They have climbed ahead of the Chicago Blackhawks and have really begun to show their defensive system.However, the more important thing is that Kiprusoff has established himself as a leader of the Calgary defense, and he's part of the reason why they're so confident in their own zone.Really, I think that Kiprusoff is the hottest goalie in the NHL right now. He's hasn't allowed a goal in the last two games he's played, and that's including the 40 shots he faced against the Detroit Red Wings.The Flames have always known that Kiprusoff is one of the best goalies in the NHL, and I think that he's starting to carry the team.To me, the goalie is the most important player on the team. Without a solid goalie, you're going to let in too many goals to win games. Take a look at the Red Wings for example, they have had goalie trouble for the entire season. 
Even though they have some great players in Datsyuk,Zetterberg, and a few more, they have still been punished by their lack of goaltending skill.The exact opposite has happened to the Flames. Their goalie has been stopping the puck for the entire season, and has given them the best defense in the Western Conference. This has given the offense a little bit of breathing room, which is a great thing when you have the kind of offense Calgary does.I'm anxious to see what happens in the next few months with the Flames. With the New Orleans Saints routing the New England Patriots Monday night 38-17, the Patriot lead in the AFC East slipped to two games with five still to play.At 5-6, the New York Jets can take a major step back into playoff consideration with a win in Canada against division rival Buffalo.Saints Quarterback Drew Brees made mince meat of the New England secondary with five touchdown passes and has 27 on the season.

If you had to compare the efforts made by the Jets and the Patriots in the Superdome, New York was at least in the game most of the way!For the Jets, the future comes down to a Thursday match-up in Canada, which in alllikelihood will determine if the Jets will have anything to play for other than pride for the rest of December, particularly the final game of the season against Cincinnati.It is only fitting the Jet playoff hopes come down to another game with the Buffalo Bills.In the first meeting of the season, the Jets squandered a 210-yard rushing performance by Thomas Jones in a 16-13 OT loss thanks to five picks tossed by rookie QB Mark Sanchez. Sanchez was a miserable 10-29 for 119 yards and no touchdowns.Despite 319 yards on the ground, turnovers gave the game to Buffalo.It was in that contest that quarterback Trent Edwards went down, and Ryan Fitzpatrick took over the Bills on offense. Fitzpatrick was less than mediocre, as he went just 10-25 for 116 yards with one pick and one touchdown.But the Bills broke a three-game skid this week with an upset of the Miami Dolphins to move to 4-7 under new Head Coach Perry Fewell who replaced the fired Dick Jauron. Fitzpatrick played well, going 17-26 for 246 yards and one pick, as well as a 51-yard strike to a revitalized Terrell Owens who had five receptions for 96 yards. The Bills should be just as pumped to end the Jets' faint playoff hopes by sweeping the season series, which would leave New York a dismal 1-5 in divisional play for 2009.It will be that poor divisional record that separates the Jets from mediocrity to a legitimate playoff contender, and that's too bad because this team should be playing in the post season despite some key injuries and growing pains of a rookie starting quarterback.. I needed a full day to sift through the mixed feelings I had about what happened Monday to Florida State coach Bobby Bowden. In my lifetime, few coaches have been as tied to a football program as Bowden had been to Florida State.
Say Florida State, and the person whose face stood as a symbol of that great institution was his. For Bowden, a man with 388 wins on his coaching resume, was to Florida State what Joe Paterno is to Penn State, to what Bear Bryant was to Alabama and to what Woody Hayes was to Ohio State. And as an OSU alum, I understood well what a man like Bowden meant. I also knew that his 34-year marriage wasn't intended to last forever a point JoePa might want to keep fresh in his mind.