It sure feels like this city needs a silver lining.
Sure the Flames dropped another one, this time 6-4 to the St. Louis Blues, moving their record to 1-4-1 and frighteningly close to the rough October witnessed 12 flips of the calendar ago.
However, the Flames did start to generate chances and built some cohesion later in the game. I won’t over state this as they’re still a long way from anything that could be described as chemistry or flow, but sure your silver lining is it’s coming.
The question though; will it be too late?
The Flow
Sadly it was like men versus boys from the drop of the puck. The Blues controlled the pace of play, won most of the puck battles and dictated the course of the game. They were rewarded when Sam Bennett took a holding penalty, as new old Blue David Perron redirected a puck past Chad Johnson from the slot with seconds left on their powerplay. The Flames had a powerplay of their own, but couldn’t generate a whole lot. Period ends up 1-0 St. Louis, shots 13 to 8 for the Blues, shot attempts 26-23.
Things started to go Calgary’s way in the second when they scored back to back goals to erase a 1-0 deficit and put themselves up 2-1. First Sam Bennett threw a big hit, jarring the puck loose and sending Troy Brouwer and Kris Versteeg on a two on one, Brouwer floats the puck to the middle and Versteeg one times it, his first as a Flame. Then the Flames score again when Micheal Ferland scores a soft one past Jake Allen. Momentum wasn’t their friend very long, however as the Blues score three straight in the period to put themselves back in front, with a 4-2 lead through two periods on goals by Perron, Stastny and Berglund. Shots 27 to 18 for the Blues as the Flames looked to have lost control of the proceedings.
The Blues pretty much put things away in the third with Perron’s hat trick goal, making it 5-2 for the visitors. Mark Giordano brings it closer when he wires a one timer past Allen to make it 5 to 3 but the lead proved to steep to overcome for the Flames. Johnny Gaudreau came close on a dribbler through traffic that alluded Allen and rolled towards the goal line but the Blues’ goaltender managed to corral it befor it crossed the line. The Flames to make it closer however, when Troy Brouwer provides the screen for Versteeg’s second of the night from the blueline, a one timer that was actually shanked but that was as close as they got. Rough homestand with an overtime win in three starts.
1. David Perron:Wasn’t getting much done offensively early in the season, but a hattrick tonight will certainly improve his stats line.
2. Alex Pietrangelo : Canadian World Cup Champ is such a stalwart on the Blues blueline. Chips in with two assists tonight for St. Louis.
3. Kris Versteeg : A healthy scratch candidate for many fans heading into this one, but scores his first two goals in Flame’s silks.
Big Save
The end result wasn’t there, but Chad Johnson’s left pad save on David Perron was a beauty, however Perron collected his rebound and beat Johnson high before any Flame defenders could reel him in.
The Goat
Another night of playing Calgary’s best against the opposition best, and another night with the Calgary group coming up very very short. Gaudreau and Sean Monahan were both -4 on the night getting absolutely diced by the Blues top players.
Mr. Clutch
Troy Brouwer. A tough start to the season by the Flames but you couldn’t ask for much more from Troy Brouwer and his start in Flame’s colours. An assist tonight, and a +1, he now has 4 points in 6 games for the Flames.
Odds and Ends
Three interesting moves by Gulutzan for tonight’s game. First he went with the hotter hand, Chad Johnson in net instead of the sentimental choice of Brian Elliott against his former teammates. Secondly Brett Kulak takes a seat for Dennis Wideman, who had been a healthy scratch for the past three games. But most eye catching was the healthy scratch of rookie Matthew Tkachuk, with Freddie Hamilton taking his place. It doesn’t have to be an alarming move, as sitting an 18 year old with a nine game contract year burn target buys you more time before the player gets to that magic number but it certainly suggests the young man is more likely to head back to junior now than I would have thought a week ago. … Still something missing from the Flames tonight, and I have to admit it’s had me questioning why I thought this team was so good on paper coming into this season. Bottom line the Flame’s best players have not been all that great. Monahan and Gaudreau continue to struggle, all three of the big blueliners are playing out of character, Brian Elliott isn’t off to a good start, and Sam Bennett up until tonight has been a no show. … Speaking of Bennett, finally the guy showed a pulse. Took a bad penalty in the first period, something we’ve seen on a few occasions this season already, but then went to work physically and picked up two assists. He came into the night scoreless in 5 games with a -2 so that’s a start. … Chad Johnson gave up 4 goals again tonight, but you really couldn’t fault him on any of them. A powerplay tip, a rebound, a laser, and a guy in all alone. Continues to be a solid backup goaltender for Calgary and a great story. … Erik Duhatchek keeps harping on how early it is, and I get that, but with every loss you start thinking of the math required to get back into this thing and it seems pretty daunting. With 76 games to go and the Flames needing about 94 points to be in the hunt late, the Flames need 91 points in the final 76 games which is 15 games over .500. Ouch.
Next Up
The Flames travel to the Windy City to take on the Blackhawks on Monday night. Game time 6.30pm on Sportsnet.
Lines:
Gaudreau – Monahan – Frolik
Versteeg – Bennett – Brouwer
Bouma – Backlund – Chiasson
Ferland – Stajan – Hamilton
Giordano – Brodie
Jokkipakka – Hamilton
Engelland – Wideman
Johnson
