In a compacted schedule with 30, soon to be 31 teams, a lot goes on in the National Hockey League with very few eyes to actually take in what every team is doing.
Teams get hot, teams sputter but to most hockey fans the streaks are just blurbs and box scores as few people take in every move of every team. So with the Flames on a five game win streak and suddenly one of the hottest teams in the National Hockey League, a Hockey Night in Canada matchup against another Canadian club was an excellent chance for the team to put on a show in front of a larger audience than usually takes in a Calgary Flames game.
The team didn’t waste the opportunity piling up four second period goals to forge in front 4-0 and eventually beat the Winnipeg Jets by a score of 6-2 on Saturday Night.
With six wins in a row the team is now in first place in the Pacific Division if you ignore games in hand, a remarkable turnaround for a team written off by Remembrance Day.
The Flow
Solid first period for the Flames as they out chance the Jets, but fail to score on a red hot Michael Hutchinson. The Jets have the play early, but the Flames slowly drag the play away and take it to Winnipeg, especially through the middle 10 minutes of the period. Best chances went to Sam Bennett on a set up from Johnny Gaudreau, and Troy Brouwer on a great pass from Micheal Ferland. The Flames come close on a powerplay with the puck sliding just wide of the empty net and Sean Monahan. Well played Hockey Night in Canada first period from two Canadian teams feeling the energy on a cold winter night in Calgary.
Another epic period from the Flames in this win streak, maybe not the eye popping chaos of the second period against the Ducks where they scored 5 goal in just over 6 minutes, but a four goal period to show the country that this is a team that currently means business. The Flames open the scoring when Dougie Hamilton takes a pass and uses Mikael Backlund as a screen as he wires one over Hutchinson’s glove hand. A few minutes later the Flames are up two when Sam Bennett takes a Gaudreau pass and puts the puck in the exact same place as Hamilton. The Flames are up three when Hamilton fires another one from the point, this time over the left pad, and then finally the Flames make it 4-0 when Backlund takes a pass from Matthew Tkachuk and the rout is on.
The Flames didn’t take the pedal off the metal in the third period, as they continued to push things offensively and not sit on their impressive lead. Lance Bouma shows some wheels, splitting the Winnipeg defence and welcoming Hallebucyk to the game with a goal on his first shot, a backhander that gets through the goaltender. The Jets solve Johnson’s shut out when the Flames get caught up the ice offensively with Frolik shooting the puck wide and creating a three on one the other way with Ehlers scoring. The Flames get that one back when Gaudreau finds Sean Monahan in the slot on a powerplay and then the Jets finish the scoring with a goal with 1/10 of a second left on the clock to make the final 6-2 Calgary.
Possession Pulse
First Period – Shot attempts were in Winnipeg’s favour by a 22-17 mark in the first period, scoring chances were listed as 8-6 by hockeystats.ca but 9-6 Calgary according to Hockey Night in Canada.
Second Period – The Flames have the edge in shot attempts with a 14-11 edge in the second period, scoring chances oddly at 5 apiece.
Third Period – Shot attempts were 15-13 Winnipeg five on five in the third period, scoring chances 4-1 Winnipeg.
The Players – x.
1. Dougie Hamilton:Second straight game as the first star, this time with two goals and an assist to continue his strong play. Just keeps getting better and better.
2. Mikael Backlund: A goal and two assists for the guy that shows every game. Such a pro.
3. Matthew Tkachuk:First three point night of his career as he gets three assists in the second period.
Big Save
Micheal Ferland wins a puck battle down low and flips a smart back pass into the slot for Troy Brouwer who wires one but is robbed by Michael Hutchinson who was square to the puck.
The Goat
The Jet’s top line got worked tonight as Scheiffle, Ehlers and Wheeler were all a -3 on the night. If you’re best players aren’t your best players there’s little chance of winning.
Mr. Clutch
Thought Garnet Hathaway played an important part in this game. He gets under the opposition skin, isn’t afraid to drop the mitts when required, and can handle the puck well enough to log a regular shift in the NHL. He’s been a great add to the Flames lineup. Energy.
Odds and Ends
No changes from the lineup from the Arizona game to tonight as Kris Versteeg is still not ready to go with his bruised ribs. Tyler Wotherspoon is up from the farm in place of Brett Kulak and has been a healthy scratch for two straight games, something he was certainly used to under Bob Hartley. … Odd first period for the referees as they missed not one, not two, but three high sticks on Calgary Flames players. As I say most game stories these days I don’t think there’s a conspiracy theory at play, but pretty unfortunate to see Hathaway cut wide open, Gaudreau high sticked (he was low sticked technically) and then Troy Brouwer later. The HNIC panel discussed it and suggested Gaudreau may be heading down the Plecanec road of getting on the wrong side of officials. … Good period when you see three Calgary players all find three points. Hamilton had two goals and an assist, Backlund a goal and two assists, and Tkachuk with three assists to light up the Jets. … The new lines from Glen Gulutzan are now four games old and the Bennett/Gaudreau combination continues to dominate. Nothing against Alex Chaisson who’s riding shot gun, but the two skilled players continue to get into open ice for each and have become a formidable duo. … With Hamilton’s hot hand I just can’t understand two things when it comes to deployment on the team’s powerlay. One why isn’t he on the first unit? And two, why don’t they have him on the left side opened up? The umbrella set up has brought them a tonne of success this month, but get Hamilton on one side and Gaudreau on the other (also on his off wing) and honestly watch the magic happen. It’s a no brainer for me. Puzzling. … Sean Monahan extended his point streak to seven games with his third period goal, a stretch that has him earning nine points in a really, really quiet way. … Less quiet has been Johnny Gaudreau who picked up another two points tonight giving him 8 in 4 games since returning from his broken finger. Amazing how much more he looks like the player from last year compared to that shadow of his former self through his first quarter of the season. … A lot of talk about Chad Johnson in this streak and for good reason, but another element in the turnaround was both the return and surge by Matthew Tkachuk as he came back from a wrist injury for that game in Minnesota and hasn’t been the same player since. He’s gone from interesting rookie, to a guy that is legitimately the Flames second best (maybe third) winger over the past month. Impact player. … The Flames can actually feel as though they are in a playoff spot now, regardless of games in hand given the results around the league of late. At three games over .500 (yeah that will be a debate, I get it) they are in good shape considering only one team out of a wildcard spot has a record over .500, Nashville at one game over. Over the past week they’ve been in a spot with a win percentage below teams that were on the outside looking in, that’s not longer the case.
Next Up
The Tampa Bay Lightning are in town to play the Flames on Wedensday night, game time 7.30pm on Sportsnet.
Lines:
Tkachuk – Backlund – Frolik
Ferland – Monahan – Brouwer
Gaudreau – Bennett – Chiasson
Bouma – Stajan – Hathaway
Giordano – Hamilton
Brodie – Hamilton
Jokipakka – Engelland
Johnson
