The Flames have made some big strides this season.
A 90 point team, playoff spot clinched, but perhaps there still lie a few demons to slay, one of which is the Ducks from Anaheim, a team that pretty much always play the Flames hard.
Tonight in a spirited game the Flames nemesis put another log on that fire of superiority, beating the Flames 4-3 with a late goal, in a game where the visiting club was clearly the better team.
Back at it for the Flames on Tuesday where they try and end a 13 year curse in Anaheim, and avoid the Blackhawks in the first round of the playoffs.
The Flow
Pretty evenly played first period, at least for the first three quarters of the 20 minutes. The Flames have an edge early with the 3M line especially pushing the play and enjoying some time in the Duck’s zone. A Calgary powerplay turns out to be a complete waste of two minutes of clock time as they either fail to take the zone, or take the zone only to make a foolish pass and turn it over. The Ducks open the scoring on their powerplay when Patrick Eaves scores his 30th of the season, when he finds a loose puck in front of Brian Elliott and beats the outstretched goaltender to the far side. The Ducks double their lead when Silferberg one times a pass from Kessler top shelf, blocker side on Elliott to make the score 2-0 Anaheim after one.
Good second for the Flames off the hop as they score back to back powerlay goals to erase the Duck’s lead and make it a brand new game. On the first chance in the second, Kris Versteeg walks in from the point and blows one by Johnathan Bernier short side high to make it 2-1. Later with the Flames on a two man advantage Versteeg walks it in from the corner and beats the Bernier pokecheck to the far side to tie the game at two apiece. From there though the Flames seem to sit on the tie, leaving the Ducks to push the play back towards the Calgary zone and eventually go back ahead when a terrible shift by the Calgary third defense pairing gives Getzlaf the chance to find Holzer and it’s 3-2 Anaheim.
The Ducks come to play to start the third period, hemming the Flames in their own zone for a shift and a half and nearly finding that chance to go ahead again by two. The Flames settle things down and the teams play a back and forth stretch before the 3M line creates havoc in the Ducks zone, Mikael Backlund retrieving a loose puck and finding Mark Giordano whose point shot gets redirected in by Michael Frolik and the game is all tied up at three. The game looks to be heading to overtime when Matt Bartkowski fans on a shot in the offensive zone creating a turnover and a rush with Kessler that results in the go ahead goal and a 4-3 Flames loss.
Possession Stats
1st Period – The Flames hold the edge in the first in shot attempts with a 16-10 edge, but the Ducks had the edge in scoring chances by a 5-3 count. The Ducks TV crew had the scoring chances 7-2 Ducks in what has to be a very different way of counting things.
2nd Period – The Ducks take over the game in the second after the Flames tie it up with two powerplays, have a shot attempt edge 15-7 and scoring chances 7-2.
3rd Period – More of the same in the third as the Ducks enjoy a 20-16 edge in shot attempts and a 11-6 edge in scoring chances. .
Players – Only one player in red had a positive corsi night and that was winger Micheal Ferland at 56%. Sean Monahan and Matthew Tkachuk were both right at the 50% mark, the rest of the team was under water. At the bottom of the heap was Troy Brouwer, Sam Bennett and Alex Chiasson all at 37%.
Three Stars
1. Ryan Kesler: Three assists for the player that Flames fans love to hate.
2. Kris Versteeg : Two goals for the Flames, now has 15 on the season.
3. Cam Fowler : Had to log a pile of ice time with both Lindholm and Vatanen on the sidelines.
Big Save
Another one of those timing and skill saves that take the nod. Brian Elliott was quick with the leather when he robbed Eaves on a wrister to the top corner off a Getzlaf pass just minutes after the Flames had scored twice to erase a 2-0 lead for the visitors. Would have been such a let down to give one up at that time. …
The Goat
Have to go with Matt Bartkowski for tonight. His attempted rim exit results in a turn over and the Ducks’ second goal, and then his fan in the third period leads to the Ducks go ahead goal in a 4-3 loss. Rough night.
Mr. Clutch
Thought Brian Elliott did everything he could do to hold his team in this one despite the fact the Flames really didn’t seem to have their “A” game. His stats line may not jump out as a banner night, but he got the job done when called upon.
Odds and Ends
A small change to the fourth and third lines for tonight’s game with Kris Versteeg joining Sam Bennett and Alex Chiasson, with Lance Bouma moving up to join Matt Stajan and Troy Brouwer. In a way it almost seems like Glen Gultuzan had a fiendish master plan to get Troy Brouwer to the fourth line. First he “demotes” Sam Bennett and promotes Stajan as the third line’s center. Then a week or so later he “demotes” Kris Versteeg to the fourth line and promotes Lance Bouma. The result? The fourth line every one was calling for is now the third line. Brilliant! … Had to chuckle at the Duck’s play by play crew (this writer is in Anaheim) with their description of events around Corey Perry. They were all up in arms about the abuse that Perry has to put up with, while seeing Matthew Tkachuk as a player that has to give that extra shove after every whistle. Overall they do a pretty good job, but you’d have to have your head in the sand to not know how Corey Perry butters his bread. … Out of town an injury to Joe Thornton that could cost him the rest of the season certainly changes things in the West. He’s old and furry, but Thornton is still a big part of the Shark’s wheel, so the loss tonight is a big miss for the Flames when it comes to the West standings. … I get that Gulutzan likes the lefty righty thing but with some pretty big misquues from Matt Bartkowski tonight it might be time to try Rasmus Andersson in a game. The team has already clinched a playoff spot so it’s not like the season is on the line. Maybe just maybe he plays over his head and the Flams have a new option for the third periods. … Think fans in Edmonton were cheering for the Flames tonight? Guessing they were with the Oilers and Ducks tied for points in the Pacific, but the Flames let them down. … The Predators lose to the Blues tonight so the Flames stay in that first wildcard spot for the night at least as the team heads to California. … Wish me luck on Tuesday, hoping to be in attendance for a curse breaking win for the Flames!
Next Up
These two teams get right back at it in Anaheim on Tuesday night, game time 7pm on Sportnet.
Lines:
Tkachuk – Backlund – Frolik
Gaudreau – Monahan – Ferland
Bouma – Stajan – Brouwer
Versteeg – Bennett – Chiasson
Giordano – Hamilton
Brodie – Stone
Bartkowski – Engelland
Elliott
