Consider the current version of the Calgary Flames the class flirt.
She’ll get you all worked up with hope, but the feeling deep in your gut that she’s ultimately going to let you down just won’t go away.
That’s pretty much how Thursday night’s 2-0 victory felt until Christopher Higgins gave the Flames a two-goal cushion halfway through the final frame.
The offensive well ran a little dry after an outburst of 14 goals in the previous three outings. They made due.
They gave up a few scary scoring chances, too.
Winning the game and picking up another important pair of points in the race for the playoffs, the Flames at no time made it seem like a sure thing.
It took a billion blocked shots — exaggeration, yes, but there were at least 23 through the first two periods — a few big saves from goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff to earn his 34th career shutout and two huge whiffs from forward Peter Regin to keep the Senators from starting their short tour through Western Canada with a sweep of Alberta.
Extending their own streak to four consecutive victories, the Flames were about as sexy as defenceman Ian White’s awful mustache.
Confidence should be at a high point in the locker-room, but it will take a few more wins and zero letdowns to convince all of Calgary this team will eventually be locking lips with the playoffs.
Even the supposed 7:30 p.m. start time was a tease.
After Jason Spezza shattered the portion of glass that transitions from the low to high panes in the pre-game warmup, the 19,289 fans in the building had to watch old bloopers and an early kiss cam as workers tried three different replacement panes before finding something suitable so the puck could drop
32 minutes late.
By the time house announcer Beezley asked his usual, ‘Are you ready?’ people were already on their fourth beer.
You’d think the Flames and Sens would burst out of their respective benches like caged animals.
Nah.
For a while, it looked like there’d be two goals scored before two saves were made on the night.
The Flames scored on their first directed at the net
5:29 into the game when Sens goaltender Brian Elliott slowed down a dump from Eric Nystrom just enough to allow Curtis Glencross to pounce on it and send a pass from behind the cage to a charging Jamal Mayers.
Mayers zipped a shot into the top corner over Elliott’s glove to give the Flames the lead and earn his first goal in his new colours.
Still without a shot a few minutes later, the Senators looked like they struck back on their first, but neither the goal or the shot counted as the ref waved off the play.
He felt it was knocked in by a high stick from Milan Michalek, but the ruling could just as easily have been interference on Spezza, who restricted Kiprusoff’s movement in the crease during the play.
Higgins finally had the fans breathing easier with his second goal as a Flame coming in as many games after he potted an empty-netter against the Red Wings in Detroit Tuesday.
This one was a little prettier as he teed off on a perfect cross-ice feed from White and unloaded a shot into the open side as Elliott slid across his crease in desperation.
Maintaining their one-point lead on the Detroit Red Wings, the Flames will look to extend their streak to five Sunday in Vancouver against the Canucks.
Their flirtation with eighth and ninth spot in the Western Conference continues.
