When the season began in Edmonton the assumption was the Flames had a very well defined tandem. Brian Elliott would be the starter and Chad Johnson would be the back up.
Both goaltenders struggled in October as the anvil was passed back and forth with neither guy seizing the moment. When the season looked lost Chad Johnson took the ball and ran with it, compiling a Carey Price like month that got the Flames back into it. This left Brian Elliott on the outside looking in again, something he’s seen far too often in his career bouncing around the National Hockey League.
Lately however, the plan has been win and you’re in and it’s worked to some extent. The ball bounced back to Brian Elliott tonight and delivered what has to be the closest thing we’ve seen from the expected Brian Elliott this season, as he was a wall turning aside 32 shots in a 3-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers.
If the Flames played a pretty loss in Manhattan earlier this month in a loss, they had an ugly win tonight at home against Philadelphia; proof that things even out over the course of a season.
The Flow
A very very strange period to start this one off. The Flames come out flat as hell and the Flyers run all over them to start the game. They look to escape unscathed however, at least until the new third pairing combine to gift the Flyers a goal. Brett Kulak turns the puck over to the Flyers, but the puck squirts back to Dennis Wideman who backhands it right back to the Flyers and then doesn’t cover his check in front of the net and it’s 1-0 Philly. The Flames tie it up though when Mikael Backlund gets waved from a face off, rookie Matthew Tkachuk comes in and wins it back to Dougie Hamilton who puts it towards the net. The puck is deflected to the corner to Backlund who centers to Tkachuk and it’s 1-1, a huge goal for the Flames as they started so poorly. The Flames take a five minute major from Alex Chiasson which could have been disastrous, but the Flames kill it off. Calgary gets a powerplay of their own which is dangerous, but comes up empty, Sean Monahan with two chances to score his 100th. Then a late Philly powerplay again but Calgary escapes; 1-1 after one with the shots 15-8 Flyers.
Another very sketchy start to a period by the Flames, this time they don’t give up a lot of shots, but they start the period playing ugly hockey and hoping for shot blocks and mistakes by the Flyers to get them by. The Flyers get another powerplay, making it 11 minutes in the game, but once again the Flames stand tall and kill it off. After the kill the Flayers get a chance when Bellemare squirts through but Elliott stands tall. And like you often see, the Flames get a chance soon after with Sam Bennett providing the screen for a TJ Brodie shot from the point and it’s 2-1 Calgary in a game they are badly out shot. The Flames settle down somewhat from the goal, keeping things a little more quiet around Elliott and taking the lead to the third period. Shots on goal 25-13 Philly through two periods, though they also enjoyed a 21-2 edge in powerplay penalty minutes.
To keep some consistency in their game the Flames start the third period flat to match their starts in both the first and second period, as the Flyers pretty much own zone time near Brian Elliott for most of the period’s first half. The Flames go all Hartley though, and keep pucks to the outside, keep in lanes, and do their best to limit the blue chip scoring chances to a minimum. The Flames have a solid powerplay of their own in the third, generating lots of chances and closing the shot clock somewhat, but in the end they fail to find that insurance marker to make the finish a little easier on the heart. The Flames do put it away however, when Mark Giordano turns and whips the puck out of his own zone, an icing attempt to be sure, that catches a classic outturn and ends up in the middle of the Flyer’s cage. Flames win 3-1 in an ugly one.
Possession Pulse
First Period – Five of five shot attempts were 14-8 for the Flyers, they also held the scoring chances 11-4.
Second Period – Shot attempts much closer in the second at 16-15 Philly, scoring chances five on five were 6-5 for the Flyers.
Third Period – All Philly in the third with the Flyers having a 25-12 edge in five of five shot attempts, scoring chances were much closer though at 8-7.
Players – Very interesting night for the individual corsi line for Flames players. The Flyers dominated, so you would expect a rough night in the possession stats but the particulars had only the pairing of Dougie Hamilton and Mark Giordano as having good nights with Hamilton posting 63% and Giordano 55%. The only other guys at 50% were 2/3 of the fourth line in Stajan and Ferland and Matthew Tkachuk. The game’s worst player when it came to driving play? Dennis Wideman which was interesting as he was without his partner TJ Brodie. Wideman posted a 15% possession stat being on the ice for 3 shot attempts for and 17 against. Ouch. But hold your horses on the D pairing story as Engelland and Brodie were both in the 20s. This team really needs an infusion of defenseman talent.
1. Brian Elliott: Was simply amazing tonight, almost unflappable. He flashes leather a good half dozen times, was always in position and looked very cool in the Flames net. Best start as a Flame?
2. Matthew Tkachuk: Even if he didn’t have any points I’d like his game for his work down low, but he scored the team’s first goal and set up the winning goal on a pass to TJ Brodie. Check the kid’s birth certificate.
3. Nick Cousins: Scores the Flayers only goal and draws 7 minutes in penalties in the first period alone. That’s quite a night for the Flyers pest.
Big Save
By timing I like the Bellemare save by Brian Elliott. Bellemare squeaks through the middle and gets in almost alone on Elliott, but the goaltender closes the legs and gets a pad on the puck. Soon after the Flames go down and make it 2-1, a pivotal point in the game.
The Goat
The Flames came out of it ok, but the club’s third defense pairing almost gave the game away before it got started when Brett Kulak and Dennis Wideman teamed up to give the Flyers a Keystone Cop goal to start the game.
Mr. Clutch
Easy pick; Mark Giordano. The captain had 28 minutes of ice time, scored the insurance goal into the empty net and was a underlying stat king posting 56% in a game where his team got worked.
Odds and Ends
All kinds of change for the Flames, something you’d expect from a team that has a win and you’re in mantra. Well blow out loss to a door matt will certainly see change and that was the case up and down the roster. Brian Elliott steps in in place of Chad Johnson between the pipes and Garnet Hathaway exits for Lance Bouma. But perhaps the biggest change is one that doesn’t require a scratch and a dress decision but a change in who lines up with whom; as TJ Brodie finally shakes Dennis Wideman and gets a new partner in Derryk Engelland. … Had no idea Nick Cousins was such a Alex Burrows type of player. His acting job on the Chiasson spear was nothing less than brilliant, sucking in the officials for a five minute major. Then he bumps Sam Bennett and plays victim and draws another penalty. To top it off they video they showed of Matthew Tkachuk getting water in the face in Philly when he scored also featured, you guessed it, Nick Cousins jawing at the rookie as he skated by. Effective as hell, but he’ll eventually get a reputation and find the sledding more difficult. … Given how badly the Flames played in the final two periods of the Arizona game, you have to be concerned if your Glen Gulutzan by the lack of urgency by the Calgary club to start the first and second periods of tonight’s game. They didn’t look ready, or put another way they were ready to let the Flyers dictate the play for far too much of the night. … I got the yips late in the second period when Gulutzan put Wideman and Brodie back together for a shift, to date on the season I’ve found he’s had some good experiments but has given up on them too quickly. Luckily it was just a blip and the Brodie Engelland pairing was back together in the third. … In the end the Brodie / Engelland pairing got owned so things weren’t a whole lot better, but Dennis Wideman was held to 12 minutes so that’s something. I’m guessing Brett Kulak is wondering who he wronged. … The win puts the Flames back in a playoff spot, leapfrogging the Kings by a point, though the Kings now have three games in hand. We all assumed that the games in hand thing would be put to bed, but of course the Kings had a break at almost exactly the same time.
Next Up
The Flames begin a five game road trip with a contest on Hockey Day in Canada in Vancouver on Saturday night, a must win game for the Canucks if they want to get back into the mix in the Western Conference wild card race. Game time 8pm on Hockey Night in Canada.
Lines:
Tkachuk – Backlund – Frolik
Versteeg – Bennett – Chiasson
Gaudreau – Monahan – Brouwer
Ferland – Stajan – Bouma
Giordano – Hamilton
Brodie – Engelland
Kulak – Wideman
Elliott
