Man that was a frustrating game to watch.
The Flames were the better team, that was beyond doubt, but they just couldn’t seem to find the range when it came to converting zone time and dominance into actual scoring chances and execution.
In the end the Flames win the game in overtime by a 1-0 score, but throughout the game the shot and chance discrepancy would have been a lot more spacious if the Flames were firing on all cyllinders.
Bottom line it’s a win, even if they surrender a point to the Canucks as well.
That’s four wins in six games, and back to that .600 win percentage level.
The Lineup
Just have to laugh how Darryl Sutter consistently flips the script when it comes to managing his player, especially the young ones. If they play well he is unlikely to throw any praise their way, and if things go against them like they did for Adam Ruzicka in St. Louis he comes out with “neither goal was his fault”, suggesting some patience.
So instead of a change, and specifically Ruzicka coming out of the lineup for say Brad Richardson, it’s status quo up front, on the blueline and in goal for the Flames as they host the Vancouver Canucks.
So it’s Elias Lindholm with Matthew Tkachuk and Johnny Gaudreau, Mikael Backlund with Blake Coleman and Andrew Mangiapane, Sean Monahan with Milan Lucic and Dillon Dube, and Ruzicka between Trevor Lewis and Brett Ritchie.
On the blueline Noah Hanifin with Rasmus Andersson, Oliver Kylington with Chris Tanev, and Nikita Zadorov with Erik Gudbranson.
Jacob Markstrom gets the start in goal.
Line Metrics
xGF%
Gaudreau – Lindholm – Tkachuk 63.8%
Mangiapane – Backlund – Coleman 64.9%
Lucic – Monahan – Dube 67.3%
Lewis – Ruzicka- Ritchie 57.1%
Hanifin – Andersson 56.9%
Kylington – Tanev 59.3%
Zadorov – Gudbranson 58.8%
Goals Saved + Avg
Markstrom +7.8
Sketchy First Period
The Canucks did absolutely nothing in the first period, but the Flames despite having the lion’s share of the play just didn’t seem to be sharp bobbling their way to a pretty ineffective 20 minutes.
Their best chances weren’t shots … either fired wide or hitting iron, and they shot pucks into blocks and didn’t have the flow we’re used to seeing five on five and on the powerplay.
As I said the gave up nothing, just one shot on goal, short handed on a weak back hander, but it could have been a 3-0 period with some tighter game play.
Myers Penalty
My vote would be good call.
If you’re investigating the crime you have a clear shoulder to head clearly stunning Trevor Lewis. But you also have motive as Tyler Myers was heaping upset for getting a Lewis glove into his mush and pissing the big defenseman off.
Credit for Brett Ritchie for coming to the aid of his teammate, and credit to the officials for evening up the retaliation under the “code” and giving the Flames a five minute powerplay.
Hanging Around
Man that felt a bit like the Columbus games with a few different wrinkles.
One, the Flames weren’t executing on the night, so although they carried the play and deserved to win the game they didn’t have the flow and the sharpness to their game to put it away. Shot attempts aren’t shots and in this one the Flames just couldn’t put pucks through Vancouver checkers and their passing game wasn’t in the shooting zone far too often resulting in meek attempts.
The other wrinkle? Calgary didn’t have that 1-0 lead. It was a raw 0-0 game with far too many opportunities for the Canucks to win a game in regulation that they had zero business even being in.
Oliver Starts OT
I think Darryl Sutter gets a bad rap for not promoting young players when he coaches.
Sure Dillon Dube and Juuso Valimaki had their share of ups and down since Sutter took over, but he also recognized Oliver Kylington’s coming out party this fall and gave him a full time top four spot.
The evolution continued tonight with Kylington starting overtime on a trio with Elias Lindholm and Johnny Gaudreau.
That was a classic bench celebration on the winner with Jacob Markstrom coming in hard to press the pile and celebrate the victory.
Lindholm Penalty?
JT Miller was trying to go it alone in overtime and had his stick knocked out of his hands on an Elias Lindholm backcheck.
Was it a penalty?
I’d vote yes, he clearly got the stick into his hands as he was making the move.
But I’m still butt hurt over that Mikael Backlund tripped down overtime game against Dallas this year so I’m calling this one karma.
World even. Move on.
Markstrom Doughnut
That’s now three games in about ten days where Jacob Markstrom has had to be solid in a game where his teammates and dominating and he’s not getting much work.
Last week against Florida the Flames were pushing the play but didn’t have the lopsided score they were after with Markstrom making some key saves helping the team on their way.
In Columbus on Wednesday the Flames were all over the Jackets but only had a 1-0 lead to show for it. Markstrom turns them away and preserves the shut out as his teammates put the game away in a laugher.
Tonight pretty much the same thing without the lead as he makes some key stops to get the game to overtime and pick up his 7th shut out of the season.
NHL record in sight?
Fourth Line Driving
Interesting to see the fourth line leading the way tonight for the Flames, at least in terms of driving the play.
Honestly I think it comes down to two things.
One Adam Ruzicka does a heck of a lot more with the puck when he gets it than Brad Richardson. And secondly, Brett Ritchie is a pretty fierce forward on the forecheck.
The combination has that trio spending a lot more time in the offensive zone than we’ve seen from the fourth line this season.
Has Ruzicka “arrived”?
Special Teams
The Canucks win the special teams battle in this one, though almost be default.
Both teams were terrible with the man advantage, ham handing passes, not finding shooting lanes and generally punting on their opportunities.
The visitors get the edge due to Calgary having the extra chance, and a five minute to boot.
Standings and Record
With the win the Flames move to 21-13-6, good for 48 points in 40 games, and back to the .600 points percentage.
That puts them back in the second wild card spot for points if you ignore the games in hand.
The .600 win percentage still has them in 6th in the West, just .011 behind the Vegas Knights. The Oilers are now the 7th place team in win percentage after picking up points against some lowly competition.
Counting Stats
Shots: Flames 32 / Canucks 15
Face Offs: Flames 48% / Canucks 52%
Powerplay: Flames 0-4 / Canucks 0-3
Fancy Stats
The Flames were the better team, the right team won the game, but man was that some low event hockey. Five on five the Flames had 64% of the shot attempts with period splits of 78%/58% and 65% respectively. In terms of five on five expected goals, the Flames had 57%, and for high danger scoring chances the Flames had 43%, with a measly 3-4 split. Seven high danger scoring chances combined in the entire game five on five, that’s some pretty pedestrian stuff!
In all situations the Flames had 71% of the shot attempts, 67% of the expected goals, and 55% of the high danger splits.
Individually, the Flames were led by Trevor Lewis with a 85% split of five on five shot attempts on the night with only eight minutes of ice time. Other players in the 80s included Adam Ruzicka and Brett Ritchie, Lewis’ linemates. Four players were in the 70s including; Erik Gudbranson, Noah Hanifin, Nikita Zadorov and Blake Coleman. Not a single Calgary player was under water on the night.
