I thought Calgary was supposed to play a wide open game with a strong forecheck?

I thought this playoff series was going to be exciting hockey that would be optimal for the hockey fan if not the casual fan?

What the hell happened on the way to the Rink? Darryl Sutter, in all his defensive omnipotence, employed the Neutral Zone Trap with clutch and grab galore and the series that was supposed to mark a new era in the NHL instead marked a reviled and lingering past. The Trap and the boring game of Hockey that comes with it.

Dump and chase, clutch and grab, etc, etc, etc. I didn’t want to see this, I wanted to see the FUN hockey both teams played during the regular season. Did game 2 show Darryl how outclassed the Flames were that they needed to switch to the trap? Or was it the fact that the Flames had the Lightning twice on the ropes with loses in game one and game three?

Suffice my Trap complaints, I can’t complain about the end result of Game 4. Brad Richards records his 10th goal of the playoffs and sets a new league playoff record with his 7th Game Winning Goal while Nikolai Khabibulin records his sixth shutout as the Lightning edge the Flames 1-0.

Yes there were penalties not called, yes there were stupid penalties that ruined the ending of the game (thank you Ville Nieminen), and yes that was very boring hockey for anyone who watched this game at home. There were a lot of positives going into this series (now tied 2 games a piece and heading back to Tampa) but they have turned to negatives thanks to a style of play employed by Sutter.

Short list of needs for Tampa Bay and one immense need for Calgary:

For Tampa Bay — they need a better adjustment to the altitude. I saw them get sapped in the second half of the game and it seems that the altitude took it’s toll. Last time they were in Alberta they played Edmonton close before going to Calgary and taking it to the Flames and outclassing them on ice.

They also need a good attitude — positive attitude and a sense of urgency.

Meanwhile… Calgary? You need some originality boys…. I heard of this wide open system with an aggressive forecheck… I see clutching, grabbing, and the trap being employed. Certain people (aka Keith here at Boltsmag ) contends that this isn’t the trap and is just aggressive defense… It’s odd when I hear “Trap” from several Calgary fans (Usenet newsgroups) and I hear “Aggressive defense” from others.

Oh, one last need in the originality department from Calgary: A better guy to psyche the crowd. Bill Goldberg? He’s not a Calgarian, he’s an American. What’s worse is he lives in Tampa… If you are going to have a wrestler psyche the crowd — get a local hero like Bret Hart to do it. If he can’t (due to his medical condition) then there are plenty of other Albertans and Calgarians to use instead of asking guys with absolutely no local connection to do it.

That’s the reason Hulk Hogan is doing it in Tampa — Tampa resident (born and raised, and still residing here)…. He’s a local asset.