Being able to carry the play and out chance the opposition is a great step towards becoming a perennial playoff team and a potential contender, but hockey teams that don’t execute just can’t win, and that was the case for the Calgary Flames tonight.
Tonight the Flames bobbled, whiffed, stumbled, bumbled and stumbled their way to a 3-1 loss in Nashville in a game that featured enough scoring chances and bad bounces to win three games in the first two periods.
Some nights are just not your night, better to shake it off and move on, this was one of those for the Calgary Flames.
The Flow
Another first period that just screams the Flames are for real. Coming off a loss in Washington and looking to halt a skid at one game, the Flames come out hard, push the play, generate two penalties and hit three goal posts in a scoreless first 20 minutes. The first two goal posts came off the stick of Dougie Hamilton, while the third on a great feed by Johnny Gaudreau into the slot for Micheal Ferland. The Flames got hemmed in once, a shift that saw Filip Forsberg get two chances, but Chad Johnson was ready and able to turn both aside. Good period, the Flames likely deserved better, but 0-0 after one, the complete opposite of the last game in Nashville thus far.
Most frustrating period of the year, the second? Probably not as there’s been a lot of hockey, but I’m going to say it’s in the top ten. The Predators put the Flames on their heels to start the period, but the Flames do well to keep things to the outside and weather the storm. Things come off the rails when Freddie Hamilton takes a silly roughing penalty and the Predators score just as that minor expires to make it 1-0; a play where Chad Johnson seemed to be glued to the ice, perhaps knocked off by his stick getting bumped by Mark Giordano. The Predators go up 2-0 when Sam Bennett turns the puck over at the blueline, a play that Johnson would likely love to have back. The Flames narrow the score when Micheal Ferland finds Dougie Hamilton who rips one past Rinne and the score was 2-1. But when I frustrating I’m also referring to the Flames powerplay and the number of unforced errors, bobbles and turnovers in the period. Brutal.
The Flames fail to convert with the rest of said fifth powerplay and from there the Predators ice their best period of the night as they out chance and out play the Flames on their way to a victory. The Preds make the lead 3-1 when a Sean Monahan clearing attempt ends up intercepted by Ryan Ellis who puts it past Johnson to make it 3-1 Predators. The Flames pull the goalie and push in the last 90 seconds but it all boils down to about 6 icing calls and little by way of scoring chances as the Flames go down to their second straight loss by a 3-1 margin.
Possession Stats
1st Period – Flames outplay the Predators by a wide margin in the first period and enjoy a 15-9 edge in shot attempts, scoring chances a whopping 11-3 for the Flames in a scoreless period.
2nd Period – Shot attempts a little tighter in the second, but the Flames once again have the edge with a 11-9 edge, scoring chances five on five were 8-3 Calgary again. So after two it’s 26-18 in shot attempts and 19-6 in scoring chances but the Flames trailed 2-1.
3rd Period – The Preds are much better in the third period and have a 16-10 edge in shot attempts, with the scoring chances tied up at 6 apiece.
Players – Upside down night for the Flames in possession stats tonight with the Backlund line getting owned. Mikael Backlund and Michael Frolik had a frightening night with 41% each in shot attempts, their line mate Sam Bennett was further up the list at 47%. Team leaders were the Monahan line as Monahan, Gaudreau and Ferland all were above 70% as they owned it on the ice. The fourth line and bottom defense pairing got their butts kicked for the second straight night as the club’s depth let them down.
Three Stars
1. Pekka Rinnie: Got lucky with some goalposts in the first period, but stopped 24 of 25 shots to pace the Predators to a win.
2. Calle Jarnkrok : Scored the Predator’s first goal, had 21 minutes of ice time, which is huge for a forward.
3. Dougie Hamilton : Scores Calgary’s only goal, and posts a 63% night in shot attempts.
Big Save
A third period shot from the point had Rinne confused, he didn’t know where the puck was. Turns out it was floating through the air to his right where Johnny Gaudreau hammered it out of the air and towards the empty net. Rinne recovers and gets his pad on it to keep the score 2-1 Predators.
The Goat
Thought Chad Johnson struggled in the second period, giving up two goals on three shots. Thought Sam Bennett had a rough night as he coughed up the second goal and then blew the zone on the third one. But you don’t need to look further than the powerplay for the dagger in this one, as the team goes 0 for 5 with the game in the balance. It’s one thing to get beat by a hot goaltender, but to beat themselves with the sloppy play tonight was unforgiveable.
Mr. Clutch
Like Micheal Ferland’s game tonight. Coming off a bout of I guess what we can now call the flu he had lots of jump and picked up a great assist on the Hamilton goal; adds so much to that first line, which was dominant tonight.
Odds and Ends
A bit of a surprise in the nets tonight, with Chad Johnson getting the start over the clearly anointed number one goaltender, Brian Elliott. On one hand it makes sense as you can’t go every game with the big guy unless you’re the Oilers, but it’s a pretty big game against a team that they could be in direct competition with for a wild card spot so it’s somewhat unexpected. Additionally, Micheal Ferland is back, as the quarantine is over, he’s feeling better, and clearly it wasn’t the Mumps. He got inserted back on to the top line with Gadureau and Monahah, leaving Chiasson to cascade down to the fourth line and Curtis Lazar out of the lineup altogether. … The biggest gap in the Washington game was depth, and the fact that the Flames had to promote two players from their bottom six to their top six, leaving the replacement bottom six very exposed. Tonight, getting Micheal Ferland back you could see the benefit of the trickle down effect as the fourth line was more formidable with the addition of Alex Chiasson. … The Flames powerlay is becoming an Achillies heel of late as they go 0-5 in the first two periods, essentially killing most of them themselves by coughing up pucks, making terrible passes, bobbling easy plays and making it easy for the Predators. They were ice cold, then red hot, but this return to ice cold has to get turned around in the next couple of weeks. … Not enough can be said about how bad the Calgary powerplay was tonight. Their entries were sloppy, there were too many blind passes. When they did get control they bobbled the puck and gave it away. In a game where they deserved better after one the chances on the powerplay were a gift to win a game, but they came up flat and ugly. … Thought Sam Bennett had an ugly night on that second line, showing why Matthew Tkachuk is a better option; ironic as hell given my article this week about Bennett needing better linemates. He’s got to smarten up. … Oilers win tonight giving them a three point bulge which could go to five if the Flames don’t win on Saturday night as the Oilers are hosting the Avalanche.
Next Up
The Flames conclude this road trip with a game in St. Louis on Saturday, a game with a lot at stake when you look at the West and how all the teams in but jockeying are trying to avoid Chicago. Game time 6pm on CityTV.
Lines:
Bennett – Backlund – Frolik
Gaudreau – Monahan – Ferland
Versteeg – Stajan – Brouwer
Bouma – Hamilton – Chiasson
Giordano – Hamilton
Brodie – Stone
Bartkowski – Engelland
Johnson
