And so there it is, the Flames officially eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs with the Wild’s win over the Avalanche earlier today.
So the done like dinner Flames take the ice with nothing but pride at stake against the Chicago Blackhawks, a club struggling themselves in recent times, essentially handing the division crown in the Central to the Dallas Stars.
Would the Flames mail it in? Think again, as the Flames outplay the Hawks, but can’t out finish them in a 4-1 empty net padded loss to the Hawks on Saturday night, their third last home game on the docket.
Next year, next year … next year…. .
The Flow
As per usual the Flames play to their opponent, we saw it in Toronto against the Leafs, and luckily we saw it again tonight when the Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks came to town. A back and forth period devoid of goals, but featuring nine shots apiece and a handful of scoring chances each way. The Hawk’s best chance came on a rebound for Tomas Fleischman and Dougie Hamilton on a rebound in a mad goal mouth scramble in front of Darling. No score through 20 minutes.
The visitors owned the start of the second period both in terms of shots and scoring chances. The Hawks go ahead when TJ Brodie inexplicably fires the puck up the middle, ignoring at least two safe options and puts the puck on Andrew Ladd’s stick who walks in and beats Ortio over the pad blocker side. Late in the period the top line for the Flames goes to work with a wide shot resulting in Freddie Hamilton attempting to put a puck on net that goes off the end of his stick and over to his brother for a flutter puck into the top half of the Hawks’ net. Pretty? Not at all but a great brother to brother story for the Hamilton family. The Flames press again on back to back powerplays but it’s the Hawks that re-take their lead when a point shot either hits Ortio’s fallen goal stick or Andrew Shaw’s blade, 2-1 Chicago after two. Shots on goal in the second were 12-9 Flames.
A very methodical third period for the cup champs, a team that knows a thing or two about taking a game home with a lead going into the final 20. The Hawks kept the puck out of their zone and pressed when they got their opportunities; a difficult team to come back on. The Flames killed off a mid period powerplay but then never seemed to get untracked as the Hawks bottled things up and kept pucks to the outside. With the goalie pulled the Hawks score two more to make the final score look lopsided, but in the end the Flames were full marks for a tight game with some pretty stiff opposition.
Three Stars
1. Andrew Ladd: Former Jet’s captain scores twice and adds an assist for a big night in Calgary.
2. Scott Darling: Possibly should have named the guy the first star as he was the difference maker stopping 31 of 32 Flames shots for the win.
3. Duncan Keith:No points, but a +2 with 27 minutes of ice time and a great tomahawk on Gaudreau’s back!
Big Save
Joni Ortio had to be on his toes in the first period when a point shot was tipped wide, with the rebound coming to Fleischman who spun and ripped a shot short side only to be thwarted by a full on splits Joni Ortio with his right pad. Honorable mention was Darling on Bennett in the second, though I’m not convinced that one was a true save over a “oh the puck hit me there” play.
The Goat
Have to do the unthinkable and go with TJ Brodie in this one for his ill advised cough up in the second period in a scoreless game. With the teams playing a tight back forth low scoring chance contest, a blatant giveaway like that is often the difference maker, and tonight it was.
Mr. Clutch
Joni Ortio. A .920 save percentage and a solid effort after sitting out a pretty odd road trip where the Flames trotted out old European goaltenders for fun. Couldn’t be faulted on either goal and had a few great saves to give his team a chance.
Odds and Ends
Interesting to see the Flames try Freddie Hamilton up with the Monahan and Gaudreau in what has to be the 11th guy to audition on that side. Brings up the point for the team and how they should look at the off season. I personally don’t think it matters. I like Monahan/Gaudreau, I like Backlund/Frolik, the glaring hole as I see it is Bennett/?. They need another top six player to play with Bennett then they have three very dynamic duos up front that can wreak havoc. Having said that, the bottom line is the team’s bottom six has to be upgraded and with that the team will have better options to mix and match through the duos to make the Flames more difficult to manage when it comes to line matching. Don’t go looking for a specific player for the Monahan/Gaudreau line, get a top six winger and then upgrade forwards seven through 12. … Loved the look on Dougie Hamilton’s face when he finished off that “pass” from his brother in the second period. Great moment for the brothers and Flame’s fans. Awesome. … Did TJ Brodie not see Andrew Ladd or did he think he could put it past him for a deeper pass up the ice? … I like the projection of Sam Bennett, always have, but I have to admit that his 2nd half of his rookie season has been somewhat underwhelming. For the most part of the first half of the season he was getting chances but not scoring. Then he exploded with four against Florida and something like six goals in eight games. But since then he’s not only been quiet offensively, but also quiet in his game. Could just be the move to center in which case you have to ride it out as it’s all part of his development. However as I said above I think the biggest thing is the lack of talent on his wings. Moving Bennett down to the third line really exposes the Flames for their lack of wingers for skilled centers to play with. …
Next Up
The Flames hit the road for a four game trip starting in Phoenix with a date with Arizona Coyotes on Monday night. Game time 8pm, Sportsnet.
3>Lines:
Johnny Gaudreau – Sean Monahan- Freddie Hamilton
Lance Bouma – Mikael Backlund – Michael Frolik
Joe Colborne – Sam Bennett – Garnet Hathaway
Micheal Ferland- Matt Stajan – Brandon Bollig
TJ Brodie – Dougie Hamilton
Mark Giordano – Derryk Engelland
Jyrki Jokipakka – Jacub Nakladal
Joni Ortio
