The Calgary Flames just keep on keeping on.
The recipe has been pretty simple. Start on time, get up early, weather a storm, and then get back to solid road hockey and secure the two points.
We saw it in Detroit. We saw it in Washington, and then again in Manhattan but could they pull the same rabbit out of their collective hat in back to back games with their backup goalie in the nets?
Yes they could.
The Flames race out to a 4-0 lead in the first period and had a 5-1 lead in the third before two late Devil’s goals made it a little more interesting, though it was never really in doubt.
That’s 4-1-1 on the season and 4-0-0 on the road trip with the final stop in Pittsburgh on Thursday.
Like the other four opponents on this trip the Penguins are playing good hockey, but that hasn’t seemed to matter.
The Lineup
Nothing like a boat load of consistency.
Only one change for tonight’s game and that’s in goal where Daniel Vladar takes the spot usually reserved for Jacob Markstrom.
Up front it’s the same as strange as it seems … Elias Lindholm with Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk, Mikael Backlund with Blake Coleman and Tyler Pitlick, Dillon Dube with Andrew Mangiapane and Brett Ritchie, and finally Sean Monahan with Milan Lucic and Trevor Lewis. Not what I would call ideal, but then how do you argue against winning?
On the blueline no change as well … Noah Hanifin with Rasmus Andersson, Oliver Kylington with Chris Tanev and finally Juuso Valimaki with Erik Gudbranson. Bit of a surprise again that we didn’t see a return of Nikita Zadorov with back to back games, and the vet sitting now four straight.
Do like the fact that you play well and you continue to play though.
Could It Be?
Wouldn’t be interesting if the Flames lucked into a find with Erik Gudbranson?
The guy went third overall, he was highly thought of at one point, but then just bounced around the league.
It’s early, and I’m sure things will settle in but wouldn’t it be a great story if the Flames found a solid bottom pairing piece due to the player’s work on puck skills this summer and finding the right fit with coach Sutter?
The key is keeping expectations down and see where it goes.
But the sample size is growing.
Mangiapane and Lindholm Keep Rolling
Pretty crazy to see the NHL goal crown shared by two Calgary Flame players at 7 apiece.
But with Andrew Mangiapane’s two goal effort and Elias Lindholm’s return to the scoresheet after a one game break from goal scoring in New York that’s exactly what we see.
The Flames may not have any true generational stars on their roster, but they certainly have enough talent to spread it around. For October it’s Mangiapane and Lindholm.
Hopefully Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk get rolling soon as well.
Vladar Start
I thought Daniel Vladar was pretty solid.
He gave up three goals but two were pretty suspect. One where he coughed it up himself giving the Devils an empty cage, and another that occurred with Vladar’s helmet undone and the goaltender screaming at the referees to blow the whistle.
Overall he was square to the puck using his size and didn’t get beat on any clean shots like we saw in Washington.
Young guy is 2-0-0 in Calgary colours.
Rolling Them Again
Another night that had Darryl Sutter leaning on everyone pretty much like we saw last night in New York.
The Devils had their best period in the third, likely due to the score and playing at home, but also the Flames were probably running out of gas.
The defensemen were nestled between 23 and 14 minutes (Andersson at the top, Oliver Kylington at the bottom), while the forwards hadn’t a single player over 20 minutes, while every skater had at least ten minutes of work (Brett Ritchie at the bottom).
Good way to chew up minutes on the road when you can put everyone on the ice.
Counting Stats
Shots: Flames 30 / Devils 29
Face Offs: Flames 52% / Devils 48%
Powerplay: Flames 2-3 / Devils 1-4
Fancy Stats
The Flames are getting a lot of offence out of low event hockey. Tonight five goals despite neither team really chalking up a ton of dangerous ten bell chances. Five on five they had 53% of the shot attempts with period splits of 62%/64% and 25% respectively. In terms of five on five expected goals, the Flames had 53%, and for high danger scoring chances the team had 57%, with a 4-3 split.
In all situations the Flames had 53% of the shot attempts, 59% of the expected goals, and 50% of the high danger splits. Total high danger chances finished at a paltry 5-5 tally; not the most exciting hockey but damn efficient given the back to back nature of the game.
Individually the Flames were led by Rasmus Andersson who had 65% of the shot attempts five on five, followed closely by pairing mate Noah Hanifin and Mikael Backlund who had 59% and 56% respectively. There were a whole host of players in the mid 50s including Gaudreau, Milan Lucic, Trevor Lewis and many others. Only three players were under water five on five; Erik Gudbranson, Chris Tanev and Juuso Valimaki. But overall pretty tight defensive game with no single player on the ice for more than two high danger chances against.
