Calgary Flames goaltender Jamie McLennan, pictured here in a game against the Colorado Avalanches, ha been ruled out of what could be a Stanley Cup decider. (Rick Wilking /Reuters)
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CALGARY —
The Calgary Flames will be without back-up goaltender Jamie McLennan for Sunday night's sixth and possibly deciding game of their Stanley Cup playoff series with the Detroit Red Wings.
The National Hockey League suspended McLennan for five games as a result of a slashing penalty assessed in the previous day's 5-1 loss.
In addition, the league fined coach Jim Playfair $25,000 (U.S.) and the Flames organization $100,000 for what it called "a variety of actions" late in Game 5 of the series, which Detroit leads 3-2.
As a result of McLennan's suspension, the Flames recalled Brent Krahn from their minor-league affiliate in Omaha to serve as the back-up to Miikka Kiprusoff on Sunday night.
McLennan entered Game 5 in the waning moments of play in relief of Kiprusoff, who had been getting bumped continuously by a parade of Detroit forwards.
The Flames issued a one-paragraph response to the suspensions and fines, saying in a press release: "The league disciplinary process and their decisions are not the primary issue for our organization today. We are focused solely on our game this evening. With respect to the League's decisions, we are disappointed with their ruling. Our organization disagrees with the conclusions drawn but will abide with the disciplinary measures assessed."
In a prepared statement, McLennan, who is without a contract for next season, added that he was "surprised by the ruling but will adhere to it because of my respect for the league and the Flames organization. My record as a professional athlete speaks for itself and indicates that there was never any intention to injure an opponent. My goal still is to support my teammates as I have all year. The focus is tonight's game and I don't want this to be a distraction to our playoff success."
Playfair indicated he pulled Kiprusoff so his No. 1 goalie could be healthy and ready to start Game 6. McLennan's stay between the pipes was short, however. He was assessed a match penalty 18 seconds after entering the game for slashing Detroit's Johan Franzen at 17:01 of the third period, one of four penalties the Flames were assessed for what the league called "aggressive and illegal use of the stick (slashing or cross-checking) in the closing minutes of play."
The Red Wings led 5-1 at the time.
In a statement, NHL senior vice-president Colin Campbell said his ruling was made as a response to a pre-playoff conference call with coaches and general managers that addressed "a number of topics — and one of them was actions late in the game when the score was out of hand. The coach and the organization must be held accountable for the players' actions."
So far, each team has won its home games thus far in the series.
Playfair said he wanted his team to channel the emotion they showed at the end of Game 5 in a more positive manner.
"All that stuff has got to be strictly brought into the first period and restructured into competitiveness," said Playfair, "where we keep sticks down on the ice and we're doing things right — getting pucks behind their defence and getting to their goaltender. That is what it is. That's the competitive spirit of the players.
"If you look around the playoffs, that's not an infrequent deal at the end of games like that. The most important thing is to realize, that's not winning hockey games. Bringing that energy to the game in the right manner gives you a better chance."
The Flames will rely on a handful of different motivational tools to prepare for what could potentially be a season-ending game: Their 30 regular-season home wins, most in the NHL; a noisy, energizing crowd; and the fact that Detroit's 42-year-old goaltender Dominik Hasek hasn't played back-to-back games all season.
Playfair said the Red Wings' ability to distract Kiprusoff was done "within the rules — and they're doing a very good job of it. So we have to do it at the other end of the rink."
Hasek said he's prepared to see more traffic and won't lose his cool, as he did earlier in the series, when he swung his stick at Jarome Iginla, circling the net; missed badly, but still received an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for his troubles.
"I got two minutes in five games," said Hasek. "It's not so bad. I'm sure, when the game is on the edge, I'll stay cool. I'll be smart. I'll do the best to stop the puck and not pay too much attention to players who try to distract me or bump into me."
Iginla also talked about playing with greater composure on Sunday with the season on the line — and thinks it won't be an issue for his team, even though they decidedly undisciplined at the end of Saturday's match.
"We had good composure in the first half of the (fifth) game," said Iginla, who received six stitches above his left eyelid, thanks to an elbow from the Red Wings' Mikael Samuelsson. "Near the end? We know we're not going to play like that to start the game, but at the same time, we want to carry the energy over and come out and have the legs and the controlled aggression and be on top of them.
"They've definitely been going hard to the net and taking their share of penalties on him in the crease. So the refs are aware of it and trying to call it. We have to go harder the other way, that's what it is. We want to keep them away from Miikka. From our point of view, we have to get in front of Hasek and make it a lot harder on him."
As for the status of Flames' defenceman Robyn Regehr, who has missed the past three games recovering from a knee injury, Playfair said he was a game-time decision, but estimated his availability was "50-50" at best.
"He's closer. It's really day-to-day."
The Red Wings, meanwhile, may be without defenceman Brett Ledba, who either hurt his knee or his head or both in a collision with the Flames' Daymond Langkow late in the game.
Ledba tried to "low bridge" Langkow with his body and connected with his knees, angering the Flames' centre to the point where he punched him in the face as they lay together on the ice. If Ledba can't play, they would need to recall Kyle Quincy from the minors.
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