The Flames didn’t seem to be letting on that they had any fear of playing the Chicago Blackhawks, something that could be seen in roster decisions in Los Angeles on Saturday night and again tonight in San Jose.
But the news that arrived before the game; a Predator loss in regulation was probably a sigh of relief as they took the ice knowing they had nailed down the top Wildcard spot and that their game meant nothing against the San Jose Sharks.
The game itself was fitting as it featured two teams pretending to care about a game that meant nothing, the final score a 3-1 victory for the Sharks concluding both team’s regular seasons.
The Flow
With both teams missing key players, the game had a very preseason feel to it on puck drop; a general lack of intensity. The Flames get back to back powerplays to start the game but do almost nothing with it largely due to some new players on the units and a lack of familiarity. The first powerplay certainly had better puck movement than the second, but neither managed to hit the scoreboard. After some fairly non-descript five on five action the Flames get another powerplay, but once again fail to do a whole lot and with that the period ends at a scoreless tie. Maybe the least entertaining period of play this season? Usually one team fails to bring it, not both.
The sharks come out hopping in the second, and are rewarded when ex Canuck Jannik Hansen drives the net and flips the puck out front to Tierney who one times it past Brian Elliott in a crowded goal crease. The Flames push back with a top line three on two, Johnny Gaudreau centering the puck to Sean Monahan who is patient but then fires the puck right into the mid section of Dell. The Flames get another good chance when Micheal Ferland takes the puck off the boards and fires it on net, the puck hitting both posts behind Dell but doesn’t trickle over the line. The Sharks double their lead when Boedker gets behind rookie Rasmus Andersson and manages to out wait Brian Elliot and it’s 2-0. The Flames have a huge push in the last minute, first Matthew Tkachuk sets up Michael Frolik who is denied by a paddle save by Dell. Seconds later he’s set up again, but the puck hits Dell and flips over the net. Finally, the Flames hit the scoreboard when Tkachuk slides the puck out front to Curtis Lazar who one times it past Dell and it’s 2-1 after 40.
The third period wasn’t much of a concern to the Flames as they pull Elliott and put in David Rittich for his first NHL action to start the period. The Flames get a chance or two early in the period with the Monahan line pushing and coming close with some solid puck movement down low but fail to beat Dell. The Sharks go up two goals again when they score on a powerplay with Michael Stone in the box. A point shot is tipped by Dennis Wideman and then again by rookie O’Reagan, not much Rittich could do on the play. The Flames come close again with another solid Monahan line shift, but just can’t get it done and drop a meaningless 3-1 game to the Sharks to conclude the regular season.
Possession Stats
1st Period – The Flames out shot the Sharks 6-5 in the first period, not a huge margin given the three powerplays. The shot attempts in the first were tied at 8-8, and the scoring chances were 7-6 San Jose overall, 6-3 Sharks five on five.
2nd Period – Despite getting out played early the Flames end up ahead in shot attempts in the second with a 15-12 edge, a much more normal NHL period. Scoring chances were 6-4 Calgary five on five, and 10-7 for the Flames in all situations.
3rd Period – The Flames finish the game 38-37 in even strength shot attempts, with the Sharks having a 15-14 edge in the third. Scoring chances were 10-7 for the Flames in the third period, finishing the game with a 19-18 edge overall.
Players – The top line had a very good night for the Flames with all three forwards finishing in the 65% range for the night along with Dougie Hamilton. Other guys above the 50% mark included the revamped 3M line that had Michael Frolik, Curtis Lazar and Matthew Tkachuk all between 55 and 58%. Rasmus Andersson, Alex Chiasson and Matt Bartkowski all finished at 50%. Guys that took a beating featured Lance Bouma at 21%, Troy Brouwer and Matt Stajan at around 25%.
Three Stars
1. Aaron Dell: Former Calgary Canuck is the difference maker in this one, stopping 20 of the 21 shots he faced to pick up the win against his home town team.
2. Chris Tierney : Picks up a goal and an assist in the second period to pace the Sharks to the victory.
3. Curtis Lazar : Scores the teams only goal and has a solid evening stepping in for Mikael Backlund.
Big Save
In the last minute of the second period the Flames broke in on a three on two with Matthew Tkachuk getting the puck over to linemate Michael Frolik. Frolik goes high but the extended paddle of Aaron Dell is enough to knock the puck wide of the net keeping his shut out for the time being.
The Goat
The guy that designed the Shark Tank. Poor David Rittich is called up from the minors to dress for his first NHL game and has to sit with an ice guy and watch the game on TV because they didn’t make the benches big enough to fit the back up goalie. Glad the Flames got him from behind the curtain for the third period.
Mr. Clutch
Dougie Hamilton was a horse tonight, leading the Flames in ice time with 22+ minutes, picking up an assist and driving possession whenever he was on the ice. Picked up his 50th point of the season, a huge milestone for a defenseman.
Odds and Ends
Have to say I like the way the Flames have handled their line up in the final two games of the season. Two nights ago they gave their playoff starter a rest and dressed Jon Gillies for his first NHL game. Additionally they rested Michael Stone who’s coming off a shoulder injury. For tonight’s game they sat four regulars including the key to their top line Mikael Backlund, their captain Mark Giordano and two other veterans in Derryk Engelland and Kris Versteeg. To me that says they have a mentality of they don’t care who they play, they feel they need to get ready for the playoffs. That speaks to confidence that they can win a first round series instead of ear of who they are matching up against. … To fill in the gaps the Flames moved Curtis Lazar in for Backlund, and Rasmus Andersson gets his first NHL duty replacing Engelland in the final pairing. … As it turned out their scratches were a wise move with the Jets scoring short handed in the final minute to beat the Predators in regulation time, giving the Flames the top Wildcard spot, meaning Calgary’s game had zero meaning. Only issue yet to solve now is the Oilers vs the Ducks for the top spot in the Pacific. Two Oiler wins and a Duck loss to L.A. and it’s Calgary Edmonton, anything else and it’s Calgary Anaheim. … Sure it’s only game for his young Flame career, but it was kind of a big game for Curtis Lazar as this was his first time on a line with linemates in a scoring role. His lack of production in Ottawa is well documented, but getting on a line with Matthew Tkachuk and Michael Frolik could help him get into the lineup in the playoffs if they could have found some production. So getting that late goal in the second, his first as a Flame could really pay dividends for the player should he get an opportunity in the post season. … Nice touch by the Flames to get David Rittich in for the third period, and you certainly can’t blame him for the goal. He was a little jittery but did well overall. … Rasmus Andersson looked really comfortable moving the puck and at the offensive blueline, but he did look a little lost when the puck was in his own zone; almost like he didn’t know where to go or where to be. His mistake on the Sharks second goal was typical of a rookie mistake however, it happens. … Hamilton’s 50th point was great to see, so too was Matthew Tkachuk’s bonus assist, which came on the same goal. … Interesting to see Hunter Shinkaruk score two more goals tonight for the Heat, which makes 5 goals in two games. Jon Gillies was sent down to start the important game and hasn’t disappointed with 27 saves on 29 shots in a 5-2 lead in the third period. … So that wraps the regular season for the Flames at 45-33-4 for 94 points. Since their 5-10-1 start they went 40-23-3 to save their season, something most didn’t see coming. Johnny Gaudreau led them in points with 61, Sean Monahan led in goals with 27, Mark Giordano was +22, Matthew Tkachuk was the penalty minutes leader at 105. … Playoff time. Buckle up!
Next Up
Playoffs! The great season begins on Wednesday but we don’t know if the Flames start that night or Thursday.
Lines:
Tkachuk – Lazar – Frolik
Gaudreau – Monahan – Ferland
F. Hamilton – Bennett – Chiasson
Brouwer – Stajan – Brouwer
Bartkowski – Hamilton
Brodie – Stone
Wideman – Andersson
Elliott
