The calendar has flipped, teams have passed the half way mark of their seasons and the NHL is getting fitted with that after Christmas higher gear that really ramps up the play and separates the contenders from the pretenders in the playoff race.
So far the Flames have proven their mettle in finding themselves very much in the pretender category as teams around them continue to pick up points left and right. Last week they came out flat against the Coyotes on home ice. On Saturday night they tried to sit on a one goal lead against Edmonton and inevitably left a point on the table.
Tonight in New Jersey it was a corpse cold second period that turned a 1-1 deadlock into a 3-1 Devil lead and an eventual 3-2 loss in the swamp. With teams around them picking up points every night 40 minute games simply won’t cut it..
The Flow
A great start for the Flames as they take it to the Devils early and generate chances. An early turnover gives the Devils a chance which results in two back to back goalposts but no twine bender for the host club. The Devils open the scoring however a few minute later when Adam Larson snuck in from the point and fired home a Reid Boucher and put the Devils up 1-0. Calgary tied it up soon after when Johnny Gaudreau found Sean Monahan wide open on the doorstep of Cory Schneider and one touched it for a powerplay goal. Score tied at one after one, though the Devils pushed hard and could have scored again before the buzzer.
The second period started pretty much how the first period ended with the Devils hemming the Flames in and causing havoc in the Calgary zone. They are rewarded when the Devils turn over what looks to be a Calgary 3 on 2 and instead it’s the Calgary connection with Cammalleri putting the puck to Stempniak to put the Devils back in front. Seventeen seconds later the Devils go up two on a controversial goal when it looked like Mark Giordano was pushed into Hiller before Boucher pounded home the rebound. Calgary continues to struggle before getting back on track with some late powerplay action. The Flames cut the lead when Gaudreau found Russell in the slot and its 3-2 after 2.
As if almost embarrassed about their week play in the second, the Flames came out meaning business in the third, and were frankly unlucky and stoned by Schneider to stay down in the game. Chance after chance, especially in the first half of the period suggested it was almost just a matter of time before things were tied up, but when you face one of the best goaltenders in the league, this is what you get. The Devils finally iced it with an empty net goal with just over a minute to go to put things away.
Three Stars
1.Adam Larsson: Young Swede was in on two of the Devil’s goals, with a goal and an assist.
2.Cory Schneider : Only faced 28 shots but was rock solid in the third period to keep his team in the win column.
3.Reid Boucher: Was noticeable all night, set up the Devil’s first goal and scored the game winner.
Big Save
You could pick almost any of the 5 or 6 blue chip chances the Flames had in the third period, but I’ll go with Schneider’s save on Granlund, the Fin coming in off his offside and barrelling to the net with abandon. Schneider held fort whit his glove and pad to keep the game in his team’s favour.
The Goat
TJ Brodie or Jonas Hiller? Brodie was -3 which is rough in a 3-2 loss (noted that the Flames two goals were powerplay and out of reach for evening out a tough night with minuses), but I thought Hiller was a little suspect in providing the goaltending needed to win on the road. Flopped around, had rebound control issues and wasn’t a difference maker.
Mr. Clutch
Want to give Gaudreau the nod for his two great passes on the Flames two goals, but he was -2 on the night as the Flames top line got worked in their own zone. Home state and all so we’ll over look that.
Odds and Ends
Two small bones to pick with Hartley in this one. One, the goaltender. These games are too important to roll the dice on getting Jonas Hiller back into tip top form. His start against Florida was a walk in the park, and his start in Edmonton featured very few scoring chances and a weak goal in the third period. Was it his fault? Not at all, but he wasn’t game star despite the fact you can walk out gaudy save percentage numbers for his last two starts. The Flames need to run along at a .600 clip, so gifting starts to your back up makes little sense to me. Was Hiller the reason for the loss in this one? Likely not, but he gave up 3 goals on only 26 shots and was outplayed by his counterpart. Bone pick #2, the line blender. The Flames seemed to have some chemistry with Ferland on the Monahan/Gaudreau line, and then added what looked to be a solid line in Backlund between Frolik and Bennett, yet everything got blendered in the second period tonight. I like change when things aren’t working, but if you have two lines going have more patience. … Was interesting to here Calgary play by play man Derek Wills go after Jiri Hudler a bit on the radio this afternoon. Don’t want to call them quotes as I’m paraphrasing but something about not playing well, a lack of work ethic, and how he can be difficult at the best of times. Not the best endorsement for resigning the guy. … Special shout out to both Randy Sportak and George Johnson who lost their jobs in the Post Media shake up this afternoon; both will be big losses to the Calgary media landscape as they’ve covered the Flames a long long time. Johnson was always a very entertaining writer, always working in odd ball old move references that he me googling to tie things in with a smile on my face. Sportak was a true professional and one of the classiest sports media members I’ve ever encountered. Many Calgary media have been less than inviting to latecomers like me from the internet but Sportak was always appreciative and classy to the last in approaching and working with me. … Schneider was certainly the difference in this one which has me thinking Vancouver. Miller has been great of late, stealing a few games of his own, but how would it feel to hear conversation after conversation about the Vezina in the league with Holtby, Schneider and Luongo the most frequent three mentioned? You have not one but two Vezina caliber goaltenders traded for Bo Horvat and Markstrom? Ouch. … This loss is a painful one for the Flames and their hopes in the packed Western Conference. As I said on the weekend, the team will need to win 3 of every 5 the rest of the way to get in and in this segment they are now 0-1-1 meaning they pretty much have to run the table on this trip. After a 2-2 home stand it simply isn’t good enough to find ways to lose against teams they need to beat.
Next Up
The road trip continues on Thursday night in Columbus, game time 5pm, Sportsnet.
Lines:
Johnny Gaudreau – Sean Monahan – Micheal Ferland
Sam Bennett – Mikael Backlund – Jiri Hudler
Mason Raymond – Marcus Granlund- Jiri Hudler
Joe Colborne – Matt Stajan – David Jones
Mark Giordano – T.J. Brodie
Kris Russell – Dougie Hamilton
Laddy Smid – Dennis Wideman
Jonas Hiller
