A look at the schedule before this five game road trip, showed 12 of the teams final 19 games to be played on home ice. In a heating battle with the Predators and Kings for the final two playoff spots, you had that feeling that surviving this road trip in decent shape would go a long way towards securing a playoff spot for the Calgary Flames.
A .500 trip was a must, but a six point trip would even be better as they headed out for their first game of the trip in Vancouver.
Now four games in and one to go, and the Flames have points in all four games, and three wins in a row in four nights, as they continued their hot streak in white silks in Florida tonight, turning back the Panthers by a 4-2 score on the strength of a great performance by back up stopper Chad Johnson.
On to Carolina to make a great trip potentially even greater.
The Flow
Not the best start for the Flames, as they get chasing the Panthers early and pay for it. Michael Frolik, a player that has a penchant for taking poorly advised stick penalties this year, gets whistled again on a trip, sending the Panthers to the powerplay just in the first five minutes of the period. They score late in the powerplay when Bjugstand converts a great pass breaking the Flames PK down by moving the puck away from the direct pressure and out front to the wide open winger. Did the goal phase the Flames? Think again as they strike for two quick goals. First Troy Brouwer finds the newest Flames Michael Stone at the point who gets a shot on Luongo, the rebound comes out to Bennett who goes stick side and it’s 1-1. About 90 seconds later the 3M line strikes when all three players combine to send Mikael Backlund in all alone on Luongo, who beats Luongo in a similar spot. The furious first period continues when the Flames score again, a Tkachuk shot goes to the net where it gets lost by Luongo, allowing Derryk Engelland to pound in the rebound with Frolik looking down on him. The two goal lead didn’t last however as Barkov gets one through Johnson’s wickets and the score is 3-2 Calgary after one.
The Flames start the period on their heels and are lucky to survive the first handful of minutes before settling down and re-finding their game. You had the feeling that the next goal in this one was going to be huge, so you have to hand it to the fourth line for getting the guys in white said marker six minutes into the period. Lance Bouma takes it wide, finds Matt Stajan behind the net who puts a thread through a needle to the slot for Troy Brouwer who bangs it between Luongo’s legs to make it 4-2. The Flames continue to push with chances by Versteeg, Bennett and Gaudreau on turnovers or Panthers caught flat footed but Luongo does his best work of the night. Flames continue to push the play and generate chances while not allowing the Panthers to get a sniff around Johnson and the Flames cage as the period rolls along.
A little bit too much sit on the lead as the plan in the third, something we all accuse hockey teams of, which is silly as it completely ignores the push from the other side. In this case the playoff starved Panthers certainly need the points, and were out in the third trying to get the game within a goal. Johnson made several great stops including a point blank stop of Ekblad, keeping his team up by two. The Panthers get a powerplay midway though the period when Brouwer accidentally deflects the puck over the glass, but the Panthers are held at bay due to good penalty killing and some questionable shooting decision by their forwards. The Panthers pull their goaltender with two and a half minutes to go, but only get a handful of chances as the Flames wind down the clock and secure the 4-2 win.
1st Period – Pretty even period as the shot attempts were 16-14 for the Panthers, scoring chances were 7 apiece.
2nd Period – The Panthers started strong and finished strong but got worked in the middle of the period, those shares make sense when you see the shot attempts at 19-10 Florida. However with the scoring chances only 7-6 Florida, a further demonstration of the Flames bend but no break coverage system in their own zone.
3rd Period – The Flames kept things to the outside in the third as well, going down 13-10 in shot attempts, and losing out by a narrow 6-4 margin, solid road hockey.
Players – Great night for the fourth line as they score the fourth goal, and are the only three players to have five on five shot attempt splits above the 50% mark. Matt Stajan led the way with 75%, with his linemates The rest of the group was under water, but the five worst in the 35% range were the top line and top defense pairing with all of Monahan, Gaudreau, Ferland, Hamilton and Giordano having tough nights.
1. Chad Johnson: Gives up two goals in the first period, but then settles right down and is perfect the rest of the way, stopping 36 of 38 shots on the night.
2. Troy Brouwer: Scores the insurance goal in the second to add to his solid assist on the Bennett goal in the first period.
3. Matthew Tkachuk: I don’t usually give out three Flames stars in close games, but you have to mention Tkachuk in this spot. Both his assists were classic as the kid just continues to roll along.
Big Save
With the Flames up 3-2 in the second and the game very much in the balance, Alex Barkov has a point blank chance on Chad Johnson, but Johnson slides over to get his upper body on the dangerous shot.
The Goat
Roberto Luongo was decent overall, but his play on the game winner was a mess, something you can’t have on a team desperately chasing a playoff spot.
Mr. Clutch
Mark Giordano had a rough night in terms of driving play, but he made up for it by being a warrior in his own zone blocking shots, boxing out defenders and playing a physical brand of hockey.
Odds and Ends
I was a little antsy about the change to Chad Johnson given his last start against Arizona, and recent performances in all but the game in Pittsburgh where he was brilliant. You can’t ride just one goaltender however, and with back to back games, and then a matinee on Sunday it certainly made sense to give Bryan Elliott a breather. No other changes to the Flames roster tonight though, as they looked to build on the win in Tampa last night and a road trip that has seen them pick up 5 of a possible six points going into tonight’s game. … I personally find the new Panthers jerseys annoying. They look way too much like the Flames retro jerseys from behind on a close up with the yellow surrounding the white based on red. Get your own idea! … Lots of positive feedback from fans, media and more importantly Glen Gulutzan when it comes to Sam Bennett in his last two games. He hasn’t had a lot to show for it, but he’s had his nose in everything and looks to be coming around. That’s why it was nice to see him hit the scoresheet tonight with his first period goal. The Flames have both Gaudreau and Monahan finding their game, and they’ve had the 3M line to lean on all season. If that third line gets going as well they could be a dangerous hockey team. … My thoughts on the trade deadline is treating the top nine as a hurdle. The Flames needed a #4 defenseman and likely a #5 as well so the Stone/Bartkowski moves made sense. He aimed low, it didn’t cost much and it seems to be working. Up front though I’d only add a forward if I thought said forward was good enough to push Micheal Ferland out of the top nine, otherwise there’s no point. Sorry folks I don’t see Jarome Iginla being able to do that. He would hurt the Monahan and Bennett line defensively and may not be able to play a five on five role in the top three lines, at least in Gulutzan’s system. I don’t see it. If they find someone that can replace Ferland five on five then go for it, as his presence on the fourth line would certainly let the Flames roll four lines. … Speaking of Ferland, that adjusting his game to fit his linemates was creeping into his game again tonight. He can’t force passes, and play a style that doesn’t suite him. If he gets the puck in the neutral zone shoot it in. He’s amazing on the boards, but no stellar on the transition, when he’s the puck carrier. … Last week I did the math on Keith Tkachuk’s rookie season and determined his rookie season goal adjusted to 2016-17 would equal 39 points. Tonight, Matthew Tkachuk’s two assists gave him 40 and 41 points on the season passing that mark. He may not need the goal adjusted tweak for bragging points however, as I think he may blow by his dad’s 51 points (played 83 games). He’s on pace for 55 points if he plays the remainder of the games. To surpass his dad in points per game he’ll need only 48. … For any of those wondering, yes Dougie Hamilton continued his tradition on this road trip by photo bombing Chad Johnson in his post game Sportsnet interview. So funny. … The win moves the Flames ahead of the Predators and into the first wildcard spot in the West. The Preds have two games in hand however. The Kings also have two games in hand but are now SIX points back of the Flames, as the Calgary team is starting to pull away. Have to think the Kings will need to win 3 of 4 against Calgary to have any chance at all to make up that ground. … Thought it was interesting that the Stars would trade Eaves today, the day after the Flames put them 10 points in their rearview mirror. I think you can add the Jets to the teams too far back as they are now 6 points back and the Flames have a game in hand.
Next Up
Just one more game on the 1+4 game road trip, a stop in Carolina on Sunday to wrap things up. Game time 1pm Calgary time on Sportsnet West.
Lines:
Tkachuk – Backlund – Frolik
Gaudreau – Monahan – Ferland
Versteeg – Bennett – Brouwer
Bouma – Stajan – Chiasson
Giordano – Hamilton
Brodie – Stone
Bartkowski – Engelland
Johnson
