...you have to set yourself on fire.

Self-immolation seems like a good idea for tonight's Flames game, because that will be preferable to watching Ray Emery in net. We put it off for a while, but it's the second of a back-to-back, the third game in four, and Calgary is the worst team in the league. This day had to come.

We're going to fucking suck with Bolland out again. I see no changes to the 23-man roster, so I would guess that Jamal Mayers will dress and play at center with Kruger moving up to the second line, where he is traditionally ineffective. Moving Sharp or Kane back to center would be an option as well. Incidentally, the way this team manages injured reserve drives me nuts. Even without salary cap peril looming over them, they tend to carry an injured player as a scratch for weeks and weeks rather than IRing him and calling someone up. They'll take forever to use LTIR, too. Dan Carcillo is still just a scratch at a time when you could have a 13th forward who could dress and should in a compressed season. Explain that.

The Flames are a one-line team. They have Jiri Hudler, whom you may remember as the Down's-looking guy from the Red Wings, and Jarome Iginla, who is awesome. Other than that, great gravy, this is a shit roster. Jay Bouwmeester has the heart of a houseplant. And Curtis Glencross, still, you guys? Alex Tanguay? Cory Sarich? Steve Begin? Whatever, dudes. The Flames have been for years one of those teams that is deathly afraid of rebuilding, because Calgary as a city fashions itself to be some real hot shit (pun intended) as far as Canada goes, and so the idea of having a thoroughly uncompetitive team, the way Edmonton did, is either beneath them or untenable because everyone would stop going to games. So they've gotten older every year, kicked the can down the road, until finally this short season may indeed be the end of the road. I hope Iggy finds a good home, such as ours.

Had to break up the Smiths thing because it was clearly bad luck. Stars is a rather good band, though it sure becomes a real spiderweb of references to use a Toronto band with a Dallas team name for a Calgary game.

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Ill probably get drinky again even with the super bowl coming tomorrow. Ill post dumb stuff and have a great time on here. I think twenty breaks out tonight.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

It would be nice if one of these games were televised nationally already. I am tired of having only Penguins games to view.

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That's my purse! I don't know you!

It's on the CBC, so technically it's kind of a national game. Get Gamecenter or an antenna that can pick up signals from Toronto.

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CH, I love Bolland as well but I think you over value him. He's not a #2 C, this stretch of games has proven it to me. He's not good enough on offense to ever be one. However, he's great defensively and I see our PK not being as dominant as it was with him playing. Hopefully, I'm wrong.

Does it suck that he'll be out for an indefinite amount of time? Of course. Is it the end of the world and all doom and gloom from here on out? Not in my opinion.

Jesus how do you let this team dominate you all 60 minutes?

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

So basically the Hawks had an undefeated preseason and are now back to being their usual 7th place-ish selves. Brutal.

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So are they going to figure out this shootout thing finally or lose again?

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That's my purse! I don't know you!

Kaner!!!

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That's my purse! I don't know you!

Overjoyed with the outcome, but that's still five points given against four points taken. Not good. Hawks are looking more and more stifled and outmuscled with each passing game. I'm fearing that the pond hockey era is over, much to the Hawks' detriment. Don't look now, but the Coyotes are already inching back up the ladder.

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That has to be the worst I've ever seen the Hawks play and still get 2 points. Emery was a thief tonight.

Emery was great tonight. The Hawks played like garbage & still got a win on the road. That's what good teams do. They'll be fine.

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CSFMB 2014 Nascar Pick 'em Champion

We don’t have a trillion-dollar debt because we haven’t taxed enough; we have a trillion-dollar debt because we spend too much. — Ronald Reagan

Can I say one more time that this has to be it with the Brandon Bollig thing? There are at least four Rockford prospects with actual upside who can give you more than six minutes and a bloody nose. I'm even at the point where I'd rather see Kyle Beach get one game on the fourth line to see what he can do (probably nothing) than keep trotting Bollig out for his staged shenanigans and precious little else.

Remember Jimmy Hayes and how refreshingly adequate he was? Bring him back up. They're trying to move him to center and it's failing. Just put him at fourth-line wing and have him crowd the net and not be Brandon Bollig.

EDIT: 4:54 of ice time in a 65-minute game, 5 PIMs. People wanted to know the differences between 2010's team and this year's? Right here.

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