Well the Flames certainly aren’t overtime masters this season are they?
For the 5th time this year the Flames took a game to overtime, but came up empty in the extra frame failing to get the extra point.
Tonight the Flames and Flyers played a spirited 1-1 tie through 60 minutes, two teams that don’t see each other all that often, but have built up a solid base of dislike despite the unfamiliarity.
A first period goal by Oliver Kylington was offset by a second period goal by Kevin Hayes; both goals very fortuitous, before the Flyers found a way to put things away in overtime.
The loss gives the Flames a 1-1-2 record for four points in four games on their seven game road trip.
Next up is Buffalo on Thursday night.
The Lineup
Three games into a seven game road trip and the Flames have three points, a modern .500 trip with some tough tests to come.
With Daniel Vladar doing something rarely seen in Calgary Flames history; that is providing backup goaltending that looks suspiciously like starter goaltending, Jacob Markstrom was able to take five days off on this trip and return to action tonight in Philly after not playing since the loss in Montreal.
No change on the blueline as Noah Hanifin lines up with Rasmus Andersson, Oliver Kylington plays along side Chris Tanev, and the now somewhat controversial choice to continue to go with Nikita Zadorov over Juuso Valimaki on the third pairing with Erik Gudbranson.
Up front we see from the game in Ottawa as Tyler Pitlick returns with Walker Duehr sitting after his first NHL game. So that means Elias Lindholm between Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk, the suddenly play driving second line of Sean Monahan between Blake Coleman and Andrew Mangiapane, a third line of Mikael Backlund with Dillon Dube and Trevor Lewis, and finally a fourth line of Brad Richardson between Milan Lucic and Tyler Pitlick.
Line Metrics
xGF%
Gaudreau – Lindholm – Tkachuk 62.0%
Coleman – Monahan – Mangiapane 70.0%
Dube – Backlund – Lewis 46.7%
Lucic – Richardson – Pitlick 30%
Hanifin – Andersson 53.8%
Kylington – Tanev 64.7%
Zadorov – Gudbranson 60.0%
Goals Saved + Avg
Markstrom +6.1
Greg Millen Gets It
We don’t see Greg Millen all that often.
He’s been subbing in for Kelly Hrudey (not sure what the story is there) on this Eastern trip and jumps off the page for knowing the market he’s working for.
He compliments the Flames powerplay. He is high on their penalty kill. He likes their five on five play. He likes their goaltending, their defense core and their mix of forwards.
I’m not all in on a homer broadcast, and Rick Ball is pretty damn tight when it comes to calling the game both ways, but nothing wrong with a colour guy that knows how is bread is buttered.
Solid Road First
Thought the Flames best period of the night was their first … a solid road period.
They took three straight penalties in the first stanza which toppled a solid edge in shots through the first 20 but five on five they were excellent in establishing the forecheck and playing their structure well.
For whatever reason the next two periods weren’t as great as they started slow and gave up too many chances on too many turnovers.
Playing Sutter hockey isn’t easy … it takes a lot of attention to detail. Hopefully they dial back in soon.
Penalty Shot
Not sure I love the penalty shot call on Rasmus Andersson.
He clearly grabbed Laughton’s arm, so I get the penalty, but Laughton had already slowed right down and interfered with Andersson before the foul.
With Laughton’s actions it pretty much created a puck battle and I don’t think there’s a clear cut penalty shot call in that.
It didn’t matter of course as Jacob Markstrom got it done with the Billy Smith pad stack.
Gaudreau at Home
What a night for Johnny Gaudreau.
Shame more pucks didn’t enter the net, but with 10 shots on goal and a few additional set ups the little guy should have had a four point night (at least) but came away with only one.
In overtime he turned the puck over, and didn’t have the gas on the backcheck so the night didn’t end well, but that doesn’t take away from how well he played.
Kylington Story Continues
Just can’t get over the Oliver Kylington story this season.
From 7-8 or even 9 on the depth chart to a top four role and producing every night.
Tonight he scores the Flames only goal on a fluke bounce, but more importantly he broke up two Philly rushes with his speed and kept the game tied up.
Last for the defensemen in ice time tonight as he doesn’t play special teams to date, but man the kids story just keeps getting written.
Wish Zadorov Could Fight
So much size, and so difficult to play against.
I just wish he had the fists to back that up. With Milan Lucic and Erik Gudbranson on the roster the Flames can be a big and scary team. Nikita Zadorov adds to that with his physical player, but he would be that much more impactful if he could drop the gloves when enemy players got fed up with him and tossed in a face wash.
Special Teams
What a night for the Flames penalty killing units.
They blank the Flyers on six chances and essentially, along with Jacob Markstrom, earn their team a point.
The powerplay only had two chances, and came up empty on both, but it was the kill units that got the team a point.
Standings and Record
The overtime loss gives the Flames a 8-3-5 record on the season good for points in 13 of 16 games.
The point moves them to 21 on the season, one back of the Oilers who lost in Winnipeg tonight.
The road trip moves on to Buffalo on Thursday night.
Counting Stats
Shots: Flames 34/ Flyers 43
Face Offs: Flames 42% / Flyers 58%
Powerplay: Flames 0-2 / Flyers 0-6
Fancy Stats
The Flames had another one of those lose the possession but hold strong in the danger areas type of games, much like they had in Toronto on Thursday night. Five on five they had 44% of the shot attempts with period splits of 65%/38% and 38% respectively. In terms of five on five expected goals, the Flames only had 45%, and for high danger scoring chances the team actually had 53%, with a 9-8 split.
In all situations the Flames had 44% of the shot attempts, 47% of the expected goals, and 46% of the high danger splits.
Individually the Flames were led by Johnny Gaudreau with 61% of the five on five shot splits. His linemates Matthew Tkachuk and Elias Lindholm had 55% on the night. The only other player with a positive night was Oliver Kylington with 51%. Dillon Dube and Trevor Lewis were both under 30% on the night, having rough evenings.
