@FlameRaptorRaven

4mo

Miikka Kiprusoff’s Meteoric Rise

The 2004 Flames are fondly remembered for many reasons. However, their best story may have been their goaltender’s leap from a nobody to a superstar. Darryl Sutter was head coach of the San Jose Sharks from 1998-2003 before coming to Calgary, so he was familiar with the goalie factory in San Jose. The Sharks had Evgeni Nabokov who finished top 5 in Vezina voting 4 times in his career. They also had Vesa Toskala who would go on to play 250+ games. Then, they had Miikka Kiprusoff. A 27-year-old 5th round pick that wasn’t playing. Although he had fallen out of favour, Sutter knew he could be the guy. All it took was a 2005 2nd round pick to get him. What did he do next? All he did was put up 24 wins, a .933 save %, 1.69 goals against average and 4 shutouts in 38 games. That 1.69 GAA was the lowest in NHL history for any goalie with 30 games played. He finished 2nd in Vezina voting and 4th in Hart voting. The Flames went from 18th in goal against in 2003 to 3rd in 2004. Kipper’s brilliance continued into the playoffs. Kipper won series against the talented Canucks, Presidents Trophy-winning Red Wings and the Sharks where he out-dueled Nabokov. He finished the 2004 playoffs with a .928 save %, 1.86 GAA and 5 shutouts, missing out on a Stanley Cup by a missed goal in game 6 and 1 goal in game 7. Only Vasilevsky has accumulated that many shutouts in a single playoff run since. Kipper was no fluke. After the lockout, he came back in 05-06, won the Vezina trophy and officially became the best goalie on the planet. From 2003-2007, no goalie had a better save percentage and only Brodeur had more shutouts. Sadly, the Flames wouldn’t win another playoff series with Kipper. He finished his career as the Flames’ all-time leader in wins and shutouts as well as Finland’s all-time leader in wins and shutouts. He also won a bronze medal in the 2010 Winter Olympics. His number has been retired by the Flames.

Flames

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Flames achieve Revenge and Bliss in a 2 for 1 Deal

37 years ago, on May 25th, the Calgary Flames won their 1 and only Stanley Cup while achieving the ultimate revenge and a blissful sentimental moment. Back in 1986, the Flames looked poised to win their first ever Stanley Cup. They had gone on a magical run where they broke up the Gretzky-Oilers dynasty and met the Montreal Canadiens in the Cup Final. Sadly, the 1986 Canadiens were backstopped by rookie goaltender Patrick Roy who stonewalled Calgary in what would become the first of many legendary performances. 3 years later, the Flames stared down those same Canadiens and goalie, entering the Montreal Forum for game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final, with a chance for revenge. While that was surely on their mind, there was a much more pressing matter. Captain Lanny McDonald (the guy with the glorious mustache in the photo) was on his last legs. He made it known he was going to retire after the 1989 playoffs. The Flames legend had led the team in goals since arriving in 1981 while providing invaluable leadership as he watched the young team grow around him. Yet, Lanny had never won the Stanley Cup and nobody on the Flames nor in the city of Calgary wanted to see Lanny retire without a Cup. The Flames took the 1st lead in the 1st period and it took a full period for the Habs to tie it up. Shortly after that, Lanny came down on a rush and scored. It was his first goal of the 1989 playoffs and gave Calgary the lead back. Doug Gilmour doubled it in the 3rd and scored an empty netter in the final minutes to help clinch Calgary’s first and only Stanley Cup. Lanny got what he worked for his entire career and the Flames got revenge. Even better, the Flames became the only non-Habs team ever to win the Stanley Cup in the Montreal Forum, a fact Lanny loves to bring up to this day. Hopefully I can witness the Flames win the Stanley Cup again in my lifetime.

@quietus

The Goal that Still Haunts the Red Mile

If you were in Calgary or a fan of our team in June of 2004 you may want to skip this post... It was game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals vs the Tampa Bay Lightning its 2-2 Late in the 3rd period the energy in the crowd and the city was electric. We were the 6th seed going into these playoffs and we are up in the final 3-2. Suddenly the puck... it's on the pad of Nikolai Khabibulin and it's behind the goal line. But why are they still playing? No whistle was blown and play was never stopped NO GOAL. Without the high definition replays we have today since no goal was called on the ice it was not counted as a goal that would have put us up 3-2 in the game with 6 minutes to play. But okay, no goal that's fine Iggy and the team will get this back no doubt we're a game up in the series too. But alas it couldn't be... game 6 went to double overtime with Martin St. Louis (a former flame) putting the dagger in the city's heart. With the wind taken out of our sails and the series returning to Tampa we were unable to close the series out in game 7 losing the Finals. It wasn't just the city that was robbed, Jarome Iginla one of the best players to ever grace the NHL and local hero never won a cup and this was the closest he ever got. I was hardly 1 year old when this happened, but if you live in this city and are even remotely aware of our team you've seen this, you've heard this and it hurts. So if you're ever in Calgary and are a little too drunk at a pub downtown all you need is 3 words if you want to start a fight.

@nationalryanleague

Vegas joins the NHL!

On June 22, 2016, Las Vegas officially became an NHL city when the league awarded Bill Foley’s expansion group the franchise that would become the Vegas Golden Knights. A decade later, that announcement looks like one of the best decisions the NHL has ever made. The Golden Knights became the first major professional sports team in Las Vegas, helping change the city’s reputation as a sports market, and paving the way for the NFL’s Raiders, MLB’s Athletics, and continued NBA expansion talks. Nobody could have known just how quickly the franchise would take off, seeing a trip to the Stanley Cup Final in its debut season, playoff appearances in eight of the first nine years, and a Stanley Cup championship in 2023. Foley ended the announcement with a line that resonates in the heart of all who adore the team and have grown with them, “Las Vegas is hockey-ready. We’re convinced of it. We know it.” Go Vegas, baby!