Before the homestand Peter Loubardias of Sportsnet 960 fame suggested the Flames were far from done, and would win 9 games in the month of December to get back into things.
I have to admit I laughed on the way to work when I heard said prediction.
Ten days later the Flames are putting the Sabres to bed at the Saddledome to win their fourth straight on the homestand, this one with another wild finish and a 4-3 win, giving them a perfect 4-0 record for the month.
This “particular” sportscaster may have been on to something.
The Flow
A tepid start to this one as the first period featured very few shots and even fewer blue chip scoring chances. The Flames held the territorial advantage through the first five or so minutes with the Sabres failing to even generate a shot. Calgary had two powerplays, the first a dud, and the second had great possession but only two shots, none really all that deadly. The best shift of the period belonged to the Bennett-Granlund-Colborne line as Bennett weaved in and around the Sabre cage creating a few chances. Score tied at zeroes through 20.
More of the same in the second period where the tight checking by both clubs continued. The Sabres get a powerplay when Bolleg ripped the helmet off Jamie McGinn, an infraction that the Flames managed to kill off. Bolleg joined Monahan on a rush out of the box and the Flames go up when Monahan gets the puck just outside the crease, kicked the puck up to his stick and worked a dribbler across the goal line. More careful play until late in the period when Colborne passes the puck out front to Hamilton who does a back pass to Granlund for his second goal in two games and third on the season since his recall. Calgary up 2-0 after two.
The third period certainly didn’t fit the previous two as the teams combined for 5 third period goals in a wild one. First the Sabres get back to back powerplays on careless plays by Sam Bennett and score on both to tie things up, the game had that uh oh kind of feel. Then the Flames go right back up again when Gaudreau finds Monahan cruising into the slot with amazing vision through traffic. Flames win right? Nope, the Sabres tie it again when Ristolanen gets his hattrick by banking the puck of Wideman, tie game. Overtime right? Nope again as the Flames on a rush have Monahan set up Gaudreau this time for the game winner.
Three Stars
1.Sean Monahan : Another strong game for Monahan who had four points in three home games this month, but added two goals and an assist to that streak.
2.Rasmus Ristalanen : Scored a hat trick from the blueline, you don’t see that very often. Sure he had a weak one and a bank goal but they still added up to three.
3.Johnny Gaudreau : Had a rough night going through two with very little working out for the little wizard but then boom, two point third period and the game winner.
Big Save
With the Flames back in front on the Monahan goal in the third Josh Jorges is set up with a wide open chance in the slot with 8 minutes to play but Hiller stands tall by getting his left pad on the puck and directing it to the corner.
The Goat
Chad Johnson. Sorry fellow Calgarian but you can’t give up three goals in the last 20:07 and not wear the goat horns.
Mr. Clutch
Joe Colborne. Was convinced this guy was going to be a game star when the game looked to be heading to the third at a 1-0 score, but the Gaudreau show in the third bumps him down to the clutch roll instead. Impact game filling in for Jiri Hudler.
Odds and Ends
Just amazing to see how many 18 and 19 year old can make an impact in the NHL these days. It used to be one guy a year that would make the grade but in a limited role, with only a superstar or two actually being noticeable. Tonight you have Bennett on one side, Eichel on the other, with Reinhart not as noticeable but on the roster. They stand out. .. Speaking of Eichel, had to be impressed with the way he stood up Hamilton behind the Flames net in the first. Takes a lot of strength and balance to knock NHLers over at the age of 18. … Sigh of relief for fans at the Dome when Johnny Gaudreau returned to play the second period after a scary collision with teammate David Jones in the first. Looked like a classic example of a head to a knee that would result in a concussion. Bullet dodged as the Flames would be in tough to dig out of this hole without their best player. … Speaking of Gaudreau, the consistently creative forward tries a lot of moves on the ice and with that you get mistakes and turnovers, but tonight was one of his rougher evenings when it came to fancy attempts that resulted in the opposition going the other way. … Thought Joe Colborne had a really good night filling in for Jiri HUdler on what I guess is the Flames second line of late. Some good rushes, great work down low and many heads up plays where he found open teammates. … Tough third period for Sam Bennett taking back to back penalties resulting in two Sabre goals, erasing a 2-0 Calgary lead. … A big part of the Flames resurgence has been their offence and a lot of that has come from the blueline coming back to life on the attack. Additional credit however has to go to the emergence of duos throughout the forward group that has given the team chemistry and depth through the four lines. Monahan with Gaudreau, Bennett with Hudler, Backlund with Frolik and Stajan with Colborne have been the four pairs, though illness tonight put that in a blender. Makes it tough to defend against when all four lines have some pop. … Calgary won another game without their special teams once again. The team goes 0/2 on the powerplay and the Sabres managed to score twice on three chances of their own brutal. Part of the problem was goaltending again, though I don’t want to chuck an anvil at Hiller with his flu bug. The first one was a screen, the third fluky, but the second goal was unscreened from the point. ugly. … Calgary is now 3 points out of a playoff spot with games in hand on almost everyone. More importantly though they have teams within reach with a chance to reduce the body count of teams they need to pass. The Avalanche are now in the rearview mirror and the Ducks and Coyotes are both within a point. Amazing.
Next Up
The Flames conclude their 5 game homestand with a game against the Rangers on Saturday night. Game time 8pm on Sportsnet.
Lines:
Johnny Gaudreau – Sean Monahan – David Jones
Sam Bennett – Markus Granlund- Joe Colborne
Mason Raymond – Mikael Backlund – Michael Frolik
Brandon Bolleg – Matt Stajan – Micheal Ferland
Mark Giordano – TJ Brodie
Kris Russell – Dougie Hamilton
Laddy Smid – Dennis Wideman
Kari Ramo
