Its ironic that the Flames and Panthers should meant the evening that the league got together to discuss ways to improve scoring in the NHL.
With tonight’s game a disappointing 4-3 Panther win in Florida, the two clubs have now put up 28 goals in their last three meetings proving the recipe for high scoring NHL hockey is simple.
First you need spotty goaltending, blown coverage, a lot of players watching and not doing much in their own zone, and then a bounce or two and voila! A high scoring hockey game. The heck with bigger nets, smaller posts or tighter goalie jerseys the guys that wear red and yellow have this all figuered out!
The Flow
Not the greatest of starts for Kari Ramo as he fought the puck off the hop and paid for it on two bounces that he’d likely love to have back. The Panthers opened the scoring when Ramo handcuffed an off angle shot with his glove having the puck land between his legs leaving Giordano to fish it out. Unfortunately he fished it out to a waiting guy in red and just like that it was 1-0. The Flames tied it right away when a Keystone Cop play at center left two Panthers sprawling on the ice and Joe Colborne leading an odd man rush. His pass hit a skate and went directly to David Jones who hammered it home to tie things up. The Panthers went ahead again when a point shot hit traffic and didn’t get through. The damage was done however as Ramo overcommitted to the original shot leaving him way out of position for the rebound.
The Flames may have had the first shift or two of the second, but then soon fell back into some bad habits and let the Panthers dictate the play for much of the first 6 to 8 minutes of the middle frame. Florida was rewarded when legend Jaromir Jagr (still can’t help but think of that odd pronunciation guy from a few years ago) who found a streaking Ekblad to make it 3-1 Panthers. Things didn’t look good. Soon after however, Matt Stajan spotted a streaking David Jones who took the puck in alone and beat Luongo with a shot that squeaked through the big goaltenders armpit. Later in the period the Flames get their first powerplay and they didn’t disappoint when Brodie took a harmless shot into traffic, Hudler knocked it down and Monahan pounced on the rebound, 3-3 through 40.
The Flames looked to be in good shape in the third. Good jump to start things off, not needing to come from behind after 40 and carrying the play. Then things broke down for the Flames, essentially on a turnover that could have been a penalty when Bjugstad got in on TJ Brodie, forcing the Flame defenseman to throw the puck up the middle where Jagr corralled the puck and I think meant to pass it but had it dribble by Ramo for a 4-3 Panther lead. The Flames had their chances, including a strange play where the Panthers thought they scored and stopped playing allowing a partial Gaudreau breakaway with about 6 minutes to play. With the goalie pulled the Flames couldn’t get out of their own way, dropping the game and halting their win streak at two games.
Three Stars
1.Jaromir Jagr : The timeless one made an amazing pass on Ekblad’s goal, and then added a fortunate one of his own for the game winner. Not bad for a guy about to turn 44.
2.David Jones : Scored twice, and had a chance or two for the third as the big right winger continues to ply his trade in Calgary effectively. If this guy wants to come back on a reduced ticket I think the Flames should look at it.
3.Jussi Jokinen : The shoot out star was an assist machine tonight with two on the Panther’s four goals.
Big Save
Johnny Gaudreau turned a one on one into a circus spin a rama that had that Florida defenseman blow a tire and fall down before he went short side on Luongo only to be denied by the big stopper who slid aside and blocked it with his shoulder.
The Goat
Calgary’s top line simply has to be better in their own zone. Watching players swoop in on loose pucks, losing their checks at the blueline, and failing to get the puck out with ample opportunity; Gaudreau, Monahan and Hudler have to be better. To be fair Gaudreau has been great in production, and was good when separated from the other two, but Monahan and Hudler have been struggling all season, a huge reason for Calgary’s struggles in the first quarter.
Mr. Clutch
For trying to make things happen I’d love to give this to Johnny Gaudreau, but his line was a -2 on the night as the top line continues to have trouble against other top lines on the season. So I’ll tip the handle to Sam Bennett who I thought was Calgary’s most tenacious and engaged player on the night.
Odds and Ends
Quite the paltry crowd in Florida for this one, and I guess all of them in the past few seasons. For the team it has to be one ugly vicious circle. You want more people to come but the crowd is so thin I know I’d be reluctant to sign up and sit in that atmosphere. The only way to clean this mess up is to win and win a lot. People will show at that point, but its going to be ugly until they’re convinced. … Advanced stats say the Flames are playing some of their best hockey of the season but just not getting rewarded. However it takes more than out chancing the opposition when you gift opportunities to the opposition by either having your goaltender fight the puck, or his teammates simply watching when the opposition pounces (classic Panther pun) on loose pucks. Too much watching, too little goaltending. … Jiri Hudler simply has to watch Ekblad when he’s coming in from the point on that third goal, that’s hockey 101, you don’t lose your guy. … Do the Flames need to have a puck battle clinic coached by their 19 year old? Sam Bennett didn’t get a whole lot done on the scoreboard but did the guy lose a puck battle all night. He attacks pucks with his stick, skates, tosses is body around to gain positioning. The kid is all try and is going to be dangerous. … Thought Joe Colborne had a great second half of the game, his feet were moving and he was effective driving the puck wide and creating havoc in the Panther zone. … This isn’t the start that Calgary fans wanted or expected but when it looked like a loss tonight I couldn’t help but be relieved that the Flames have a great young core that could get boosted with another good pick this season, rather than past seasons where the team was laden with veterans and destined for a 10th or 11th place finish. I hope they turn it around, but the math is starting to stack against them. Either way a lot of great pieces are in place. I think it’s important to remember that last year was a pretty surprising outcome in a rebuild that was destined to take three or four years.
Next Up
The Flames continue their road trip in Tampa on Thursday night, same game time 5.30 in Calgary on Sportsnet.
Lines:
Johnny Gaudreau – Sean Monahan – Jiri Hudler
Sam Bennett – Mikael Backlund- Michael Frolik
Joe Colborne – Matt Stajan – David Jones
Micheal Ferland – Derek Grant – Josh Jooris
Mark Giordano – TJ Brodie
Kris Russell – Dougie Hamilton
Derryk Engellend – Dennis Wideman
Kari Ramo
