1995 Western Conference Quarters/Sharks-Flames

[Jim MacDonald]

Hockey Homies and Homettes

Just got done watching a 21 minute summary of this series on YouTube. The words I'd use to describe this series is "bizarre," "strange" and "not video you'd show on how to play goalie." I wanted to get the crew's thoughts on this one, maybe some of you watched it pretty thoroughly....sorry to the Flames fans of course. My thoughts:

1. I thought the Sharks were gonna sweep this thing after winning the first two in Calgary....then they give up 9 at home? really??!!

2. Did the Flames not have confidence in their backup goalie? I'm thinking that Kidd should have been permanently benched after game 2, but I don't know who the Flames had as their backup.

3. A lot of breakaways in this series...sheesh!

4. What a good pickup Craig Janney was for the Sharks at the trade deadline. Stepped up big for the Sharks in game 6.

P.S. In a Theo Fleury biography I read, he said Trevor Kidd had one of the best glove hands he's ever seen ...but that he had a terrible diet. Anyone know anything about this? (maybe some of the local Calgary fans?)

Understandable if this thread has a tumbleweed roll through it.....I don't know how near/dear/memorable it is to the crew. *head swabs*-Jim

Click to read more...

 

[Johnny Engine]

2. Did the Flames not have confidence in their backup goalie? I'm thinking that Kidd should have been permanently benched after game 2, but I don't know who the Flames had as their backup.

You would think not, since they acquired Tabaracci late in the season, he put up great numbers in a handful of games, spelled Kidd in game 1 stopping all 9 shots, and then started nearly half of the next season. Why they wouldn't have given him a start after game 2 isn't clear from my memory or the statistical record, hopefully someone with a better handle on the Flames' medium term outlook at the time might be able to give a more detailed picture.

 

[agentblack]

Was this the series where Fleury went nuclear in one game?

 

[GlitchMarner]

After this series, the Sharks played the Red Wings, whom they had heavily upset in the playoffs the year prior, and DET beat the absolute hell out of them. The scores were 6-0, 6-2, 6-2 and 6-2. Has to be one of the ugliest series of the last 30 years.

The only comparable series I can think of immediately is the one where the Rangers slapped the Isles around in 1994.

 

[agentblack]

After this series, the Sharks played the Red Wings, whom they had heavily upset in the playoffs the year prior, and DET beat the absolute hell out of them. The scores were 6-0, 6-2, 6-2 and 6-2. Has to be one of the ugliest series of the last 30 years.

The only comparable series I can think of immediately is the one where the Rangers slapped the Isles around in 1994.

Yeah lol i think this one is also on YouTube , like they just danced and made these crazy plays all over the Sharks.

 

[Jim MacDonald]

You would think not, since they acquired Tabaracci late in the season, he put up great numbers in a handful of games, spelled Kidd in game 1 stopping all 9 shots, and then started nearly half of the next season. Why they wouldn't have given him a start after game 2 isn't clear from my memory or the statistical record, hopefully someone with a better handle on the Flames' medium term outlook at the time might be able to give a more detailed picture.

That's crazy hearing Tabaracci's name Johnny. I hear that name and I think "ok, a veteran, played some with Winnipeg etc." How in the heck does he NOT get the start in Game 3??!! It's not like it was a no-name/inexperienced backup....it was a vet!

 

[Jim MacDonald]

After this series, the Sharks played the Red Wings, whom they had heavily upset in the playoffs the year prior, and DET beat the absolute hell out of them. The scores were 6-0, 6-2, 6-2 and 6-2. Has to be one of the ugliest series of the last 30 years.

The only comparable series I can think of immediately is the one where the Rangers slapped the Isles around in 1994.

Revenge for 94 for sure! I read somewhere someone called it the "tennis series" because of the sixes the Wings put up...lol....

 

[The Panther]

From the Flames' perspective, this series is a reminder of why it's not a great idea to plan your future around Trevor Kidd. Remember when he was the solution to all the Mike-Vernon-playoff goaltending problems? Not so much.

Janney did come up big in one game -- he also went -9 in the series. (Tom Pederson, basically a minor-leaguer who got a brief chance on an expansion team, went -10!)

Stellar goaltending all around: Arturs Irbe at .848, and Trevor Kidd at .856. The thing is, when you look back at the highlights, those numbers probably flatter them...

 

[EastCoastFlamesFan]

Ahhh. I figured this series would come up at one point or another on here. I still don't know which one stings more, this one or the '94 series versus Vancouver. I still say those 94 and 95 Flames teams were so much better than how they actually performed, and it always makes me wonder how far they would have actually gone if they had won either of those series. I think it was Don Cherry in his 1994 Rock 'Em Sock 'Em tape saying that if CGY had beaten Vancouver they would have been the team to beat in the playoffs that year.

It amazes to this day how they couldn't close out Vancouver in '94 after being up 3-1 and then loosing the next three games in OT, then in '95 being up 3-2 against a Sharks team that squeezed into the playoffs by a single point and were totally outplayed in games 3, 4 and 5 being outscored in the process 20-6, yes, 20-6! The Flames go into game 6 facing Wade Flaherty and throw 33 shots on him while Trevor Kidd (coming off of a SO in the previous game) lays an absolute stinker giving up 5 goals on 20 shots. Granted, I was only 8 years old during this series and a lot of my memories comes are a bit foggy, but does anyone have any clear memories of watching Game 6? I have to think no one gave the Sharks a chance at this point. I know there is a series recap on YT so maybe I'll have to go back and watch that at some point.

Regardless, we all know what happens in Game 7, as the Sharks win it on Ray Whitney's double overtime goal. Wade Flaherty faces 60 shots while Trevor Kidd gives up 5 goals on 25 shots. Another key point to this series (which has been brought up on these boards before) was that Theo Fleury went silent in games 6 and 7 going a combined -4 with only 1 point. He had 13 points through game 5 and seemed to be completely held in check by SJ during those last two games. This was really the Flames final shot to reclaim their 1989 glory as that core was pretty much gone by the next season with Fleury being the only remaining member.

 

[blood gin]

Kidd always looked like he could've been some quirky Hawaiian shirt wearing ex chef turned food network judge

 

[Killion]

Kidd always looked like he could've been some quirky Hawaiian shirt wearing ex chef turned food network judge

Had a Billy Goat that looked like that as a kid.... had to watch it, dont be turning your back to him... send you flying.

 

[tony d]

I remember when people in the 1990 draft thought Trevor Kidd was going to be the best goalie to come out of the 1990 draft. Look how that turned out. As to the Flames, it's a shame that aside from 1989 those Flames teams back then didn't win more than 1 Cup.

 

[Kyle McMahon]

My only memory of this series is being allowed to stay up way past my bedtime to watch the Flames gag in double OT, but it has to be one of the strangest playoff series ever. San Jose surrendered 35 goals, -9 goal differential and won. Those have to be records for a winning team I would think. San Jose went on to finish the playoffs with an unfathomable -27 goal differential, which I would also suspect is the worst mark of all time. Maaaybe somebody that snuck through the first round with a negative number then got massacred by the 80s Oilers is close? But still I doubt it.

 

[c9777666]

Ahhh. I figured this series would come up at one point or another on here. I still don't know which one stings more, this one or the '94 series versus Vancouver. I still say those 94 and 95 Flames teams were so much better than how they actually performed, and it always makes me wonder how far they would have actually gone if they had won either of those series. I think it was Don Cherry in his 1994 Rock 'Em Sock 'Em tape saying that if CGY had beaten Vancouver they would have been the team to beat in the playoffs that year.

It amazes to this day how they couldn't close out Vancouver in '94 after being up 3-1 and then loosing the next three games in OT, then in '95 being up 3-2 against a Sharks team that squeezed into the playoffs by a single point and were totally outplayed in games 3, 4 and 5 being outscored in the process 20-6, yes, 20-6! The Flames go into game 6 facing Wade Flaherty and throw 33 shots on him while Trevor Kidd (coming off of a SO in the previous game) lays an absolute stinker giving up 5 goals on 20 shots. Granted, I was only 8 years old during this series and a lot of my memories comes are a bit foggy, but does anyone have any clear memories of watching Game 6? I have to think no one gave the Sharks a chance at this point. I know there is a series recap on YT so maybe I'll have to go back and watch that at some point.

Regardless, we all know what happens in Game 7, as the Sharks win it on Ray Whitney's double overtime goal. Wade Flaherty faces 60 shots while Trevor Kidd gives up 5 goals on 25 shots. Another key point to this series (which has been brought up on these boards before) was that Theo Fleury went silent in games 6 and 7 going a combined -4 with only 1 point. He had 13 points through game 5 and seemed to be completely held in check by SJ during those last two games. This was really the Flames final shot to reclaim their 1989 glory as that core was pretty much gone by the next season with Fleury being the only remaining member.

If they beat Vancouver in 1994, they would have had home ice the rest of the way in the West.

By contrast, even if they had beat San Jose, I don’t think they beat Chicago in round 2

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

it never occurred to me before but trevor kidd, man that guy looked like a sure thing. was the best goalie in the CHL in his draft year, looked fantastic in the WJC and led spokane to the memorial cup in his draft+1, then after a year with the national team... thud.

did that hollowing out and squabbly, and generally chokey, flames team ruin him?

 

[Big Phil]

Fleury was excellent in this series, as he always was in the 1st round losses with the Flames. 14 points in 7 games. Yeah, I know there have been complaints that he lumped many of them together in the games Calgary won (11 points in the three wins) but he still had 3 points in the 4 losses. When you average two points a game in a series, you are officially off the hook.

 

[Jim MacDonald]

Kidd always looked like he could've been some quirky Hawaiian shirt wearing ex chef turned food network judge

What's that dudes name? Guy Fieri....Guy Fieri 2.0?

 

[Jim MacDonald]

Kidd always looked like he could've been some quirky Hawaiian shirt wearing ex chef turned food network judge

What's that dudes name? Guy Fieri....Guy Fieri 2.0?

 

[Reality Check]

Posted not even a week ago

 

[Johnny Engine]

It's definitely a bit counterintuitive that, of the three rookie goalies that took the league by storm in 1994-95, Kidd outlasted Carey and Lacher by quite a bit, as poorly as the rest of his career went.
Even more ironic - the only true career impact goalie from that rookie class was Nikolai Khabibulin, who split the schedule for Winnipeg but wasn't nearly as celebrated as the other three at the time (though I will say he was my favourite of the bunch, mostly because he had a silly sounding name).