3RD PERIOD RECAP: 4-3 FLAMES

Jan Hedja added Columbus' third goal of the night when he took a slap shot from the blueline. The replays showed the puck outside the blueline but the call on the ice stood, giving him his third goal of the year at 6:34.

Just seconds after Russell's hooking penalty had expired, Vermette was able to go in on a partial breakaway with Babchuk hot on his heels. The Flames blueliner dove to ice to try and prevent the shot but was unable to get his stick on the power. However, he didn't touch Vermette so the Flames thought they had escaped an excellent scoring chance unscathed. The referee's viewed it differently though and gave the Blue Jackets their second penalty shot of the night.

Kiprusoff denied Vermette on the shot, holding his team in.

With Brendan Morrison officially out of the lineup thanks to a lower body injury, the biggest question heading into tonight's game was who will center the top line.

That question was answered quickly at the morning skate with head coach Brent Sutter sliding Alex Tanguay in the middle and throwing Rene Bourque onto the left wing.

"I think that's what its going to start with tonight," Bourque said when asked about the potential line. "Tangs hasn't played much center either so I think we've talked a little bit about rotating and just seeing how it goes to start off."

TRADE DEADLINE ROAD TRIP: ST. LOUIS & CHICAGO

Mon, Feb 28^th

 

12 NOON: BUS TO THE AIRPORT

 

T minus 1 hour: countdown to take-off and the trade deadline. From the minute players, coaches & staff began boarding the bus to the Calgary airport, you could tell this wasn’t just any other road trip.  The tension was palpable, an extra look of stress on everyone’s face.

 

With the minutes slowly ticking away until the 1pm MT trade deadline, the question of who might stay or who might go was inevitably on everyone’s mind; that, and visions of players being pulled off the bus or the plane before taking off for St. Louis.

Curtis Glencross is in the midst of a career season, notching 20 goals and 33 points in 61 games played. He's also in the midst of a contract year, becoming an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2010-11 season.

Given the winger's impressive performance this year, it was thought Glencross could be excellent trade bait if the team wanted to move in that direction.

"There was interest," acting general manager Jay Feaster said on Monday afternoon. "We obviously got phone calls about Curtis and so we did look at those things. We looked at the offers that were presented. But at the end of the day, there was nothing coming back that we felt was going to improve our hockey club more than having Curtis here."

At the moment, Feaster and Glencross' agent are trying to work out an extension

"We have been having some conversations with Curtis Glencross and his agent. We're not there yet as far as extending him."

Feaster admitted contract discussions have changed due to Glencross' additional offensive output this season but didn't feel it was a hindrance when it comes down to settling on a deal.

"Back when Curtis was a healthy scratch earlier in the season, we probably could have done a different deal than now that's scored 20 goals. I only hope he scores 20 goals in the month of March alone and he's the Conn Smythe winner. Then we're having a whole different conversation about him at the end of the season."

FIRST PERIOD RECAP: 0-0

A chippy first period ended in a scoreless draw between the Calgary Flames and St. Louis Blues. The scoring chances for both clubs came at a minimum thanks to solid defensive play at both ends of the rink. Most of the play was held to the outside and long-range shots were the norm.

It was a feisty affair right from puck drop with both teams aiming to be as physical as possible. Several players were casualties of rough play. In one sequence, veteran blueliner Steve Staios attempted to plaster David Backes into the glass but the force actually sent the forward over Staios' back and head first to the ice.

With the Calgary Flames battling for their playoff lives every night, it could be a bit intimidating for a rookie to hop into the roster. However, former first-round pick Greg Nemisz isn't nervous about potentially playing in his first NHL game tonight against the St. Louis Blues.

"It's really exciting. That's why you play hockey, race like this. To jump into this locker room when they're doing so well ... I'm just trying to contribute any way I can."

If Niklas Hagman, who has sat out of practice the last two practices with the flu, isn't able to play, Nemisz will slide into the lineup.

"They told to come in like I was going play," the 20 year-old said. "I'm coming to the rink at the normal time and getting ready. I don't know for sure but I hope so."

FIRST PERIOD RECAP: 1-1

After 20:00 of play, it's an even match between the Calgary Flames and the San Jose Sharks.

Albertan Devin Setoguchi potted his 18th of the season at 3:34. The tally came after a solid 3:00 of play for the Flames, hemming the Sharks in their own zone and testing Antti Niemi close range several times.

The Flames top two lines had a strong period, landing the majority of shots, but it was red-hot defenceman Anton Babchuk who scored the equalizer late in the period.

Taking a pass from his partner Steve Staios in the neutral zone, Babchuk carried the puck into the Sharks zone. Seeing he had a clear lane to shoot, he opted to wire a wrister on net. It seemed to catch Niemi off guard because it whipped past him without much of a reaction from the Finnish netminder.

Shots were 10-9 favouring San Jose. Calgary held the edge in the faceoff circle, winning 55% of the draws.

Another night, another huge game for the Calgary Flames.

None of the Western Conference teams in action on Wednesday night did any favours for the Flames and when they woke up on Friday, they had slipped from sixth to tenth in the conference. As it stands, there are five teams with 70 points and three teams within a four point radius of those five jockeying for position.

The Flames know the importance of their tilt with the San Jose Sharks but are confident they can come out with two points.

The Calgary Flames suffered a 3-1 loss at the hands of the visiting Boston Bruins Tuesday at the Scotiabank Saddledome.

Milan Lucic, with two, including an empty-net tally, and Brad Marchand scored for the Bruins while Tim Thomas held the fort in the Boston net

The Flames, trailing 2-0, scored on a late power play when Curtis Glencross finished off a pretty passing play to beat Thomas.

However, Lucic iced the game with Flames goalie Miikka Kiprusoff on the bench in favour of the extra attacker.

The period began, with the visiting Bruins leading 1-0, with a Boston onslaught during the first two minutes. The Flames responded with the fourth line and Mikael Backlund and Niklas Hagman fought off the Bruins defence, worked the cycle nicely and created several scoring chances. Shortly after, Alex Tanguay, sprung on a breakaway with a great stretch pass, was foiled by big Zdeno Chara, who used his six-foot-eight frame and equally long stick and reach, to prevent Tanguay from getting a shot away.