On January 6th the Flames went into Vancouver and generated 80 shot attempts on the way to a 4-2 loss to the Canucks despite outs shooting their hosts 44-13. Ryan Miller was the story, but so to was Brian Elliott, who surrendered the four goals on the 13 shots, a tough night at the office.
Tonight was the same only different as the Canucks skates to a 2-1 overtime victory over the Flames while being widely outplayed once again. This time both goaltenders were sharp however, save for one painful miscue by Elliott in the first period when he allowed an Alex Edler goal from center ice, a goal that looked to be the only marker as the game pushed into the final 10 seconds of the third period.
A late Giordano goal gave the Flames a point however, a huge point given the out of town scoreboard featuring losses by both the Kings and Predators, but on a night where the Flames walked out a classic road game it truly feels like an opportunity lost.
The Flow
Great road period for the Flames to start the game. They spent most of the period grinding down low against the Canucks in the visiting end, but didn’t generate a lot of shots or scoring chances despite carrying the play. The Canucks open the scoring on their first shot on goal, that came 12 minutes into the game on a shot by Alex Edler from centerice, a knuckle puck that dropped on the way in; clearly a shot that he should have had. The Flames push back in the final few minutes of play up to the point where Kris Versteeg takes an interference penalty. On the way to the box he beaks and it’s a four minute minor to finish the first and start the second; 1-0 Vancouver after one.
The Flames come out and have to kill off the final three minutes of the Versteeg penalty which they do successfully. From there the two teams get into a grind match with both goaltenders playing extremely well, and both teams being patient and waiting for chances. The Flames crank one off the post when Bartkowski gets a long rebound and wires one off the iron. Troy Brouwer gets the only penalty after a net squirmish fiving the Canucks another late powerplay but the Flames kill that one as well, sending the game to the third period in an identical 1-0 score.
The third period is all Calgary to start. They get back to back powerplays and generate bucket loads of shots and chances, but Ryan Miller is having another one of those nights and is equal to the task each and every time. His stops on a Mikael Backlund tip on a Dougie Hamilton point shot stands out, so too does a one timer save on Troy Brouwer in front of the net. The game is going very much like that January game in Vancouver once again. The Canucks take another late penalty, the second time a Sedin is tagged for not moving his feet, giving the Flames the chance to pull the goalie in order to go at it with a 6 on 4 advantage. The powerplay is woeful though, as they literally never get set up, instead relying on a Hail Mary play from Mark Giordano that ties things up with just 5.8 seconds to play.
The overtime is over quick, as the Backlund/Frolik/Giordano trio never seem in synch. First Frolik bobbles the puck, then gets it back, then takes a harmless very non-overtime backhander on Miller creating a dogfight in the Canuck’s zone and a turn over. The Canucks streak up the ice with Tanev getting in alone and beating Elliott for a 2-1 Vancouver win.
Possession Pulse
First Period – The underlying stats match the eye test as the Flames dominate the five on five shot attempts by an 18-11 margin, scoring chances were 8-6 Flames.
Second Period – Lots of powerplay time for the Canucks in the second, but five on five the shot attempts were 10-8 Calgary, scoring chances tied up at 4-4.
Third Period – The Flames had lots of powerplay time in the third period, but the also had a 15-4 edge in five on five shot attempts and an 11-3 edge in five on five scoring chances. Including powerplays the Flames had a 27-4 edge in shot attempts and an 18-2 edge in scoring chances.
Players – A dominant game for the Flames so not a single player was under the 50% mark when it came to five on five shot attempts. The top pairing sat at the top of heap with a 78% corsi rating, but they were joined by five other players in the 70+ area including Backlund, Bouma, Bartkowski, Stajan and Hamilton, suggesting a great night for the fourth line and the bottom defense pairing. Only two players were under the 60% mark, the 2nd pairing of TJ Brodie and Derryk Engelland 55%.
1. Ryan Miller: Second stolen game against the Flames this season, at a ripe age the guy is starting to look like the Miller from Buffalo once again.
2. Troy Brouwer: thought he was in the mix of it all night, forging a presence in front of the net and creating havoc. Great veteran game for the winger that maybe hasn’t had the best season in Calgary to start.
3. Mark Giordano: Big goal in the end, and once again a horse on the backend for his club. Never takes a night off.
Big Save
Both goaltenders were pretty on top of their game tonight, but the save that Brian Elliott made on Jannik Hansen in the second period on a cross ice pass from Henrik Sedin was larceny. Unreal pad save.
The Goat
Sorry Moose, but you have to hang this on Brian Elliott. His team played almost a perfect road game, but Miller out plays him based on one ugly goal that he simply can’t give up.
Mr. Clutch
Dougie Hamilton had another great game, though that’s hardly news these days. He was 78% corsi, got shots through all night, and made a heck of a diving play to break up a two on one in the third period after he fell down trying to keep the puck in.
Odds and Ends
Lately Glen Gulutzan has saved his roster changes for losses, but the Flames had a completely different look in the game in Vancouver than that of the home game against Philadelphia, all triggered by what looks like a punishment for a lack of discipline. Alex Chiasson comes out for his spear in the Flyer game, setting up a ripple effect through the forward lines. With Chiasson out, Kris Versteeg moved up to take Brouwer’s spot with Gaudreau and Monahan, Brouwer drops to play with Bennett and the promoted Ferland, and Freddie Hamilton returns taking Chiasson’s roster spot. Is it the most stacked top nine the Flames have dressed this season? The defense pairings were altered by the dressing of the newly signed Bartkowski coming for Brett Kulak on the third pairing with Dennis Wideman. Brian Elliott keeps the age after the Flayers win. … All kinds of talk about the Flames between periods with the group from Toronto. First they get into the Wideman effect and discuss the fact that the Flames have actually sat down with the league to discuss what the team sees as an issue; they tell us that the Flames are shown that all the calls are legit. The panel overall seems to feel the Flames are getting a rough ride on the night with the Versteeg extra, the Brouwer call, and some of the stuff in recent games. … In the second the discussion turns to the trade deadline, where Friedman reports that Treliving is one of the most active guys out there, and the Flames are looking to add. Speculate away on that one, but clearly the three areas are top nine forward, top four defenseman and maybe a goalie upgrade. Interesting nonetheless. … Great article today by The Hockey News looking at the Julien firing as a mistake. They looked at shot metrics and then dug down into frequency in regions. Made me look at the Flames and I did notice the Flames may be getting more shots, and more home plate shots, but they are down in the high slot, the principal scoring area. Their “red” zones have moved specifically to the left wing side outside the hash marks, not as dangerous as up the guts. Something I’m looking at now anyway. … Other than one shift I like the defense pairings with the insertion of Bartkowski and the demotion of Dennis Wideman. The shift in question was a nightmare in the third where Bartkowski coughed the puck up twice, but over the game the pairing had decent shot metrics and were unnoticeable for the most part which is good. I did notice the loss of offence for TJ Brodie with Derryk Engelland on the second pairing though. Wideman wasn’t perfect but he was decent at moving the puck. … Big point for the Flames, they move two ahead of the Kings with the Kings having two games in hand, and move even with the Predators with a big game in Nashville coming up on Tuesday. … The new lines up front? Liked the Brouwer, Bennett Ferland line quite a bit though they never hit the sheet. Some good cycling and zone generation. The Versteeg add to the Gaudreau/Monahan night was hard to judge because the dynamic duo didn’t have a particularly good night. They should stick with it though, see where it goes. … Side note and a personal one my daughter scored her first goal of her life in Brooks today in Calgary Girls Hockey action. First year playing, started at age 12, and lights the lamp by dragging the puck from behind the net and beating the goaltender low on a backhander. So glad I was there! Happy Hockey Day in Canada everyone!
Next Up
The odd one then four game road trip (5!) takes it’s break and restart in Calgary for a few days before the Flames travel south to Nashville for a game on Tuesday. Game time is 6pm on Sportsnet.
Lines:
Tkachuk – Backlund – Frolik
Gaudreau – Monahan – Versteeg
Ferland – Bennett – Brouwer
Bouma – Stajan – Hathaway
Giordano – Hamilton
Brodie – Engelland
Bartkowski – Wideman
Elliott
