Darryl Sutter talks a lot about bringing your “B” game when you don’t have your “A” game, and that teams more often than not with effective “B” games tend to do quite well.
Tonight I’m not sure if that was the “B” or “C” game from the Flames, but they muscled their way to a 3-2 victory in Los Angeles on the strength of their second powerplay unit and solid goaltending from Jacob Markstrom.
The win starts off a three games in four nights and four games in six nights trip through the Pacific Division, so it’s a relief to get that rolling with a win.
Next up Anaheim tomorrow night for game two of the four game junket.
The Lineup
Expecting some change to the Flames lineup as they head out on their sunbelt trip through the Pacific Division? Yeah don’t count on it.
Not a one, but then with a team that has points in 8 of their last 9 games who can blame them right?
So tonight it’s Jacob Markstrom in the cage as Darryl Sutter steers his current team into his first game back in LA; can’t really blame him for icing what he considers to be his best lineup.
On the blueline the same trios you’d expect; Noah Hanifin with Rasmus Andersson, Oliver Kylington with Chris Tanev, and Nikita Zadorov with Erik Gudbranson.
And up front no changes as well; Elias Lindholm with Matthew Tkachuk and Johnny Gaudreau, Mikael Backlund between Blake Coleman and Andrew Mangiapane, Sean Monahan with Dillon Dube and Tyler Pitlick, and finally the newly dubbed The Full Pension Line of Brad Richardson, Trevor Lewis and Milan Lucic.
Line Metrics
xGF%
Gaudreau – Lindholm – Tkachuk 65.4%
Coleman – Backlund – Mangiapane 73.8%
Dube – Monahan – Pitlick 64.7%
Lucic – Richardson – Lewis 41.4%
Hanifin – Andersson 58.6%
Kylington – Tanev 61.7%
Zadorov – Gudbranson 52.9%
Goals Saved + Avg
Markstrom +10.2
Tkachuk vs Doughty
Didn’t take long to get the old rivalry a little feisty
again as Tkachuk stood up Doughty with a reverse check in the first period. Later on Doughty “guided” Tkachuk into his goaltender and the two squared off in a punching match that had Tkachuk taking the only penalty.
From that point on though, honestly not a whole lot. Tkachuk used Doughty as a screen for the game winner though, so I guess there’s that!
Giving Up the First Goal
Not something we’ve seen all that often this season, but the Flames don’t … I repeat don’t score the first goal for the fifth time this season.
Didn’t seem to matter though, as they settled down soon after and then scored back to back powerplay goals with the second unit to build up a 2-1 lead after one period.
The first unit had zone time on the first chance but couldn’t get it set up the second time around. The second unit found goals from Andrew Mangipane and Milan Lucic to put the visitors up.
Full Pension Line
I like the story as much as the next guy.
Cup pedigree filtering through the roster, the veteran fourth line leads the way in a simplified role that they’re happy to fill.
And all of that is true.
But there is an element of romanticism in the way the fourth line has been talked about this season. Coming into the game they were the only unit; forward or defense pairing, that was under the 50% mark in expected goals, and they were well under at 41%.
Tonight much of the same as they got worked pretty good, and gave up the second goal late in the second.
Someone has to play the fourth line, and yeah it’s going to be a slog as you don’t get a lot of minutes and you’re not out there with a lot of NHL talent, but the idea that they are leading the way in the Sutter system is somewhat overstated.
Road Warriors
Man this team has been solid on the road.
That usually comes with some disappointment at home though as you can never have everything going well. But that’s now 10-2-2, yep 10 wins on the road in 14 starts to start the season as the Flames turn a pretty tough schedule to start the season into a huge bank of points towards a playoff spot.
Getting points in these games, against their division is key if they want to continue to add some buffer to their standings off the strength of their strong start.
Of Course Mangiapane
No goals and a quiet homestand for Andrew Mangiapane in Calgary.
But you just knew putting on those sweet white road sweaters was the tonic, and just like that he strikes in the first period; his 16th of the season with 15 of them on the road.
Not sure what he has against Calgary.
Kylington Tough Night on the Blades
For such an amazing skater I’m always baffled at how often Oliver Kylington loses an edge or balance or both and falls down.
This season with the player becoming a fixture in the top four we see less of it, so I think it was a nerves thing to some degree, but tonight he fell on his own three times in the first period, including twice on the last minute and change on one shift.
Don’t get me wrong he had a solid first period, and the stumbles didn’t effect the outcome at all, as he had a great backcheck shorthanded, turning the puck back up the ice for a goal and a second assist.
Kylington played a pretty big role in the overall second powerplay as well, getting himself into the right side / off side one timer position on powerplay number two and causing some havoc. Just amazing how important he’s becoming to the Flames on a day to day basis.
But back to the original point, he’s likely the best skater on the team, so it’s just bizarre how often he blows a tire.
Special Teams
Special teams pretty much won them this one, as they were less than perfect five on five.
Two first period, second unit powerplay goals provided the difference in a one goal game, as the penalty killers were perfect in killing both King’s powerplays.
The Flames continue to flex with top ten units on both sides of the puck.
Standings and Record
The win moves the Flames back into first in the conference with 33 points, though the Oilers have two games in hand. In terms of points % the Flames are 5th overall behind Edmonton, Florida, the Rangers and Toronto.
The Flames at 14-4-5 have an 8 point lead on the 9th place team in the West and are starting to create a gap over the 3rd and 4th place teams in the Pacific.
Counting Stats
Shots: Flames 32/ Kings 42
Face Offs: Flames 46% / Penguins 54%
Powerplay: Flames 2-4 / Penguins 0-2
Fancy Stats
The Flames were not at their best five on five, but the numbers show they were effective in keeping the high danger stuff at bay despite spending way too much time in their own zone, and relying on their goaltender, Jacob Markstrom too often. Five on five they had 41% of the shot attempts with period splits of 48%/46% and 29% respectively. In terms of five on five expected goals, the Flames only had 44%, and for high danger scoring chances the Flames had 54%, with a 13-11 split. The third period finished as a tire fire, but the first half of it was shaping up as solid road hockey.
In all situations the Flames had 45% of the shot attempts, 53% of the expected goals, and 55% of the high danger splits. So it’s not hard to see the making of a road victory.
Individually the Flames were led by their top line as Matthew Tkachuk, Johnny Gaudreau and Elias Lindholm had 69%, 59% and 58% of the five on five shot attempts respectively. The rest of the team was under water on the night with Trevor Lewis at the bottom of the pile with only 15%.
