifijanov

Registered User
Oct 10, 2007
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Brian Burke said if we had Todd Bertuzzi in the lineup. We Beat Calgary

haha. the actual series went vancouver win, calgary win, vancouver win, two calgary wins, vancouver win (morrison OT goal), calgary win (cooke goal late to push it to OT, gelinas takes it in OT). so at least it was exciting.

if bertuzzi had played, it would have been vancouver up 3-1, then three straight crushing victories.

you all forget, but bertuzzi was always a force of nature to start series before proceeding to suck in games 4, 5, 6, and 7.
 

Canucks1096

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Feb 13, 2016
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haha. the actual series went vancouver win, calgary win, vancouver win, two calgary wins, vancouver win (morrison OT goal), calgary win (cooke goal late to push it to OT, gelinas takes it in OT). so at least it was exciting.

if bertuzzi had played, it would have been vancouver up 3-1, then three straight crushing victories.

you all forget, but bertuzzi was always a force of nature to start series before proceeding to suck in games 4, 5, 6, and 7.

You are thinking about Red Wing series only. Red Wings series I agree.

2003 Blues he got better from Game 5 to 7. The whole team got better from Game 5 to game 7. His only goal in the series came in game 5.

2003 Min he score in game 7.

His only 2 goals in the playoffs that year came in elimination games.

2001 Col he was good in all 4 of the games. Bertuzzi was probably the best forward.
 

vadim sharifijanov

Registered User
Oct 10, 2007
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You are thinking about Red Wing series only. Red Wings series I agree.

2003 Blues he got better from Game 5 to 7. The whole team got better from Game 5 to game 7. His only goal in the series came in game 5.

2003 Min he score in game 7.

His only 2 goals in the playoffs that year came in elimination games.

2001 Col he was good in all 4 of the games. Bertuzzi was probably the best forward.

i'm mostly thinking of the st louis series, actually. just watch the first 3-4 minutes of game 2. the todd, setting the tone bigtime.

 

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