DEPARTING OF THE RED 'C'

DAY 13 UNLUCKY FOR FLAMES

ANAHEIM 3 CALGARY 0 (Ducks win series 4-3): Instead of a gusher, the Flames hit the world's deepest dry hole in Game 7, going down without a single shot being fired. Calgary, by official count, had two (two!) odd-man rushes all night, and couldn't generate much on their shoot-in attempts. It's not surprising that the Ducks won, but that they did so with such efficiency. We all know that Calgary couldn't score to save their lives, but their physical play was supposed to carry them a lot farther. Once the Ducks matched them -- you could count on one hand the number of 1-on-1 battles the Flames won tonight -- Calgary started to leak oil three lanes wide.

It's a damn shame we won't see the first playoff Battle of Alberta since 1991, the year yours truly began high school. (Who can forget Theo Fleury's celebration after scoring the overtime winner in Game 6, or the Oilers coming back three goals down to win Game 7, also in OT? Godd times.) But seeing as Edmonton has two wins in their last 18 games against Calgary, I don't think the Oilers mind meeting the Sharks instead, red-hot though that team may be.

So on to the second round . . .

(By the way, does Thursday count as Day 14 even though there's no games being played. Someone please answer this before Friday.)

EASTERN CONFERENCE

• (4) BUFFALO vs. (1) OTTAWA: Speed against speed. This would be the series the NHL bigwigs would be hyping if it didn't involve a Canadian team playing a de facto Canadian team. The Sabres face a big adjustment after playing the plodding Flyers in Round 1, and it's hard to see if they can effectively match Ottawa's depth up front. In a sense, this is a good matchup for the Sens because their own relative lack of post-season experience is matched by Buffalo's lack of playoff experience. As for the season series, it was 5-3 Ottawa, and two of the Sabres wins came when the Sens were minus Zdeno Chara, Wade Redden and Chris Phillips on the back end, along with the currently red-hot Martin Havlat. (Thanks to Battle of Ontario.) Ryan Miller could steal this series for the Sabres, but I wouldn't bet on it. Prediction: Ottawa in 6.
• (3) CAROLINA vs. (2) NEW JERSEY: The goaltending matchup here is Cam Ward against Martin Brodeur. Score one for New Jersey. Of course, we know how the Brodeur-Martin Gerber matchup in Turin three months ago went. Some might say the last round probably flattered the Hurricanes somewhat since the Canadiens crumbled after losing Saku Koivu, but Montreal was fortunate to get that 2-0 lead. New Jersey's penalty killing against Carolina's power play looms as the other big matchup. Is John Madden willing to stick various body part in the way of those Eric Staal howitzers? Probably. Prediction: New Jersey in 7.

WESTERN CONFERENCE

• (8) EDMONTON vs. (5) SAN JOSE: Hands up, everyone who foresaw an Oilers-Sharks matchup. Don't be shy. Hands up. The big question for Edmonton is how well their defence, after playing Detroit, who was about as physical as the third-place team in a 35-and-over, no-contact, Tuesday's night gentlemen's league, is going to stand up to San Jose's ability to cycle the puck down low. If Edmonton's penalty problems resurface, Joe Thornton could run wild. One omen for Edmonton: San Jose's Vesa Toskala, like Manny Legace before him, isn't completely proven as a playoff goalie after Nashville barely challenged him in Round 1. Prediction: San Jose in 6.
• (7) COLORADO vs. (6) ANAHEIM: Hands up, everyone who foresaw an Avs . . . oh, you heard that already? How smart were the Ducks to pawn Sergei Fedorov off on Columbus and bring in Francis Beauchemin to anchor their defence early in the year? How smart were the Avs to pick up José Théodore? Colorado obviously has the advantage of four more days of rest, but you can build a case that they caught every break against Dallas. Anaheim's earned everything they've got. Prediction: Anaheim in 7.

OTHER BUSINESS

• No pitching, no defence, a lack of clutch hitting (12 runners left on base, and with a game-time temperature of 7 C, they really were stranded) and some bad luck on the bases (for the second time this week, Alex Rios was caught stealing when replays indicated he was safe), yet, still, the Jays took a close one at Fenway, beating the Red Sox 7-6 last night. This was either a fluke or some great mojo. Russ Adams broke and oh-for-14 slump with a game-winning double in the ninth; kudos to Dustin McGowan for holding Boston in the eighth. Now here's hoping the Jays score, oh, I don't know, 11 runs in the first inning tonight for Josh Towers. That should do it. Maybe.
• A disgruntled Kansas City Royals fan, Chad Carroll, sold his loyalty on eBay. Chad, I suggest you hook on with the Blue Jays, although be forewarned -- we have a different interpretation of Jim Sundberg's infamous wind-blown triple.
• Selling your loyalty on eBay. Wait until A-Rod hears about this.

That's all for tonight. By the way, who knew they were still making new episodes of That '70s Show?