Stop me if you’ve heard this before; the Flames lose 2-1 but get a point in extra time.
Three game homestand, three losses, all by a 2-1 score, all settled after the 60 minute point equalling a three game losing streak that resides within a ten game streak of points.
Very odd stretch of games.
The Flames recovered against Winnipeg, played somewhat down to the Sabres, but deserved much better last night in a game that had Calgary pushing the play all night but unable to solve the King’s backup goaltender Darcy Kuemper.
It’s a results driven business, but the process in this one certainly suggested better things.
Home Woes
For those that missed it, I wrote a piece looking at the numbers inside the home/away split for the Flames this season as they’ve been Jekyll away from the dome but very much Hyde at the Saddledome this season.
Basic summary is luck, and tonight was a great example of that with the Kuemper and a host of blocked shots keeping the Flames from building a three or four goal lead through forty minutes.
They’ve had more shots, shot attempts, and scoring chances as a split on home ice than they had on the road this season.
Things tend to even up, and with that we should see a bit of a slide off the club’s red hot pace away from Calgary, but a big turnaround on home ice afoot.
The Doughty/Tkachuk Rivalry
This one is getting personal.
The game didn’t feature an ugly elbow or a big fight, but the Drew Doughty vs Matthew Tkachuk under card has gone to another level as the King’s player is clearly the focus of the crowd in Calgary, and by his antics at the end of the game; its working.
Doughty’s drop the mic (stick) moment at the end of the game coupled with gestures towards the crowd is a pretty good sign that he hears the boos when he carries the puck, and it clearly bothers him.
Don’t usually see a player basically admitting fans are impacting him.
Impact to the Standings
The point is nice, but giving the Kings two created quite a tightening of the Western Conference standings.
The Flames, Kings, Wild and Avalanche now have 57 points, the Flames having a game in hand on the Kings, Colorado having a game in hand on Calgary. The Flames sit two points back of the Sharks with San Jose having a game in hand.
Had better find two points in Edmonton tonight!
Powerless
Another close game, and another doughnut for the Flame’s powerplay.
Both teams were given five chances, the Kings score the tying goal and the Flames come up empty, the story far too often this season, at least on home ice.
Drilling into the metrics really tells a story about finish, or lack thereof for the Flames and their play with the extra man. The Kings had 10 shot attempts with their five chances, and gave up six for a plus four. The Flames? 21-3. The Kings generated five scoring chances and scored on one of them. The Flames generated five scoring chances and didn’t.
Luck? Execution? A blend of both?
TJ Trouble
Another woeful night for #7 in a season that continues to be a nightmare for the Flames second pairing stalwart.
Too many turnovers, too many bad reads, and his icing in overtime was a real head scratcher, a play that led to the Kings goal with some assistance from Mike Smith. He led the team in scoring chances against once again with seven on the night.
I wonder if they should swap Brodie for Brett Kulak for a game or two and see if they can find some pairings to avoid the fire drill in the Flames zone. I honestly feel sorry for Travis Hamonic these days.
Live and Die With Smith
There haven’t been too many nights this season where you’d point to Mike Smith’s puck handling as being a detriment to the team, and I’m honestly not sure last night even qualifies as a blemish to his record.
However the goaltender’s decision to play the puck in overtime with a King standing inches from him in his crease did keep the Kings on the attack in the Calgary zone in extra time leading to the game winner seconds later. I certainly understand the desire to keep the puck active and get possession to one of his three players but if the play isn’t there it just isn’t there. It wasn’t.
Fancy Stats
The Flames had period splits of 58% / 58% and 59% which says something in a game that they led for a strong majority. Scoring chances were 9-2 for the Flames five on five, and 14-8 in all situations.
Individually, as you’d expect most of the Flames players had good nights. Curtis Lazar and Marek Hrivik led the way with 70% but that should come with a handful of salt as they only played about seven minutes apiece. Sam Bennett, the top line and Dougie Hamilton were all in the sixties. The only player under water was Matthew Tkachuk as the 2M line struggled somewhat against the Kings, but were hampered with the ten minute misconduct handed to Mikael Backlund for tossing a broken stick.
