The Flames got off to a bad start, put forth a good effort, and found themselves with another loss. It’s getting more and more difficult to find things to say about this team without sounding like a broken record. 3 games ago the Flames had finally gotten above .500 and were 4 points out of 4th place in the west. 3 games later the Flames find themselves in last place in the West and 6 points out of a playoff spot.
On The Line
Once again, a chance to get back to the .500 mark. The Flames could really use a win to give them some confidence. Time is running out and the trade deadline is right around the corner.
The Flow
Just your standard period for the Calgary Flames. With the game only 5 minutes old, Giordano would lose his man in the slot and would take a hooking penalty trying to get back into position. 30 seconds into the resulting power play Dustin Brown, completely alone at the side of the net, gets a pass right onto the tape of his stick from Slava Voynov and slides the puck into the side of the net to put the Kings up 1-0. 4 minutes after that Jake Muzzin would make a nice play to get the puck to Jarrett Stoll, who would make no mistake with it and roof it over Joey Macdonald and put the Kings up by 2. A very physical period by both teams would finish off uneventfully.
The most eventful thing about the second period may have been that I almost fell asleep. The Kings started to lock down defensively. A lot of neutral zone play and shots mostly from the outside led to very little for both teams.
The Flames tried to crawl back into it in the third. Michael Backlund made a nice move around Alec Martinez and slide the puck past Quick to break the shut out bid and draw the Flames with in one. Dustin Brown would score his second goal of the night into an empty net to give the Kings a 3-1 victory.
Three Stars
1.Dustin Brown:Hit everything that moved and scored 2 goals, including the GWG.
2.Jake Muzzin: Made a nice move to hold the blueline and get the puck to Jarrett Stoll on the second LA goal. The LA defenseman looked dangerous offensively and moved the puck out of his zone really well.
3.Michael Backlund: Strong night in the face-off dot, shooting the puck any chance he got and he scored a goal for his troubles. A solid night from the Flames youngster.
Big Save
The Joey Macdonald poke check on Carter, who was all alone in front of the net, in the second gets the nod for the big save tonight.
The Hit
Part way through the third, with Dustin Brown trying to carry the puck out of his own zone, Corey Sarich does what Sarich does best and steps into Brown, knocking him backwards. The hit seemed to give Calgary a little life, as Backlund would get the Flames within 1 not long after.
The Goat
Geez…where was anyone tonight? But I’ll go with Giordano tonight. Last game I felt it was a toss up between Iginla and Giordano, and tonight Giordano’s costly penalty in the first put the Flames behinds the 8-ball, nice and early, once again.
Mr Clutch
Mr. Clutch can be shared by the only 3 players who showed up tonight. Backlund, Comeau, and MacDonald all had good outings tonight.
Odds and Ends
It’s a shame to see the team respond to a very important road trip by putting up 3 straight losses. The effort was there but, again, it fails to translate into a win…While being 6 points out of 8th with 24 games left doesn’t seem that insurmountable, having to leapfrog 7 teams to do it sure does …The mantra from ownership and management is to win, but at what point do you call it a season and try to get yourself in a better position for next year?…Blake Comeau had another strong game tonight. I’m actually starting to see how he scored 24 goals 2 seasons ago…Not only is this team failing to win, they are failing to be entertaining while losing…I not sure what happened to Mark Giordano but he hasn’t been very good this year. It seems like he is over-thinking things when he is on the ice. Hopefully he starts to simplify his game soon…
Next Up
The Flames head home for a game against the Red Wings, Wednesday night on TSN at 7:30PM.
Lines:
Tanguay – Stajan – Iginla
Cammalleri – Cervenka – Hudler
Comeau – Backlund – Stempniak
McGratton – Begin – Jackman
Giordano – Bouwmeester
Brodie – Wideman
Butler – Sarich
MacDonald
