It’s been 31 years since the Flames have lost four straight regular season games to the Edmonton Oilers, 31 years! Four in a row is a lot, so it doesn’t say a lot about the talents of either team, though it does speak to how long the Flames franchise has been in Calgary which is cool in itself. Recently however the Flames have owned the season series year by year dominating their Northern neighbours who couldn’t keep out of their own way.
Tonight the Oilers did just that, as a mix of a lack of Calgary finish and some spotty Flames goaltending led to a 7-3 win for the Oilers on Calgary ice on Saturday night.
The loss hurts for the Flames playoff chances, and almost certainly means the Oilers will finish ahead of the Flames for the first time in either of my kid’s lives; I liked it better the other way!
The Flow
Probably not how anyone in Calgary figured this game would start when they shelled out big bucks in the after market for a big Battle of Alberta Saturday night game as the Flames come out and get shelled early, falling behind 3-0 in just six minutes of hockey on the big stage. The chances in all honesty weren’t all that more dangerous than what the Flames were generating on the other end, but ex-Flame prospect Laurent Broissoit was able to make the stops while Chad Johnson could not, letting up three goals in five shots before being pulled for Brian Elliott. The third goal, a marker by Jordan Eberle, beat him short side on a partial break up set up by a fly by by Jyrki Jokipakka, bet Johnson short side and enough was enough. The Flames finished the period pressing but couldn’t get on the board; 3-0 Edmonton after one period.
Three more goals in the second, luckily the Flames have that third goalie on the bench … oh wait, never mind. The Flames out shoot and out chance the Oilers but give up three more in the period to fall behind 6-1 after two periods. The Oilers get one from McDavid on a play that was reviewed as Maroon bounced into Elliott in the blue paint. You never know how those reviews will go, but my vote was a waive off, I was wrong. They get another one when both Eberle and Brodie tip a puck in unison past Elliott and the game is becoming a farce. The Flames finally get on the board when Matthew Tkachuk tips home a Dougie Hamilton point shot, but he then takes a slashing penalty less than a minute later and well you know how that ends. The rough night continues as it’s 3-1 in scoring in the second.
Calgary continues to push in the third period to their credit and get rewarded early when Sean Monahan steps in front of an errant pass and walks in short handed to make the score 6-2, and extend his goal streak to five games. Laurent Brossoit continues his solid night on the way to his first NHL win with several more good stops in the third period and he isn’t beaten again until a late tip by Lance Bouma to make the score 6-3. The Oilers hit the empty net after an extended look by the Flames with the goalie pulled making the final score 7-3 Edmonton.
Possession Pulse
First Period – There’s a reason for the term “score adjusted” in corsi stats as it only makes sense in a game that had Edmonton jump out early and often. Calgary had a 27-11 five on five shot attempts lead in the first period despite being down 3-0.
Second Period – More of the same in the second period as the Flames held a 17-10 advantage in the second despite getting out scored 3-1 in the period. Overall shot attempts were 27-17.
Third Period – Third period 12-5 for the Flames five on five, and 23-12 when special teams were included. Overall on the night the totals were 56-26 Calgary five on five, and 77-40 overall.
Players – For the first time since I’ve been watching the stats closely the Flames didn’t have a single player with a five on five shot attempts percentage under 50%. The “worst” on the night was Lance Bouma 55%. Other players with woeful low 50s marks included Sam Bennett, and Alex Chiasson. On the top of the list were many including; Micheal Frolik, Kris Versteeg, Mark Giordano, Dougie Hamilton, Mikael Backlund, Sean Monahan and Matthew Tkachuk who were all north of 70%.
1. Jordan Eberle: Talk about getting off the snide, two goals and two assists to pace the Oilers.
2. Lauren Brossoit: Picks up his first win by stopping 38 of Calgary’s 41 shots.
3. Adam Larsson: Physical defenseman picks up three assist for the Oilers.
Big Save
Probably not surprised that I’m going with the Oiler stopper for the save of the night. Lauren Broissoit had many, but two on Michael Frolik in the first period loomed large as the game was still in the balance and could have sent the game the other way. The first as Frolik went wide on an Oiler defender, a pad save. The second on a setup late in the period by Dougie Hamtilton, but the one timer has Broissoit getting an arm pit on it.
The Goat
Yikes I’ve done this to the guy in two straight games, but you have to hand a good chunk on this game on Chad Johnson for his tough start. You simply can’t give up three goals on four shots to start a game at this level. Sometimes your team starts slow and they cough up chance after chance, and you have to stand tall, but tonight the chances weren’t all that golden. Not good enough.
Mr. Clutch
Matthew Tkachuk doesn’t like losing, at all. He scores one of the Flames goals and gets right in the grill of many an Oiler as he refuses to go down quietly. Really wish this trait would rub off on his teammates.
Odds and Ends
The only roster change for this one was the reinsertion of Sam Bennett after his one game hiatus, pushing Matt Stajan back to the fourth line, and Freddie Hamilton out of the lineup. I thought Bennett had a good start, as his line with Johnny Gaudreau and Alex Chiasson was the Flames best in the period, and had a few decent chances. … Was a little surprised that Chad Johnson got the start tonight as I thought he’s been a little iffy of late in starts against Florida and Nashville, games that he split with a win and a loss. He seems to have lost the top of the net. Given Brian Elliott’s solid start in Edmonton last Saturday I thought they’d make the switch. I guess I was right, but 6 minutes off in the result. … Such an odd game tonight, reminding me a little bit of that game in Vancouver two weeks ago where the Flames carried the play but couldn’t solve Miller in the Vancouver cage. You can’t take this one away from the Oilers, they scored 6 goals (with a goalie in the net) and deserve the win, but the Flames honestly didn’t play all that badly for the large part. The team continues to be a PDO boat anchor of late, a statistic that has always suggested the “luck index” in pro hockey. Their save percentage slipping along with their save percentage pushing the team well below the average water mark of 1.000 on the ledger. … Have to give it the Flames for having an air tight game plan. The team got behind four goals against the Predators on Thursday and almost came back. tonight they got down 4 goals 20 minutes earlier thinking they gave themselves that little extra bit of time to get things done. .. The Flames are right on that playoff bubble now as they head out on the road. They’re going to need to solve this goaltending snafu soon if they want to make the last third of the season interesting.
Next Up
The Flames travel to Toronto to take on the Leafs on Monday night, game time 5pm on Sportsnet.
Lines:
Tkachuk – Backlund – Frolik
Versteeg – Monahan – Brouwer
Gaudreau – Bennett – Chiasson
Bouma – Stajan – Ferland
Giordano – Engelland
Brodie – Wideman
Jokipakka- Engellend
Johnson
