Uh, is it safe yet to call this a ... a streak?
 Dare we officially upgrade it to a roll? A run? A tear?
 Now, now, maintain control, don't get carried away and lose all sense of equilibrium and perspective here ...
 It is, after all, only three wins in a row.
 Three? In a row?
 C'mon, in this town these days that ain't merely a signal for optimism. It's enough to plan a parade! Break out the bubbly! The Calgary Flames -- get a good grip on something solid -- are only three points out of a playoff spot.
 "Yeah, business is good around here right now," agreed goaltender Rick Tabaracci, beaming like the Cheshire Cat.
 Yeah, but is it an honest-to-goodness, authentic, bonafide streak?
 "Considering the way we started, I'd say so," replied Theoren Fleury.
 Fleury won an offensive faceoff from Colorado captain Joe Sakic, allowing Jarome Iginla to pound a slapshot from the right faceoff circle behind Craig Billington, providing the Flames with a 3-1 win over the Avalanche.
 That goal, scored at 11:39 of the third period, offset what could've been a deflating tying strike from the visitors a mere three minutes earlier.
 "My THIRD faceoff win in a row," chirped Fleury. "Yelle. Forsberg and then my buddy Joe." He winked. "I'd say that makes us even for him tying me for the scoring lead on the last day in my last year of junior."
 Iginla drew a bead and didn't miss.
 "It was amazing, him winning three faceoffs in a row as clean as that, without the puck rolling or skipping. They just came back flat, perfect. If I'd missed the net on that last one, I could never have forgiven myself."
 On this night, the Flames had every reason to be pleased with themselves. This wasn't an off-and-on, up-and-down, in-or-out Islander team or those disorganized Rangers, waiting for their sacrificial coach to take the big walk up to the gallows.
 These were the Avs, last year's playoff setback purportedly just a blip on the Stanley Cup screen. The Avs, read the riot act by coach Marc Crawford after leaving Patrick Roy homeless and defenceless at Maple Leaf Gardens the other night.
 A POed team. A deep team. A championship team.
 Sakic. Forsberg. Kamensky. Ozolinsh. Canada's Crow, Marc Crawford, the Dream Team Coach.
 Yes, those Avs.
 And somehow the Flames found a way.
 Okay, Saint Patrick wasn't in goal. But Billington didn't disgrace himself, by any means. And Calgary -- Tabaracci in particular -- was perfect in fending off six Colorado power-play chances.
 "That guy," said Fleury, nodding over at Tabaracci, "is playing out of his mind right now. The saves he's making ... they just provide everyone on our bench with so much confidence."
 Tabaracci, denied a shutout late at Madison Square Garden, held Colorado off the board for 48:34, before Adam Deadmarsh sailed down the left boards.
 Snapping the puck, he caught Tabaracci just a shade too far off the near post and stuffed the puck inside the post.
 Needless to say, Tabaracci couldn't have been pleased with the spot it beat him.
 "Earlier, I'd classify us as a fragile team. Now, we believe we can score that big goal. Look at the way we came back tonight, after they'd tied the game," he said.
 "Now, everyone's digging deep. I remember a 2-on-1 late, a dangerous rush, and somehow Andrew Cassels came diving back into the middle, out of nowhere, to break up the pass to Sakic. That would've been a goal from where he was standing.
 "But that's what I mean about team defence. Something we've been talking about for a long time."
 Cory Stillman opened scoring for the Flames and German Titov closed it, firing the puck into an empty net during the final minute of play.

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