Pretty solid road game from the Flames.
Leading up to this contest it felt like every Calgary game had a “but” involved in the final summary.
Against Winnipeg they won but they weren’t all that good.
Against Pittsburgh they lost but they had a great first 40.
Against Washington they lost in a shootout but they were the better team.
Tonight there were no buts, the Flames were solid in the road and saw their way to a 4-3 win in Buffalo on Thursday night.
The Lineup
Just the one change expected tonight.
Look to see Elias Lindholm between Jonathan Huberdeau and Andrew Mangiapane, Nazem Kadri with Adam Ruzicka and Dillon Dube, Mikael Backlund with Blake Coleman and Matthew Coronato, and Yegor Sharangovich with AJ Greer and Walker Duehr.
On the blueline Noah Hanifin with Rasmus Andersson, Nikita Zadorov with Mackenzie Weegar, and Dennis Gilbert with Chris Tanev.
But in net it’s a new look with Dan Vladar’s first start of the season.
Line Metrics Coming In
xGF%
Huberdeau – Lindholm – Mangiapane 73.3%
Coleman – Backlund – Coronato 66.7%
Ruzicka – Kadri – Dube 46.2%
Greer – Sharangovich – Duehr 70.0%
Hanifin – Andersson 44.4%
Zadorov – Weegar 43.7%
Gilbert – Tanev 40.0%
Goals Saved + Avg
Markstrom -0.7
Vladar +0.5
Trend Tracker:
The Flames continue to dig themselves out in terms xGF from that odd first game of the season, a contest that had them winning 5-3 but getting badly out played five on five.
The team now has all three defense pairings in the 40s … nothing to write home about but a step up from the cratered numbers from game one. Three of the four forward lines now have numbers close to 70% as they went away from all four lines from that opening night.
Vladar’s first start, but Markstrom has a +0.5 goals saved above expected to start the season. Five on five he’s -3.3, shorthanded he’s +2.6.
Vladar’s Start
Not the best of starts for Vladar on his 23-24 season … two goals in the first period on eight shots, one a bit of a floater.
The rest of the way? Pretty damn solid.
The Flames didn’t give up much over the night, but the goaltender certainly calmed down after a somewhat sketchy first period and only gave up one more goal the rest of the way.
Checkmark for Dan Vladar.
Huska System
It’s early … I’ll say it again … it’s early.
But if this road trip is any indication the shift to zonal defence over man to man from Ryan Huska may just be the bomb for the Calgary Flames.
They’re giving up nothing.
Almost, literally nothing.
The Sabres, much like Penguins and Capitals had a very difficult time generating anything five on five. If you want to hang your hat on a plus through the first four games that’s it.
The Flames may just be elite defensively.
Game Flow
A high scoring first period with both teams scoring twice in the first period. Calgary gets a first and fourth line goal, and Buffalo scores on a 6th defenseman floater and a powerplay snipe from Thompson. Not a great first period for goaltending.
Much better second period for the goaltenders as neither team manage a goal. More action for Levi than Vladar, who saw very little action. Calgary the better team in the second period, but neither team light the lamp.
Three third period goals, two for the Flames and one for the Sabres with the Flames finding the edge and steering home the victory.
Odds and Sods
Another great night for the Flames fourth line; first period goal and another blue chip chance that they didn’t covernt on. Having a fourth line that can keep momentum rolling instead of putting a skid on things has been a huge difference in the Flames forward group so far this season. … Adam Ruzicka gets on the first powerplay unit tonight in place of Matt Coronato. Makes sense for the role that Coronato was playing; the net front presence. Ruzicka is the bigger man, and it frees Coronato up to be a shooter on unit number two. … Glad to see Dennis Gilbert playing tonight in his home town after taking a puck in the face at practice yesterday. I like the guy as the team’s 6th defenseman, at least so far in comparison to Jordan Osterle. … Jakob Pelletier scored his first NHL goal in Buffalo last year, a reminder how frustrating that the other young Calgary forward isn’t in the lineup. Hope we see him in February. At least Connor Zary is off to a good start in the AHL through two games. …
Crazy Third Period Review
Man that’s a tough review for the league and the official set on the ice.
Physics kind of say it looked like it was in …. but refutable truth it tough to call it that way.
So a no call goal is tough, but somewhat understood.
Feels a bit like the Marty Gelinas call in a way but with better NHL resources.
Special Teams
Flames lose their first special teams battle of the season with the Sabres scoring once in their chances and the Flames coming up empty on their chances.
Four games in, and the first special teams loss … that’s not a bad ratio going forward.
Standings and Record
The Flames at 2-1-1 continue to hold down the third spot in the Pacific Division, tied with the LA Kings.
They are 5 points back of the Vegas Knights who are out to a 5-0-0 start.
Not bad!
Counting Stats
Shots: Flames 36 Sabres 27
Face Offs: Flames 55% / Sabres 45%
Powerplay: Flames 0-5 / Sabres 1-5
Fancy Stats
Another solid road effort for the Flames, as they really never found themselves in trouble. Five on five the Flames had 58% of the shot attempts with period splits of 65%/66% and 49% respectively. In terms of five on five expected goals, the Flames had 61%, and for high danger scoring chances the Flames had 63%, with a 10-6 split.
In all situations the Flames had 56% of the shot attempts, 64% of the expected goals, and 68% of the high danger splits. The all situations expected goal totals came out at 3.58 to 2.04.
Individually the Flames were led by Blake Coleman, posting a xGF% of 80% on the night five on five. Four other players were above 70% including; Chris Tanev, Dennis Gilbert, Mikael Backlund, and Matthew Coronato. Only five players were under water … Adam Ruzicka, Nazem Kadri, Dillon Dube, Nikita Zadorov and Mackenzie Weegar.
