Of course the first – and possibly only – shootout of the season delays the Flames telecast. Oh well, no surprises.
The boys wouldn’t know that of course, nor would they care, because they had plenty on their minds already. This was game two of the season, and the second half of a home and home against the Canucks. And while there are no must win games at this point in the season, it was a pretty big one because they sure didn’t want to start the season 0-2, especially with St. Louis next on their plate.
The list of who’s hot coming in wasn’t very long, as just about everyone was poor on Wednesday. More would be needed from Backlund and Bouma – the same for Giordano and Hamilton. And the pressure was squarely on Hiller’s shoulders, as he took over the reins from Ramo.
The Flow
After a bit of a slow start watching the Sedins do their thing, Bennett’s line had a good shift to lift the tempo. Then Gaudreau started doing his thing, drawing a penalty to give the Flames a man advantage just 4 minutes in. The PP moved it around well and then Gaudreau set up Hamilton, who slipped down from the backside blueline, and he sent a nice wrister over Miller’s shoulder for his first goal as a Flame. Hudler had the 2nd assist.
A few minutes later, Kulak banked a beautiful pass off the boards to send Raymond in on a breakaway. He didn’t beat Miller, but you could tell the Flames’ confidence was growing. Shortly afterward, Monahan’s line spent a full shift with pressure in the offensive zone. However, despite some good chances, it remained 1-0.
Gaudreau made a few beautiful plays and had a good chance to score late. Then with twenty seconds left in the period, Hiller robbed Sutter to keep the score one nil after one. The Flames were full marks for the lead, outshooting the Canucks 15-9 and outhitting them 5-2. Most importantly, they showed far more urgency than they ever did in game one.
The 2nd started the way the 1st ended – with a big save from Hiller, this time off Baertschi. Early pressure from Vancouver eventually led to a Wideman penalty. And the Canucks quickly capitalized, as Horvat put his own rebound over Hiller’s shoulder to tie the game.
Things settled in for a while after that until Wideman took his 2nd penalty of the period. The Flames killed it off but the Canucks maintained pressure afterwards. McCann was sent in alone on Hiller and he buried a nice shot to the short side to give the Canucks their first lead with about 8 minutes left in the frame.
Then Hartley got the blender out. A line of Bouma, Stajan and Jones managed to generate a good fore-check and a couple scoring chances. Bollig, who was out with Bennett and Ferland, got into a tussle with D Sedin and for some reason, he got 2 penalties while Sedin got one. Not sure about the math on that one. The Flames penalty killers did a good job though, with Giordano leading a two on one and setting up Frolik for a one-timer. But Miller made a great save.
Things then started to get a bit more physical and the Flames found themselves with a 4 on 3 for about a minute. They weren’t able to score but had several good chances as the period came to an end. For the most part, the 2nd was all Canucks, but the shots were 11-10 after the late flurry. The number that matters though, was a score of 2-1 after two.
The Flames started the 3rd with some good jump and generated a few chances. Monahan led a nice 3 on 2, setting up Gaudreau but Johnny could only manage to hit Miller in the crest. Then the Flames poured it on, generating several good chances or close calls. But no bounces would go their way. And when they did get a shot on net, Miller was up to the challenge. Shots were 7-2 Flames after the first 8 minutes of the period.
Then Gaudreau beat out an icing and bounced off a check to keep the play alive in Vancouver’s end. Hudler cut the puck off along the boards and threw it out front to Monahan who had lots of time and he made no mistake, rolling it backhand to forehand and past Miller on the stick side. Those were Gaudreau’s and Hudler’s 3rd points of the young season.
The Flames continued to exert tremendous pressure but couldn’t get another one. Vancouver held and grabbed everything that moved, trying desperately to defend, and then of course Frolik got caught with a trip with 6 minutes left. But the Flames penalty killers came up big.
Then Monahan’s line got right back to applying pressure. Monahan threw the puck across in front of the net and Hudler knocked it out of the air but just wide. Then Monahan from behind the net set up Gaudreau in the slot but he failed to tweak the twine. Shots in the 3rd were 12-6 for the Flames, but that doesn’t illustrate the degree to which they dominated the frame. After 3, the shots were 37-28 in favour of the Flames.
Then we got some 3 on 3 overtime. I have no idea how any hockey fan doesn’t love it: end to end action, lots of ice to make plays, and endless scoring chances.
Early on, Henrik set up Daniel alone in front, but Hiller made a great save. Vancouver kept the pressure on for another shift but Hiller was having none of it. The Flames finally got control of the puck and Gaudreau, Hudler and Russell passed it around for about a minute. It looked like Sutter finally stole the puck but Wideman (having replaced Russell) kept it in and sent it to Gaudreau. He went in on a 2 on 1 with Hudler and, using Hudler as a decoy, beat Miller short side over his shoulder.
Three two Flames in an overtime thriller!
Three Stars
1.Johnny Gaudreau : 1G, 2A, +2, 4 shots – he even blocked a shot. He was simply dominant, especially in the 3rd, and then had the big play in overtime to end it and get the Flames’ season back on track.
2.Jiri Hudler : 2 apples, +2, 3 shots, 23:18 TOI, and made several good plays
3. Jared McCann : Skated well all night and got his first NHL goal on a really nice shot.
Big Save
The Sedins had a great shift to start the 3 on 3 and eventually managed to get Daniel alone in front of Hiller. He had lots of time and tried to go backhand to forehand. But Hiller came up with the game saving save.
The Goat
Tough call. Was going to go with Dennis Wideman due to his two penalties in the second, which contributed to the game turning around in Vancouver’s favour. However, it was his play, pinching along the boards in OT to a) save from the Canucks having a breakaway, and b) send Gaudreau in for the game winner. So no goat tonight.
Mr. Clutch
Could give it to Hiller for his big save in OT. Could give it to Monahan for the poise he showed on his goal that tied the game. But how do you not give it to the guy who ends it? Gaudreau showed tremendous patience moving in on Miller. He waited until Miller went down, then threw it over his shoulder. Game set match.
Odds and Ends
Pretty much everyone expects that when Brodie returns to the lineup, Kulak will be sent down to Stockton. Everyone but Kulak, apparently. He has been really impressive in his first two games – poised in his own end, able to handle board-battles behind his net, and really good with that first pass. If he continues to play the way he has been, he is going to make the decision very difficult.
It would be a stretch to say they were great, but Hamilton and Giordano were substantially better than they were in game 1. They were both even, played over 26 minutes, and Hamilton scored on the power play. While Giordano never got on the score-sheet, he was much more visible offensively in this contest.
Raymond had a good game, leading all Flames with 5 shots. Frolik and Wideman had 4, along with Johnny Hockey.
The Flames threw 23 hits in this contest, with Bouma leading the way with 5 while Bollig and Ferland each had 4.
Round one of The Great Goaltending Debate definitely goes to Hiller. He was solid tonight, with several game-savers, including the big one in OT. No doubt he will start against St. Louis.
Having said that, it seems to me that the sensible thing would be to get Ortio in there sometime soon. The bottom line is that he is the one that potentially has a future with this organization. Either play him and find out what you’ve got, or risk waivers and send him down. (Clearly, the former option makes more sense).
Last season, it took until game 10 in Montreal before Gaudreau recorded 4 points (with the same 1G, 3A). His 4 points in two games so far has made it pretty clear that he has no intention of suffering a sophomore slump. In fact, he, Hudler and Monahan have combined for 3G and 6A already (1-3, 1-2, and 1-1 respectively), carrying on right where they left off last season.
The Flames play 4 of their next 5 at home, against the Blues, Oil, Caps and Wings, with a quick trip to Winnipeg in between.
Next Up
The Flames, are back home on Tuesday night for one game against the St. Louis Blues. Start time is 7:00 and it will be on SNF.
Lines:
Johnny Gaudreau – Sean Monahan – Jiri Hudler
Mason Raymond – Sam Bennett – Michael Frolik
Lance Bouma – Mikael Backlund – Brandon Bollig
Micheal Ferland – Matt Stajan – David Jones
Mark Giordano – Dougie Hamilton
Kris Russell – Dennis Wideman
Brett Kulak – Deryk Engellend
Jonas Hiller
