That was rowdy!
The teams were feeling it. The crowd was feeling it.
And with that you get a great hockey game.
The Flames full money for a 3-1 victory on New Year’s Eve, incredibly putting them into a playoff spot for January 1st, 2025. Didn’t see that coming.
They continue to make a mockery of the preseason predictions.
Good on them. They’re doing it with young players; tonight great games again from Dustin Wolf, Connor Zary, Matt Coronato and Kevin Bahl.
The Lineup
After the loss in Vegas, three changes for the Flames tonight. Daniil Miromanov comes out for Joel Hanley again, and Andrei Kuzmenko sits for Walker Duehr. The final change in goal where Dustin Wolf gets the New Years start after Dan Vladar played well in Vegas on Sunday night.
No change to the top line with Nazem Kadri between Jonathan Huberdeau and Martin Pospisil, Mikael Backlund back with Blake Coleman and Matt Coronato, a third line with Connor Zary between Yegor Sharangovich and Jakob Pelletier, and a return to the usual fourth line of Kevin Rooney with Ryan Lomberg and Walker Duehr.
One the blueline we see Rasmus Andersson and Kevin Bahl. Mackenzie Weegar with Joel Hanley and Jake Bean with Brayden Pachal on the third pairing.
Dustin Wolf with the start in goal, as stated.
Pre Game Stats Dive
A lots been made about Dustin Wolf’s contributions to keeping the Flames in the playoff hunt, and for good reason.
But he’s not the only young player making a difference.
Here is a list of the top five forwards on the team in terms of xGF60 five on five.
| Player | xGF60 |
| Jakob Pelletier | 3.14 |
| Blake Coleman | 1.95 |
| Mikael Backlund | 1.76 |
| Matt Coronato | 1.95 |
| Connor Zary | 1.49 |
In that top five you see three young players; back to back to back first round picks to be precise and then the two dependable warhorses.
Pelletier has been interesting to watch, as he had a high number in his first three games, but then continues to generate most games when put on the ice. I think we are seeing that tonight with Pelletier back to Zary’s line and Kuzmenko back out of the lineup.
Defensively the top five isn’t the who’s who of young players, but more a veteran mix.
| Player | xGA60 |
| Anthony Mantha | 1.99 |
| Andrei Kuzmenko | 2.20 |
| Martin Pospisil | 2.21 |
| Mikael Backlund | 2.25 |
| Yegor Sharangovich | 2.28 |
It is interesting to see two of the guys struggling offensively; Andrei Kuzmenko and Yegor Sharangovich both being somewhat effective defensively.
Backlund of course, is seen on both lists.
Mantha with very limited minutes; the true #5 should have been Ryan Lomberg
Wolf’s Start
Flames up 1-0 in the first, but probably should have been down 3-1 if not for Dustin Wolf in the first 20. Stoned the Canucks on what looked like tap ins on three occasions.
Less busy in the second but solid when he needed to be.
The only one past him was a high deflection on a Vancouver powerplay, but he only faced five third period shots.
Odds and Sods
Dustin Wolf is elite along the ice. Elite. He may be the best. He’s going to get beat high on tips an unseen shots once in a while, but on the ice he’s 10 points ahead of his counterparts. Tonight he stoned the Canucks twice along the ice in what looked like tap ins. Talented little guy. … Speaking of talent, another solid start from Matt Coronato. Rang one off the post early, distributed the puck well, and then makes a diving play defensively to keep the Canucks off the board. He’s a player. … That was quite the second period. Three fights, a Pius Suter kicking motion, a failed five on three and a boat load of animosity. Fun for a New Year’s Eve. The fights featured two from Ryan Lomberg and another from Kevin Bahl, two of the three agreed upon. … Speaking of Suter, sure looked like a kick, it will be interesting if he faces any NHL attention. You can’t do that. … Calgary’s five on three woes continue. They just don’t generate much, and when they do they don’t take the look and shoot the puck. The best play on the sequence was the Coronato / Andersson swap with Andersson set up by Coronato for a one timer but he passed it off. That was the shot. … Jon Abbott is starting to grow on me. Losing a great one like Rick Ball is tough, but Abbott is very much up to the task. Maybe a little less banter and humour, but he’s pretty consistent, and doesn’t over do it. Solid play by play guy. … Canucks tie it in the third period, but the Flames are unphased and go back ahead on a Nazem Kadri goal and ice it with a Jonathan Huberdeau empty netter.
Fancy Stats
The Flames were full money for their 60 minute effort in this one; running the table on most of the underlying stats. The Flames, five on five, had 61% (50%/72%/66%) of the shot attempts, 61% of the high danger chances, and 58% of the expected goals. In all situations they had 57% of the shot attempts, 58% of the high danger chances and 62% of the expected goals.
Individually, the Flames were led by Mackenzie Weegar posting an xGF% of 85% on the night. He was the best player on the ice all night. His defense partner had the same mark as Joel Hanley was at 85%. Nazem Kadri, Martin Pospisil, Jonathan Huberdeau and Connor Zary had great nights as well. Mikael Backlund uncharacteristically at the bottom with a 18% night.
