Margins are tight in the NHL these days. With three point games and all out parity day to day results can do a lot for and against your standing and season outlook.
Last night the Edmonton Oilers scored a third period goal to force overtime and then beat the Devils on a Leon Draisaitl overtime marker. Tonight the Flames come out leave a complete stinker on the ice, gifting two points to the Devils in a 2-1 loss and giving the Oilers four points in the standings essentially in 24 hours.
The two teams match up tomorrow night in Edmonton, and if you have to reach for a silver lining it would be a an angry team looking for retribution after letting the Saddledome crowd down tonight.
The Flow
The Flames completely laid an egg in the first period. They came out flat as a pancake with their play both broken and scrambled throughout? Hungry yet? I was for a win, but with an effort like that I’m not sure the players shared my sentiments. The classic trap game became exactly that as the Devils scored twice to take a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes in a period that easily could have been twice that bad if not for the play of Chad Johnson. The Devils owned the ice in front of the Calgary goaltender, picking off loose puck and rebounds and making a mockery of the sleep walking Flames.
The second period was better, not great but better for the Flames as I’m sure they received quite the screamfest in their dressing room between periods. They still gave up way too much, but really put pucks on Devil’s goaltender Kincaid throwing 17 shots towards the stopper. The Flames were finally rewarded when Sean Monahan picked up a Kris Versteeg rebound beating the fallen goaltender and bringing the Flames back into the game. They had a few more chances after that, but couldn’t pull even through forty minutes.
Solid third period for the Devils as for the most part not a whole lot happened. Midway through the period the shots were just 5-4 for the Devils as they kept the puck on the wall and the dangerous Flames players away from their goaltender. The Flames get caught extending themselves giving up yet another breakaway, this time to Miles Wood but once again Chad Johnson is ready, keeping the game close. The Flames pull their goaltender and get a golden opportunity when the Devils have a stick break essentially giving the Flames a late 6 on 4, but they fail to score against Kincaid.
Possession Pulse
First Period – xUgly ugly ugly period from the Flames, nasty. Shot attempts were 22-6 for the Devils, scoring chances were 14-6 for the Devils.
Second Period – Better period for the Flames with shot attempts 22-18 for the Flames but the scoring chances were 8-6 for the Devils.
Third Period – Shot attempts were 15-13 for the Flames, but don’t be fooled the scoring chances were 11-3 for the Devils.
Players – As you’d guess, not a lot of good news from a possession standpoint for the Flames in this stinker. Lance Bouma and Matt Stajan were the only players above the 50% water mark at 58%, three other Calgary players were right on the 50% mark and those included; TJ Brodie, Garnet Hathaway and Troy Brouwer. On the negative side the biggest losers were Derryk Engelland and Johnny Gaudreau who were both under 40%.
1. Keith Kincaid: Start the backup but get the same result as Kincaid stones the Flames with 31 saves on 32 shots including 16 on 17 in the second period.
2. Chad Johnson: Kept the Flames in it in the first period, and then gave them a chance with some key saves in the third period. Not his fault!
3. Kyle Palmieri: Scores a goal and adds an assist in the first period, when the Devils did all their damage.
Big Save
Chad Johnson was perfect on another breakaway, but his paddle save on Jacob Josefson in the second period. Unreal save, and a great example of a goaltender that didn’t give up.
The Goat
The whole team. The first period was a complete mess. Playoff teams can’t come out that flat very often in a season and preserve their standing. So that’s once, there had better not be any more in the next two months.
Mr. Clutch
Karl Stollery. Local guy (Camrose) does good. In only his 2nd NHL game the kid gets his first NHL point on a first period assist, and patrols the line for 17 plus minutes for the Devils.
Odds and Ends
Big set of back to back games this weekend for the Flames to attempt to move into the divisional playoff spots, out of the wildcard positions and put some distance between themselves and the teams on the outside looking in. Friday’s game against the Devils comes with a returnee as injured Troy Brouwer returns, but not for a healthy scratch as Micheal Ferland is exiting for an injury of his own. The change allows Glen Gulutzan the chance to switch up his 2nd and 3rd lines at a good time as neither are scoring. Getting Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan apart seems like a wise move, and that’s exactly what he’s doing by moving Monahan back between Brouwer and Kris Versteeg, and then Sam Bennett taking Monahan’s place between Gaudreau and Alex Chiasson. … The Flames may not have been consistent game in game out over the past two months, but they seemed to pretty consistent in showing up and putting in a great effort. Tonight in the first period they were an absolute mess. No excuse for being that unprepared to play. The Sportsnet telecast was mentioning that Mark Giordano was annoyed with the team’s starts of late, I’m guessing he’s a little more than annoyed now. … The Flames hang on to the first wild card spot despite the loss, but they’re bleeding games in hands to their competitors as the Kings and Predators now have three games in hand and only trail the Flames by three points. The club had better hope that more days off in the last half to third of the season means more points in the games they have left. … If you want some good news form tonight besides Chad Johnson’s play it would have to be the reunification of the Monahan line with Troy Brouwer back in the fold with Kris Versteeg. They scored the only goal of the night and had other chances as well. The biggest thing was that Monahan was noticeable again, which he hasn’t been in about a dozen games. … Hockey players are streaky, at least many of them are. So you’d have to think one or more of Monahan, Johnny Gaudreau or Sam Bennett will start finding the net soon, giving the Flames a boost. Tonight was a classic example of a team dining on one line and losing when said line doesn’t get it done. Not enough players pulling on the rope.
Next Up
The Flames are right back at it tomorrow night when they fly to Edmonton to take on the Oilers in a pretty important divisional battle; game time 8pm on Hockey Night in Canada.
Lines:
Tkachuk – Backlund – Frolik
Versteeg – Monahan – Brouwer
Gaudreau – Bennett – Chiasson
Hathaway – Stajan – Bouma
Giordano – Engelland
Brodie – Wideman
Jokipakka- Engellend
Johnson
