If the Flames are going to find any sort of success on the ice this season then they are going to have to follow the Phoenix Coyotes model. Never a team loaded with stars and high priced talent, the Phoenix Coyotes are a team that relies on hard work, quick feet, and a solid team game to keep them battling for play-off spots that, on paper, they have no business being in.
The Flames have won 2 games in a row once this season, almost 2 months ago. Tonight the Flames have an opportunity to finally get over that bump but it won’t be easy. If the Flames aren’t prepared to come out and work hard than the Coyotes will most certainly pants them in front of the home crowd, but the Flames will be getting little help. Flames Captain Mark Giordano make his long awaited return to the Flames line-up after missing 18 games with a broken ankle.
On The Line
November was an absolutely atrocious month for the Flames, compiling a record of 4-8-2, so starting off the month of December on the right foot should be important for the team. They, again, have an opporunity to string some wins together and build up some momentum.
The Flow
I talked about how if the Flames weren’t prepared to work the Coyotes would pants them and for the first 10 minutes of the game that’s exactly what happened. The Coyotes controlled the play and completely smothered the Flames every time they had the puck, creating lots of turnovers. 4:47 into the game Shane Doan shakes off a check from Chris Buter behind the Flames net and finds Keith Yandle open in the slot, who made no mistake sliding the puck past Ramo’s left pad and into the back of the net to give the Coyotes a 1-0 lead. Not long after, with Ladislav Smid in the box for high-sticking, Blair Jones gets a glorious opportunity for the Flames when Paul Byron would find him in the slot with a nice pass, but the puck would never reach Thomas Griess as it got deflected away. All was not lost though as that seemed wake the Flames up as they started to pressure for the tying goal. The Flames kept up the hard work for the rest of the period and seemed to be destined not to get rewarded for it, only tallying up 2 shots, but T.J. Brodie would rip a slapshot past Griess with 8 seconds left to tie the game at 1.
The Flames kept the momentum going into the second period and it paid off. 5 minutes into the period the Flames were able to create a turnover leading to a 3 on 2. Jiri Hudler would find Mikael Backlund with a cross ice pass and Backlund would roof it off the cross bar and in to give the Flames 2 goals on 6 shots and their first lead of the game. The Flames would finally start throwing the puck at the net while continuing to control the play. With the period half over and the Flames on the power play the Flames Captain Mark Giordano makes his presence felt in his return, firing a slapshot that would tip off a Coyote’s stick and past Griess to give the Flames a 3-1 lead.
The Coyotes started the period with a lot of jump in their step, getting back to trying to smother the Flames all over the ice. They controlled the play for the first couple minutes of the period and it would draw a penalty as Karri Ramo accidentally clipped David Moss with a high stick. On the ensuing penalty kill Matt Stajan tips the puck past the Coyotes defenseman to create a 2 on 1 rush. Stajan fakes the shot and fires a pass over to Lee Stempniak who redirected the puck past Griess giving the Flames a 4-1 lead. That would be all the Flames needed as they were effectively able to shut down the Coyotes for the rest of the period and take a 4-1 win over their division rivals.
Three Stars
1.T.J. Brodie: Had a goal and an assist while playing an extremely effective 26 minutes tonight.
2.Jiri Hudler: Had 2 assists, one of which was a very nice cross ice pass to Backlund for the game winning goal.
3.Mark Giordano: Played 20 minutes in his first game back from injury, scoring a goal and an assist while being physical and blocking shots.
Big Save
With 30 seconds to go in the second period the Flames turn the puck over at their own blueline and Coyotes forward Martin Hanzal found a streaking David Moss alone in the slot but Karri Ramo came out to challenge and make the save. Not a jaw dropping save by any means but a big save because giving the Coyotes a late second period goal gets them back into the game.
Big Hit
A pretty physical game where both teams spent the night finishing their checks but nothing earth shattering in they way of big hits or momentum changers.
The Goat
It’s been a while since I got to do this but a Flames win means no goat tonight. The team really played solid outside of the first 5 minutes.
Mr. Clutch
Karri Ramo came up big by making the saves he needed to make to give his team a chance. The Flames got off to a slow start and if it wasn’t for Ramo shutting the door the Flames could very well have found themselves down 2-0, or worse, real quick. Ramo was solid in leading the Flames to their first 2 game winning streak in also 2 months.
Odds and Ends
It’s pretty easy to see why the Flames recalled Byron and Jones. Both players are versatile enough to play in all situations. Both guys are logging some important minutes on the penalty kill… Speaking of the penalty kill the Flames scored their 6th short handed goal of the season tonight, which leads the NHL… Joe Colborne is progressing very nicely and had a very strong game tonight, playing solid defense and protecting the puck really well. He was one of the players who started to get things going when the Flames were being horribly out played in the beginning of the first… I thought Sven Baertschi also played really well tonight. He was dangerous every time the puck was on his stick but he also back-checked hard and created a few turnovers. Sven was another player who started to get the Flames going when everything seemed to be going Phoenix’s way… Noted Flames killer Mike Riberio was noticibly quiet tonight…It would be nice to see how this team plays if everyone can get healthy…
Next Up
The Flames finish off their quick 2 game home stand Friday December 6th against former division rivals the Colorado Avalanche. Game time is 7 PM and the game can be seen on Sportsnet West.
Lines:
Mike Cammalleri – Matt Stajan – Lee Stempniak
Jiri Hudler – Mikael Backlund – David Jones
Sven Baertschi – Joe Colborne – Blair Jones
Lance Bouma – Paul Byron – Brian McGrattan
Kris Russell – TJ Brodie
Mark Giordano – Chris Butler
Ladislav Smid – Shane O’Brien
Karri Ramo
