The Soviet Red Army (oops sorry, the Detroit Red Wings) hockey club has won the 2008 Stanley Cup. The are now the most dominant team ever to win the championship. In the process, they have made every non-Wings hockey fan simply hate their guts.

They are like the big Red Soviet machine of the 70's and 80's. The Soviet Union dominated international hockey for almost two decades. The similarities between the old Soviet hockey machine and the current Detroit Red Wings are simply remarkable. They are now the standard that all hockey clubs must match, and the gauntlet has been thrown down. Time will tell if this is a dynasty in the making. I know that when Canada beat Soviet Union in 1987 Canada Cup, the hatred for the Soviet Red Machine was quite evident. When, Canada won, the whole nation of Canada celebrated. Now, if and when the Red Wings lose, the whole nation of hockey will celebrate.

Nelson Iginla, a second cousin to Calgary Flames Jarome Iginla speaks about his second love of hockey. His first love? Tennis.

Q I hear you're related to a pretty popular hockey player

A Yeah, [ Calgary Flames captain] Jarome Iginla is my second cousin. Our grandpas are brothers. I really don't know him real well. But a couple years ago we exchanged a couple of e-mails and I got to know him a little bit. I've never met him in person.

Q So you're a Flames fan?

A Definitely. I would have no other reason to like the Flames at all. But whenever they play -- except [against] the Wild; I love the Wild -- I'll go with the Flames.

Based on the article by Randy Sportak of the Calgary Sun, he claims that the Flames will undergo a big change, possibly a coaching or GM change? I personally think that they should not tinker too much. Why on earth would I say such a thing? Well... I believe firmly that this team was the most talented and skilled team that captain Jarome Iginla has played with during his tenure. The only thing I question is the mental makeup of the team.

The key thing that everyone has talked about is "consistency". The team have been world-beaters on some days, but on other days, they fold like cheap cards. They get flustered when other teams start pouring the pressure. To me, that's a mental thing. These are all things that you can work together as a group to overcome. That culture or negative attitude of accepting losing should no longer be accepted. They should all "hate" to lose, and play like that all the time.

The easy way out is to start changing out players via trade or free agency. I'm not saying that Sutter should not go after a player that would clearly add some skill to the team. All I'm saying is that they should recognize the talented players on the team and allow them room to grow. Perhaps, give a bigger role to some younger players like Lombardi, Boyd, and others in the farm system. Whatever happened to Andrei Taratukhin and Mark Giardano? They should've been given a shot this past year. They were all promising young players that got alienated somehow.

That said, I think that somehow Huselius is going to be the odd man out, and it is unfortunate because this guy represents a lot of the trials and tribulations the Flames went through this year. When he was on, he was clearly the Flames second-best player on the team. Kipper is on the same boat, but he's not going anywhere. And he should certainly stay. Nobody represented the Flames season more so than Kiprusoff. Like Huselius, Kipper has been all-world for the most part and simply average on others. Perhaps upgrading the defense would help.

One last thought. The Flames identity was also something that was in question all year. That is clearly related to the consistency issue. Do they want a powerhouse defensive style, a la Minnesota Wild or Vancouver Canucks? Maybe they want to have a more passing, keep the puck away, creative team, ala the Sharks or Red Wings. They need to make up their mind. I personally would like to mold the team more like the Red Wings and Sharks, but it may not happen with Keenan and Sutter running things. Who knows? Let's see how next year pans out. Go Flames go!

Even though the Flames forced a game 7, the only negative was the BAD officiating! The boiling point came in the 3rd period when Craig Conroy obviously canceled out the icing call, and the TV shot of Darryl Sutter throwing a tantrum was priceless. The refs should stay impartial, but they aren't doing such a good job. I hate to be a cry-baby like Ryan Clowe apparently gestured to Jarome Iginla in Game 5, but this is ridiculous! So many missed calls to the Sharks, and way too many weak calls to the Flames. This is not just one game, but every single game. The Flames are fighting not only the Sharks, but the referees. It sickens me that it is not a level playing field.

We know why the Flames lost game 5. They were tentative all night till the very last 5 minutes. Sharks played an incredible game and showed why they are a team to be reckoned with. Doesn't matter now. The next game for the Flames is a must win. Here's why I think they'll win.

* Must win. Backs against the wall. They will be pumped!

* The Calgary Flames fans are the best motivator they have. Unlike Shark fans who are bandwagon fans, Flames fans have suffered through 7 years of non-playoff hockey in the past, and they still love and support their team, no matter what. I'll bet you anything that once San Jose Sharks start missing playoffs in the future, those fans are gone and the Shark tank will be near empty. You don't have to take my word for it. Look at the Tampa Bay Lightning and Carolina Hurricanes for examples.

* Jarome Iginla will lead by example and everyone will follow his inspirational lead.

* Owen Nolan and Miikka Kipprusoff will find a way to haunt their former team. Sharks fans have this weighing heavily on their minds.

* Mike Keenan will at some point in the game put Curtis Joseph in the net. Maybe, start Cujo for the second period, and bring back Kipper in for the third. Ok. This might be a stretch, but you never know.

* The refs will finally make up for all the missed penalty calls to the Sharks and will finally give the Flames a break. Yeah, right! Can't count on that.

* Finally, the Flames are going to prove Don Cherry wrong! Don Cherry picking the Sharks to win it all, eh? I'd love to see him eat his words.

Flames blew a lead in Game 4 to the Sharks in the final few minutes and they paid for it. Once, the Sharks tied it up, you could just tell that the next goal was going to go to the Sharks. It did, and now the series is tied. If there is anything that games 3 and 4 tells us, is that you should never give up. Good things can happen if you just keep plugging away.

Hopefully, the boys in red can overcome their weaknesses in their passing game and low shots on goal, and find a way to collectively come through. The Sharks are playing well defensively, but the Flames should continue to play to their strengths, and take some more shots. Be more creative out there. Taking 10 shots on goal is not going to win hockey games for you.

There is a silver lining to every cloud. I personally think that this is best thing that could ever have happened to the Flames. I think that having a 3-1 lead in a series is very deceptive and leads to complacency. However, that said, the next game could be the decisive blow for whoever wins it.

Calgary Flames make young fan's dream come true by putting him Up Front. No matter what happens on the ice, eight-year-old Reece Chorney said the Calgary Flames will always be winners in his heart.

Thanks to a Kids Up Front Foundation (http://www.kidsupfront.com/) writing contest and the Flames, the novice player from Kimberley, B.C. and one of his parents will get the chance to watch the team's first home playoff game tonight at 8 p.m. versus the San Jose Sharks.

He said the Flames are his favourite NHL team, adding they will beat the Sharks, if not go all the way to the Stanley Cup. "I like the Stanley Cup -- it's like three feet tall," he said. "If the Flames lose and they don't get the Stanley Cup, they are still winners."

Things like this really put things in perspective.

Dion Phaneuf is the Flames defenseman that gets all the attention, but Robyn Regehr is the key component to the Flames' defense core. Regehr is the Flames' shutdown defenseman (assigned the task of shutting down Joe Thornton). So far he's done a pretty good job, limiting Thornton to only one assist. The rest of the Calgary Flames team should take a page out of Regehr's book. The Flames were built on defense and goaltending, so it would only make sense that the team should play to their strengths.

So far, the feeling I get is that Calgary could've easily won the first two games, and San Jose never really got going until they were handed the gift in game two. Everyone in the hockey world thinks the Sharks should've steam rolled the Flames, but so far the Flames are the ones who have showed that this series could be the first upset of the playoffs.

Looks like San Jose Sharks won game two against the Calgary Flames all because of some "fishy" officiating and stellar goaltending by Nabokov. Not that the Sharks didn't deserve to win, but having 8 straight power plays, how can you not dominate and win a game when the refs give the game to you? Kiprusoff stood on his head again or else the Sharks could've gotten 5 more goals to really embarrass the Flames. The penalty parade by the Flames killed off any momentum they had.

Sad, that it had to come to that. However, complaining about bad officiating does no good, because the referees will find a way to stick it back to you the more you complain. Hopefully, for game 3, we'll get some fair and balanced officiating. Things do have a way of balancing out. Ying and yang. Time to regroup and win the next one.

I beg to differ, but Don Cherry predicted the Ducks to win it all last year, so he does have some valid points. The colourful commentator predicted that the series between the Calgary Flames and San Jose Sharks could be the most grueling. "I love the way Calgary plays," said Cherry. "That'll be the war as far as I'm concerned. That's going to be a great, great series." As far as his choice for Stanley Cup champion, Cherry said he was sticking with the Sharks to finally break through and win it all." [Anaheim GM] Brian Burke's gonna punch me out when he sees me, I know, but I pick San Jose."

With the loss today to the Colorado Avalanche, the Wild avoid playing the Calgary Flames and now take on the Colorado Avalanche. I would've loved for the WIld to have won, and have gone against the Calgary Flames. As a past resident of Calgary and now current resident of Minnesota, this would've been an awesome matchup.

These are the matchups and what I predict will happen:

* Detroit vs Nashville (Nashville in 7) *

I predict that this will be the biggest upset or at least I hope it is. I am really sick and tired of seeing Detroit in the playoffs and dominating the league for 15 straight years. The hockey gods have been kind to them for way too long.

* San Jose vs Calgary (Calgary in 7) *

I really like the Flames chances because they matched up well during the regular season. Out of all the Western conference teams, the Flames had good records against the Sharks and the Wild. Everyone else tore them apart in the regular season. So a confident Flames team is what I am hoping will show up.

* Minnesota vs Colorado (Minnesota in 6) *

Gotta support my home team.

* Anaheim vs Dallas (Anaheim in 5) *

Anaheim has Niedermayer, Pronger, Gigeure, Getzlaf, Perry, Selanne, Schneider. I feel sorry for the Stars already.

* Montreal vs Boston (Montreal in 6) *

This is age old rivalry and should be very entertaining. Montreal didn't win the East by being just lucky.

* Pittsburgh vs Ottawa (Pittsburgh in 6) *

Although Ottawa isn't the same as when they were in the beginning of the season, I still give them credit for winning two games in this series. Not having Alfredsson hurts Ottawa immensely.

* Philadelphia vs Washington (Washington in 6) *

I would love to see a Washington vs Pittsburgh matchup. The NHL must be salivating over this potential matchup. Malkin, Crosby vs Ovechkin. Hmmm.

* New Jersey vs New York Rangers (New Jersey in 7) *

It could go either way on this one, but I like New Jersey's chances better.

This is what I love about hockey. Even when the Canucks and Flames were playing a rather meaningless game, they showed respect and sportsmanship to each other. During the game, Iginla had a chance to run over a Canuck player hard but decided not to. The Canucks could've easily decided to go postal and start injuring Flames players for the beating that they were taking, but they took it. I gotta admit that this has definitely made me respect them even more than in the past. Canucks have definitely changed from when they had the likes of Matt Cooke and Jarko Ruutuu (two dirty players that had tarnished the image of the Canucks).

This is the worst case scenario if you're a Flames fan. (1) Flames lose their remaining two games, and pick up 0 points. (2) Canucks pick up 4 points in their remaining two games. (3) Predators pick up 4 points in their remaining two games. (4) Colorado has already clinched a playoff spot, so their remaining game is kind of meaningless. However, let's assume Colorado wins their final game against Minnesota. The standings doesn't look good for the Flames. Colorado (95 pts), Nashville (93 pts), Vancouver (92 pts), Calgary (92 pts). Ties are decided first by most wins, then head to head record, then goal differential. Assuming this scenario plays out, the Flames and Canucks would have the exact same number of wins/losses/OTL (41-31-10). The deciding difference would be their head to head series. If I recall, the Canucks have the edge and would move them ahead, and leave the Flames out.

It's down to wire for Calgary, Vancouver, Colorado, and Nashville. None of these teams have locked up a playoff position. One of these teams will be on the outside looking in. Use this spreadsheet to keep track of the various scenarios in the NHL Western Conference playoff race.

UPDATE: Colorado has clinched a spot.

In an ironic twist of fate, the Edmonton Oilers playoff hopes hinge on their hated Calgary Flames making the playoffs. The only way the Edmonton Oilers can make the playoffs this year depends on them winning their last two games versus the Flames and Canucks. If that scenario happens, the Oilers need the Predators and Canucks to lose all their remaining games, and the Oilers are in. This means that the upcoming game between the Canucks and the Flames, the Oilers will be routing for the Flames. Of course, if either Canucks or Predators win the race to pick up two points or Oilers lose one more, then all bets are off. Interesting times indeed.

UPDATE: Well looks like the Oilers were eliminated from the playoffs by the Flames. Oh well. There's always next year.