Well at the least the 7th one didn’t hurt him!
A terrible night for Brian Elliott and his new teammates as the most heralded puck blocker to mind the Cowtown twine since Miikka Kiprusoff had a nightmare of first starts in Edmonton yielding six goals on 28 shots as the Flames fell 7-4 to the Oilers.
The best news for Calgary is the fact that the two teams get back at it in 48 hours, as the netminder and the team will be looking forward to putting this one behind them. Truthfully, the Flames were actually pretty solid in a sloppy game, out shooting the Oilers 41-28 but finding a way to lose.
Lots more hockey before mid April.
The Flow
Not the easiest start for two NHL coaches that just spent a month ingraining systems, defensive responsibility and heck even line changes, something they’ve actually practiced through camp. Four goals, a lot of spotty goaltending, giveaways, and break downs all over the ice. The Oilers score first when Niklas Grossman flipped the puck up the middle, a giveaway, resulting in a tipped goal by Patrick Maroon, the first in the new building’s history (I was sure Michael Backlund was going to be the guy). The Flames tied it quickly (too quickly for my new Bud glass that alerted me to immediate success about 4 seconds early) when Alex Chiasson wrapped the puck from behind the net and then pounded in his rebound. The Oilers back in front again when Grossman goes on the offensive but finds no teammates covering for him (think that’s on rookie Matthew Tkachuk) creating a two on one the other way and a goal for Pitlick, Elliott’s woes continue. Finally a terrible change resulted in a Zach Kassian goal on a breakaway, one that the befuddled Flames goaltender had no chance. Tough period.
A crazy second to follow a crazy first. The Flames come out in the first four or five minutes and really put it to the Oilers, especially on their powerplay but fail to beat Talbot despite Gaudreau having his hands in the air thinking they did. Then the penalties begin, as the Flames take back to back penalties but come out all right scoring back to back shorthanded goals. First newcomer Troy Brouwer intercepts a pass and walks in to beat Talbot with a great goal. Three minutes later a great individual play by Michael Backlund is finished by linemate Michael Frolik and suddenly the game is tied. Not so fast Calgary, as another miscue from Elliott gives Connor McDavid his first of the season, a play where the goaltender badly misplayed a back shot off the boards leaving the star all alone on the far post. Then Gaudreau is hooked and held with no penalty leading to a turn over four on four with the puck coming up the ice to McDavid who pulls away on Dennis Wideman. Elliott thwarts it with a poke check but the ref signals a penalty shot and well you know what happened from there. A good second left in ruins. Calgary out shoots the Oilers 29-19, but trail 5-3 through forty.
Could the Flames find a way to come back from two twice in the same game? Quite doubtful but they gave it the college try out shooting the Oilers 12-9 in the third, exchanging goals but not getting any closer in dropping one to the Oilers. The Oilers make it 6-3 when an attempt to ring the boards hits an official and bounces straight to Jesse Pulijarvi who banks it off Elliott’s blocker and in for a 6-3 lead. Dennis Wideman adds a goal on a powerplay to make it 6-4 before Jordan Eberle puts things away with an empty net goal with the Flames trying to make it a photo finish. An entertaining but bizarre night in Edmonton.
1. Connor McDavid: With the game recently notched at three, the kid takes the game over. Sure it was a poor bank and an undeserved penalty shot but he finished. Got it done. Give him credit.
2. Kris Russell: Have to love this guy. Awkward first game in Edmonton against the Flames but he picks up two assists, one coming after a great defensive play on a three on two.
3. Mikael Backlund: Two assists and looked solid all night anchoring the team’s third line or third second line?
Big Save
The Elliott save on Eberle was a gooder, but I’m going to go with timing over difficulty and go with the Talbot save through traffic on Mark Giordano late in the second with the Flames on a late powerplay. A goal there sets up a very different third.
The Goat
It’s one game so I certainly wouldn’t over do the reaction to a rough night, but Brian Elliott had a really rough night in the Calgary net. Wouldn’t fault him on the first, but the second and fourth goals were awful, and the quantity on the evening unacceptable. His .736 save percentage through 40 minutes would make Hiller blush.
Mr. Clutch
The Flame’s fourth line. I like it. Solid night for three unheralded players. Chiasson scores the goal, all three finish plus one and they prove that Calgary may have a little more depth up front.
Odds and Ends
Thought it was interesting to see the Oilers alter their opening night lineup on game day, moving Draisaitl back to his natural position of center in the place of rookie Drake Caggiula who was scratched. It was a puzzling move to have a rookie center a 2nd year player out of his element. Not to be out done however, the Flames broke up one of the league’s best defense pairings, dressed a guy that many thought was done for in the NHL and promoted a guy that hammered a linesman to top pairing! Clearly glass houses. … Sure he’s a guy without a job, sure he’s not a star at all and wasn’t sought after by the rest of the league, but you just have to love stealing Kris Versteeg out from under the Oilers an hour after the waiver wire closed to start the season. Brad Treliving doesn’t strike me as a guy that gets mixed up in trying to outdo a rival, but it sure worked out perfectly. And then to see how close he came to scoring in Edmonton in the first period? Hollywood! … John Shannon has to stop grabbing people’s arms when he interviews them. I’m an open minded guy, but it really looks awkward! … The second period slid into penalty filled oblivion, but I thought the Monahan/Gaudreau/Versteeg line looked really good in finding each other in the offensive zone. I’d certainly let that line roll for a few more games before making any changes. In fact I’d leave all the lines alone. This was a crazy game, a very difficult contest to judge lines and combinations. I thought the lack of flow to the game kept us from seeing what’s what with the new trios but they all had their moments in the offensive zone and looked good. … Matthew Tkachuk. I thought he did just fine. A penalty in wiping out Kris Russell from behind, some good puck handling down low with Sam Bennett, and some heads up basic hockey all night. Seems like he belongs at this level to me. … Personally I’m glad the two club’s play on Friday and not tomorrow night. Back to backs might mean a change in goaltenders by necessity. With two days they can come right back with Brian Elliott and put this odd night behind them. He’s a goaltender with a solid resume and a pedigree that suggests you just toss this one in the wood chipper and move on. Lets see what he can do on Friday. … The Gulutzan system look? I liked the push all over the ice. The penalty kill did quite well clearly with two shorties versus one against, but even five on five they are way more attack oriented against the puck carrier at all times. It fits their roster much more than Hartley’s style.
Next Up
The same two teams get right back at it on Friday night when the Flames open the season in a building a few older than the one featured tonight. Game time 7pm Sportsnet.
Lines:
Gaudreau – Monahan – Versteeg
Tkachuk – Bennett – Brouwer
Ferland – Backlund – Frolik
Bouma – Stajan – Chiasson
Giordano – Wideman
Brodie – Engelland
Grossman – Hamilton
Elliott
