It was a great opportunity to learn a little more about the Calgary Flames, the 2021-22 Darryl Sutter led edition.
With back to back losses on the road, the second of which came with a blown lead it was always going to be interesting to see how the team showed up facing a third straight loss, something they hadn’t done all season.
With the Hurricanes in town it was even more of a test, as they to date on the schedule, represent that Spiderman pointing at Spiderman meme in that they are off to a good start, play fast, and are no fun to play against.
So although the Flames lost a 2-1 overtime decision to their visitors, the fact that it was a low event, hard fought game with Calgary coming up a bit short in terms of bounces is a good sign.
Take the point.
The Lineup
The only change from a disappointing collapse? in San Jose is in goal where Jacob Markstrom comes in for backup Daniel Vladar; Vladar losing his first regulation game in his young Calgary career on Tuesday night.
So on the blueline no change despite some possible issues with Oliver Kylington and a recall of Juuso Valimaki that has been reversed (Kylington played Tuesday and didn’t miss any time). So it’s Noah Hanifin with Rasmus Andersson, Chris Tanev with Oliver Kylington, and Nikita Zadorov with Erik Gudbranson.
Up front it’s good to see rookie Adam Ruzicka getting another go after scoring his first NHL goal from the fourth line in San Jose on Tuesday. Ruzicka will continue to center Brad Richardson and Trevor Lewis. The first line intact of course with Elias Lindholm between Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk, Mikael Backlund between Blake Coleman and Andrew Mangiapane, and Sean Monahan with Milan Lucic and Dillon Dube.
Line Metrics
xGF%
Gaudreau – Lindholm – Tkachuk 66.1%
Coleman – Backlund – Mangiapane 66.1%
Lucic – Monahan – Dube 61.5%
Richardson – Ruzicka – Lewis NA
Hanifin – Andersson 58.5%
Kylington – Tanev 57.0%
Zadorov – Gudbranson 50.6%
Goals Saved + Avg
Markstrom +12.1
Defenders Balled Out
Sutter went after his defenseman specifically after the San Jose game, suggesting the six of them treated the game like an exhibition.
So it was interesting to see who from the six would bounce back or not after the berating.
As it turns out the second and third pair got right back on track, but the first pairing had a really rough evening, spending far too much time in their own zone.
Dribbling Pucks
Everyone once and a while you see a player pull a puck off a goal line or just before it gets to the line itself.
Not sure I’ve ever seen it done two and a half times by the same team in the same game though, something that certainly played a role in the Flames coming up short in regulation.
Not suggesting any of them were in, as the correct call was made on the close one, but man that’s close to a completely different out come.
Quite the night.
Special Teams
Neither team hit the scoresheet up a man, but the edge goes to the Hurricanes as they thwarted five Calgary attempts vs three of their own.
Throw in a rare sighting; a defenseman on a penalty shot with Noah Hanifin failing and the Canes walk away with the special teams.
Standings and Record
The Flames get a point which keeps the pace up in the West, especially with the Oilers losing their fourth straight in regulation.
Calgary is now four points up on the Oilers with Edmonton having two games in hand, and a points % lead at .667 to .640. The Ducks have crept up and passed the Oilers though they’ve played an extra game.
Calgary has only a six point bulge on the closest non playoff team to give you an indication of how little a great start means.
Counting Stats
Shots: Flames 27 / Canes 26
Face Offs: Flames 51% / Canes 49%
Powerplay: Flames 0-5 / Canes 0-3
Fancy Stats
The underlying stats reflect pretty much what you’d expect from two solid defensive teams going toe to toe on a Thursday night in December; low event hockey! Five on five the Flames had 55% of the shot attempts with period splits of 54%/62% and 50% respectively. In terms of five on five expected goals, the Flames had 52%, and for high danger scoring chances the Flames had 55%, with a 6-5 split. The goaltenders were solid, but so too were the defenders in front of them.
In all situations the Flames had 53% of the shot attempts, 52% of the expected goals, and 59% of the high danger splits.
Individually the Flames were led by Adam Ruzicka with 67% of the five on five shot attempts, though he played only eight minutes. Nikita Zadorov, Erik Gudbranson, Johnny Gaudreau and Dillon Dube were all at 65%, having solid nights. Other players in the 60s included Sean Monahan, Oliver Kylington and Milan Lucic. Noah Hanifin and Rasmus Andersson had a rough night both hovering around 30%.
