The Flames played a sloppy game against the Leafs on Tuesday night. They turned over pucks, they abandoned their goalie in a word it was ugly. For most of the season the Flames have been a highly entertaining team to watch as they generate chances with great frequency but also give them up equally as fast.
So it comes with a good measure of delight that the Flames were able to shut out the Coyotes tonight by the score of 3-0, giving former Yote Mike Smith the perfect first game against his old mates, and show themselves they can play pretty good defense when they put their minds to it.
Ferland On the Point
With the news that Kris Versteeg’s injury is more serious than first thought, or at least that we the masses first though, the Flames tinkered with the powerplay in his half wall spot.
In the previous two games they included either Michael Stone or Mark Giordano as they almost seemed resigned to plug the hole and not actually change the unit itself. Tonight however the go forward powerplay took the ice with Micheal Ferland on the point, playing on his off side.
Have to admit I wouldn’t have imagined that. Is he good enough defensively if the opposition breaks out? Does he move the puck quick enough? We will see. The panel after the first said they had worked Ferland and Mark Jankowski out in that role.
The Bottom Six
They’ve been few and far between this season, but another really good night for the third line, as Mark Jankowski collects his two goals and Sam Bennett picks up his first multiple point night on the season. The line was dangerous all night, working the puck on the wall and creating chances. The fourth line was under water in shot attempts but didn’t give up a goal so at least held serve. Baby steps.
Must Win Against a Door Mat
Losing a game in November should never be the end of the world, but tonight’s game had an ominous feel to it. The standings are condensing, and with the Flames losing their first game of the stand, a win tonight was crucial in avoiding a two game losing streak going into a game Saturday night against a team that they’ve lost six straight in back to back seasons. Now with the win in their satchel they can look to build and perhaps sweep the rest of the stand against teams currently not in the playoffs.
Forwards & The Breakout
The one big change I noticed tonight was the positioning of the forwards in the Calgary zone.
Against Toronto too often the forwards were leaving the zone early and looking to gather stretch passes or tip pucks in and go to the attack. Bob Hartley certainly relied on this system and it was quite effective for the better part of the 2014-15 season. The issue against Toronto however was the turnover, and if you turn it over with your forwards up the ice it’s murder.
Tonight they were a much more cohesive group, breaking out as a unit, and with that getting themselves in less trouble when they turned pucks over. Good tweak.
Dougie Bomb
Last year when things started to roll Dougie Hamilton added to the fun by photo (video) bombing interview after interview on Sportsnet. Tonight after a solid win he was at it again when Mikael Backlund was being interviewed by Roger Millions. This time however, the victim noticed him turned, and laughed which is different from last year with the guy getting air time completely unaware. Hamilton licks his fingers and then strokes his Movember moustache, all without a shirt on.
Cheeky Monkey
Nobody deserves to take a cross check in the neck, but Matthew Tkachuk is certainly one of those guys most likely to get said cross check to the neck with his edge and style of play. In case you missed it, have a look at his reaction after Mikael Backlund pounded home his pass from behind the net. First he points at Backlund, then he turns to the Arizona defenseman that lost him in the battle and smiles.
We Should Probably Talk About Jankowski
So that’s five goals now, and four of them have come in two games. With five goals in 17 games his production has been a pleasant surprise and has me wondering what his projection actually is. I’ve always held the view of a third line center, a defensively responsible player with good size, reach, and skill, but not a top six guy. However his hands are really exceptional. He has decent speed and of course size, so you have to wonder what his upside will be when the dust settles over the next few years. Clearly he’s not going back to the AHL, he’s here to stay, but you have to wonder if he can be that 20 goal second line center. If that’s the case does it cloud the Mikael Backlund contract extension discussion?
Fancy Stats
Very consistent night for the Flames as they bested the Yotes in all three periods in terms of five on five shot attempts. Overall they had a 57% edge in shot attempts five on five, and a huge edge in scoring chances at 68% (19-10) as the Flames were clearly the better team coast to coast. In all situations the Flames were up 57% in shot attempts and 66% in terms of scoring chances.
At the player level most of the Flames had a good night as you’d expect. The five that didn’t were the bottom half guys as the fourth line and the third pairing were all between 40 and 50% on the night. At the top of the scales was Jaromir Jagr with 71%, the second pairing in the high 60s, and the rest of the second and third lines all above 60%. Good night.
