Last year the Flames were money in back to back games, going 6-2-2 on the second night, something that you wouldn’t expect from tired hockey teams.
Tonight, coming off the win last night in Buffalo, the Flames had their starter Jacob Markstrom rested and ready, and he didn’t disappoint in putting in a solid night in the cage.
The skaters couldn’t finish though, as the Flames went down 3-1 to Columbus in game four of their five game road trip.
The final contest is Sunday afternoon in Detroit, where the Flames will be looking to even up the trip and bring it home at .500.
The Lineup
Skaters stay the same, and back to Markstrom in goal.
So it’s 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.
Jacob Markstrom back in the nets, with his 4th start of the season.
Line Metrics Coming In
xGF%
Huberdeau – Lindholm – Mangiapane 66.7%
Coleman – Backlund – Coronato 66.7%
Ruzicka – Kadri – Dube 46.7%
Greer – Sharangovich – Duehr 61.5%
Hanifin – Andersson 46.8%
Zadorov – Weegar 40.9%
Gilbert – Tanev 58.8%
Goals Saved + Avg
Markstrom +0.5
Vladar -0.3
Trend Tracker:
Positive steps forward in game four for most metrics, a trend we’ve seen in all three games since the opening victory of the Jets.
The Flames now have three of four lines in the mid 60s in expected goals, and the Kadri line taking steady steps towards breaking even.
On the blueline Dennis Gilbert seems to be the answer for the third pairing and the top pairing is recovering from a deep hole they dug in game one.
Remaining issue is pairing #2 (Zadorov/Weegar) … the weak link on the blueline right now.
Pairings Swap?
Markstrom’s Start
Honestly great.
No change on the game’s first goal on a two on one, and then made some huge saves to keep his team in it through 40 minutes.
When the dust settled he gave up two goals vs an expected total of 2.51 so a solid start for the Flames number one netminder.
Tough Game for Young Top Niners
Thought both Matt Coronato and Adam Ruzicka had tough games managing the puck for Calgary; something that stood out in the top nine with the Flames inability to sustain an attack.
Both players looked a bit weak on their sticks, over handling the puck, and having defenders descend on them and take it away … far too often.
Something they’ll need to clean up as Calgary is counting on both of them in the top nine to make quick plays.
Huberdeau Metrics
Was looking at some underlying metrics for Jonathan Huberdeau and how the first four games this season (not including tonight) match up against last year, and his big seasons in Florida.
Five on five he’s actually up on all his career averages.
Individual expected goals/60 … 0.97 (coming in his best season was two years ago at 0.86)
Individual scoring chances/60 … 11.07 (coming in his best season was two years ago at 10.16)
Individual high danger chances/60 … 7.38 (coming in his best season was two years ago at 4.46)
Shots/60 … 8.61 (coming in his best season was two years ago at 8.08)
All those five on five stats suggesting he’s playing better than his 115 point season. Even his points/60 to start the season (3.69) is a career best.
The rub? The powerplay.
His last four years in Florida he averaged roughly 7.0 points/60 on the powerplay. In Calgary last year 3.97. This year zero.
Marc Savard is going to play a very big role this season.
Game Flow
Really sleepy start for the Flames off the opening drawn. Terrible puck management creating numerous turnovers, and too much pressure on Jacob Markstrom to the start the game. He didn’t falter though, giving his teammates a chance to get untracked. Calgary gets rolling in the first on back to back penalties to the Jackets, testing Spencer and almost getting ahead. No score.
Second period saw the Flames with a much better start as their first two shifts were completely in the Columbus end. But it’s the Jackets that strike first when Nikita Zadorov gets stuck on a pinch creating a two on one and a Columbus goal; 1-0 Jackets. Calgary with some good chances but turnovers creating some blue chip chances for the Jackets as well. Stats had Calgary up 2.32 to 1.76 in expected goals through two periods, but the Flames goalless.
Not a great third for the Flames in game two of back to backs. They looked a step behind, started cheating to try and tie it and give up the insurance goal pretty much putting things away (Noah Hanifin heads back to his side already occupied by Rasmus Andersson). A Johnny Gaudreau turnover (and some help from a linesman) create a shorthanded turnover with Backlund sending Lindholm in alone and it’s 2-1 and a much more interesting finish. Empty net goal puts it away.
Odds and Sods
Can’t hurt to have Nazem Kadri fighting. Who cares who he drops the gloves with, just get that emotion back in his game. In this case he creates a Calgary powerplay by getting Sillinger upset, and then drops the gloves with the youngun after he took the minor. … Odd to have the Flames near the top of the pile in terms of face offs. The Flames have been a middling draw team for years, and they largely have the same guys taking faceoffs. Biggest change is a huge start from Elias Lindholm to start the season. … Another game without that ugly first goal on a first shot against a Calgary goaltender, specifically Jacob Markstrom. … In fact tonight’s game was the first time the Flames didn’t score the game’s first goal. … Not a great night for the top nine in my mind, all three lines weren’t generating much of anything five on five making it pretty tough to compete. … Interesting finish with the Rasmus Andersson hit on Patrick Laine. Laine was bent over so his head was lowered, but it did look like Andersson went into his head. Melee ensued. Good to see Jonathan Huberdeau jumping right in to protect Andersson against a very big Gudbranson.
Special Teams
Both teams 0/2 on the powerplay, but the Flames score shorthanded to win the battle of special teams again tonight.
Calgary scored a powerplay goal in each of their first three games, but nothing in the last two.
Come on Savard!
Standings and Record
The Flames hang on to third in the Pacific with all their rivals not playing tonight. Their .500 record though is equal to both wildcard teams so it’s pretty tight heading into the weekend.
Their road trip sits at 1-2-1 with a key game in Detroit on Sunday to make it a .500 voyage.
Counting Stats
Shots: Flames 38 Jackets 29
Face Offs: Flames 43% / Jackets 57%
Powerplay: Flames 0-2 / Jackets 0-2
Fancy Stats
Not a bad night for the Flames in the micro stat categories. They were out attempted, but had the higher quality stuff but couldn’t convert enough to pick up the two points. Five on five the Flames had 48% of the shot attempts with period splits of 38%/54% and 55% respectively. In terms of five on five expected goals, the Flames had 56%, and for high danger scoring chances the Flames had 67%, with a 10-5 split.
In all situations the Flames had 51% of the shot attempts, 56% of the expected goals, and 65% of the high danger splits. The all situations expected goal totals came out at 3.17 to 2.51.
Individually the Flames were led by Chris Tanev, posting a xGF% of 81% on the night five on five. Pairing mate Dennis Gilbert was second at 80%, Jonathan Huberdeau and Nazem Kadri were in the 70s. Seven players in the 30s at the bottom of the list; the whole fourth line, the top pairing and Mikael Backlund.
