Change can be good for the soul.
Not all change, mind you, but constructive change can get the blood pumping, defeat bad habits, and get athletes going in a way that more resembles their careers to date.
At least that was the plan on Thursday night when Geoff Ward mixed up all three of his top lines in an effort to get things going.
The result was a 4-3 victory over the Buffalo Sabres, in a well played game that was truly more onsided than the final score.
Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan and even Milan Lucic got into the goal scoring fun, as the team hopes this little points run will reset their season and get them back into a playoff spot.
Line Up Changes
Well here we go.
Interim coach (I’m going to get tired of that) Geoff Ward put his big stamp on the team in practice on Tuesday. General Managers shape a team with player transactions, coaches do it with ice time and who plays with who of course. It was interesting, but many thought it was fleeting and that we’d see some more normal matchups again the next day.
Think again.
So instead we have a very different look when puck drops tonight.
A top line of Elias Lindholm (approve) between Matthew Tkachuk and Andrew Mangiapane – this is interesting, what could be Calgary’s top center, getting the best winger, and a huge promotion for a 6th round pick who frankly has earned it (when he’s on his skates).
A second line with Mikael Backlund between Sean Monahan (winger) and Dillon Dube – another promotion for Dube, interesting. Sean Monahan gets a completely different assignment as he has less down low work to do and should be more up on the rush.
A third line with Johnny Gaudreau playing his off wing (good) with Derek Ryan and Milan Lucic. The pair Gaudreau is joining have been solid of late, and they tend to help out who they play with, but this is a demotion right?
No real change to the fourth line, no change to the defenseman and it’s expected that David Rittich will get the start once again.
Blender Effects
All in all you have to hand it to Geoff Ward in this case.
The lines aren’t necessarily what will work long term, or the best fit for key players, but it did seem to add some energy, creativity and chemistry by getting the players to think instead of falling into the funk we’ve seen in recent weeks from the top point producers.
Johnny Gaudreau hit the scoresheet and looked much more dangerous than he has in weeks in other instances. Sean Monahan scored on a feed from his center Mikael Backlund, and the Lindholm/Tkachuk/Mangiapane line showed lots of chemistry and zone time.
Not sure if these lines are here to stay, but hopefully they’ve done the trick in getting the team untracked offensively going forward.
Rittich Bounces
Had to feel for David Rittich on the night with the three goals against, two coming on deflections off his defenseman to make the game close.
Through 50 minutes it looked like TJ Brodie’s shin pad was going to be the culprit in robbing him of his third shut out of the season before another one off of a defender made the game way closer than it should have been.
A late goal by Jack Eichel made things somewhat tense, but the Flames did a good job of shutting things down and preserving the win.
All in all Rittich’s night featured 26 saves on 29 shots for a .897 save percentage.
Looooooch
Thought the roof was going to come off the place when Milan Lucic took a Derek Ryan pass and scored the eventual game winner in the third period.
The strike of course is his first in a Calgary uniform, and that fact wasn’t lost on the fans that saluted the big guy with a loud and long “loooooch” while he celebrated with his teammates.
The production hasn’t come, but five on five the Flames have gotten exactly what they expected from the big winger as he sits 11th in CF% at 52.4% and 8th in xGF%. A solid bottom sixer that doesn’t get them in any trouble.
Special Teams
This isn’t something I’ve had the chance to say all that much this year; the Flames won the game on the backs of their special teams.
The Sabres were rewarded eight 8! powerplays on the night compared to Calgary’s two, but it was the Flames that won the battle of the uneven players skating with a powerplay goal and a shortie in comparison to the Sabres one power play strike late.
Twice in the game the Flames were down two men, one instance for 30 seconds and another for a full minute, but kept the Sabres on the outside and did an effective job in preserving the lead.
The Flames now have the league’s 20th best Powerplay, nothing to write home about. But that coupled with the league’s third best penalty kill at 85.6% has the team’s overall special teams percentage at a combined 102.8%, good for 11th in the league.
If they’re going to get this season back on track, they’ll need to win some games with their work away from five on five.
Snake Bit Backlund
Thought Mikael Backlund had another 2019-20 Mikael Backlund game.
He looked good away from the puck, had some great rushes, was able to create and set up teammates, and then had a great chance that he just couldn’t cash in on.
This time, near the end of a shift, he barrelled down the right side, and beat his defender to the net before unleashing a tricky backhand that went off the cross bar.
Backlund continues to track as third in personal expected five on five goal rates, and 4th in individual high danger chance generation, but just can’t find the net.
Hamonic Returns
Travis Hamonic isn’t a modern NHL defenseman in the truest sense.
With the league going to transition defenders with the ability to skate themselves out of trouble, and away from the stay at home variety, he’s becoming somewhat of a dinosaur.
With his return on Thursday night though, a talented dinosaur at that.
Hamonic wasn’t broken back in easily, leading the team with 26+ minutes, three shots and five blocked shots. It’s easy to see the team is in a much better situation with five top four defenseman filling three pairings.
Counting Stats
Team Stats:
Shots – Flames 29 Sabres 29
Face Offs – Flames 45%
Special Teams – Flames 1/2 Sabres 1/8
Player Stats:
Points – Derek Ryan with two assists and Sean Monahan with a goal and a helper led the way for the revamped Flames on the night.
Plus/Minus – Oliver Kylington, Rasmus Andersson and Derek Ryan were all +2 to pace the Flames.
Shots – Johnny Gaudreau led all shooters with five through the game.
Fancy Stats
If you felt the eye test had the Flames pretty much dictating the game, you’d be right as the team had 57.35% of the five on five shot attempts, 69% of the scoring chances, and 71.4% of the high danger chances. Their five on five xGF% was 63.3%. Period splits in shot attempts had Calgary with 50%, 57% and then impressively 64% in the final period while protecting a lead.
In all situations the Flames had 52.2% of the shot attempts and 61% of the high danger chances, which is incredible in a game where the opposition had eight powerplays and two instances where they had a two man advantage. Calgary had an overall xGF% of 58.51%.
Individually the Flames were led by their third defense pairing as Andersson posted 76% to his partner (Kylington)’s 75%. TJ Brodie, Tobias Rieder, Mark Giordano, Mikael Backlund, Elias Lindholm, Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk all hit the 60% mark. Only Hamonic, Noah Hanifin and Dillon Dube were under water.
