Well that felt like a playoff game didn’t it?
A predictably slow start by the Flames and a bail out by the guy the Flames envisioned doing just that when they made the draft day trade with St. Louis to solidify their goaltending led the way as the Flames erased a 1-0 first period Kings lead on the way to a come from behind 2-1 overtime victory over the L.A. Kings.
Yes it felt like playoffs, but it could very well have a lot to do with making said playoffs, as the Flames move back out in front of the Kings by 6 points, but this time the guys from Hollywood only have one game in hand. And wait there’s more, their buddies from Edmonton beat the Blues in regulation giving the Flames a five point lead over the 2nd wildcard spot holder.
Still 18 games to go, but the Flames have gone a long way to make the playoffs somewhat likely over the last ten days.
The Flow
Talk about a feel out period. Both teams are largely devoid of any flow or skill plays as they bobble their way through a 20 minute game of whack a mole with very little by way of quality scoring chances, at least earned. Bouncing pucks, and ham handed goaltenders create some tense moments for both Ben Bishop, in his first L.A. King start, and Bryan Elliott but five on five they were both able to recover and scramble their way to saves. The period’s only goal is questionable, as Pearson on a King’s powerplay whacks away at a loose puck moving Bryan Elliott’s pad into the net with the puck. It was reviewed, called a goal, then challenged and still called a goal. The ruling was the puck was loose, but you still can’t move a pad into the net so in my mind it was a bad goal. Kings lead 1-0 after one period of play.
Solid second period for the Flames as the road warriors appeared to find their legs and take the game back to the Kings. The first few minutes were scrambley again, but then the period settled into a relatively mistake free middle period by the Flames, as they carried the play though had trouble breaking through the King’s stingy defence. The Flames finally tie it up when Micheal Ferland goes in on the forecheck and hammers Jake Muzzin, before Muzzin can collect his brains in the corner the puck is centered to Ferland who rubs it in by going high blocker side on Ben Bishop and we’re all tied up at 1-1. Flames continue to push including a great chance on a two on one that had Monahan centering to Gaudreau but the puck deflected off of Muzzin and into Bishop for the save. Huge game tied at one after two.
The balled out Kings came to play in the third period, which isn’t to say the Flames didn’t respond as both teams put their best foot forward for a very entertaining final frame in tonight’s game. Calgary has the better of the chances in the middle ten minutes of the period, but when the clock starts to turn towards single digits the Kings really start to show their desperation and push the Flames pretty hard. Calgary, playing a system they believe in don’t break though, and don’t really run around as Bryan Elliott holds strong and the game moves towards the latter stages of the third. With about 5 seconds on the clock a simple shoot in hits Mark Giordano and almost skips by Elliott, but the buzzer goes and the game goes to overtime.
The Flames are super strategic in the overtime period. They start Backlund, Frolik and Giordano against the King’s big three, clearly trying to hold serve and setup the next shift with Gaudreau and Monahan. They do just that and the Flames duo press but can’t find that golden opportunity. The game flips back to the Kings big three and the Backlund/Frolik/Giordano combo once again, but the Flames cross the Kings up with Backlund back and Brodie the defenseman streaking down the ice taking a pass and beating Bishop on the backhand to win the game. Huge win.
1st Period – The slow star to the eyes is matched by a slow start statistically is the Kings pile up a 19-10 lead in shot attempts in the first period, and lead the scoring chance derby as well by a 7-4 margin.
2nd Period – The Flames reverse the game in the second, out shot attempting the Kings 24-14 and doubling them up in scoring chances 10-5.
3rd Period – The Kings push hard in the third and return the favour with a 25-10 edge, and a whopping 8-2 in scoring chances.
Players – Only four players on the Flames managed positive puck possession on the night, but luckily the four featured most of the Flame’s best players. Mark Giordano led the way with a 60% mark, followed by his partner Dougie Hamilton, Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan. The Bartkowski/Engellend pairing came in dead last in the mid 20% range, joined by the Bennett like who all had numbers in the 30s.
1. Bryan Elliott: So solid for the Flames. The game didn’t feature a lot of odd man chances or point blank shots, but a lot of bouncing pucks and crazy hops that had Elliott having to be razor sharp. Had a shut out in my mind.
2. Ben Bishop: For a debut game after traveling cross continent that was a gooder, as Bishop was able to keep his team in it, especially with a shaky second period by the crew in front of him.
3. TJ Brodie: Led the team in ice time and was a horse with partner Michael Stone. Oh and scored the game winner in overtime when he shocked everyone by leaving the zone and streaking up the ice.
Big Save
Sure Jake Muzzin got a piece of it, but the Flames two on one in the second with Monahan making a great pass to Johnny Gaudreau for a one timer is the save of the game. Give 30% of the credit to Muzzin and 70% to Bishop on the play.
The Goat
Jeff Carter has to make a better read in overtime. With Drew Doughty in deep and Brodie streaking, Carter just peels off to the side wall giving the Flames defenseman carte blanche on the attack towards Bishop. Bad read.
Mr. Clutch
Mark Giordano. Had trouble hitting the net, but was solid all night in blocking shots, and leading the rush. Flames captain sure doesn’t disappoint these days.
Odds and Ends
As you’d expect there are no changes to the Flames roster after winning four straight games on an Eastern road trip. Bryan Elliott stays in the cage after his wins in Nashville, Tampa Bay and Carolina, but given Chad Johnson’s last start and win you’d think they’d have to find a way to get him back soon as well. … Was so leery of the start for this game. First game’s back after long road trips always feature a home team skating in mud, so lets just say I wasn’t surprised to see the Flames give up the first goal and play a period that was largely disjoined. … Would love to see a list of NHLers ranked by percentage of shot attempts that go wide. If I found said list I’d have to imagine we’d see Mark Giordano very near the top. Love the player, but he couldn’t hit the ocean on a beach. … Was interesting to hear Darryl Sutter put the nix in on second intermission interviews after the Kings got run pretty hard by the Flames in the middle frame. I certainly get it, huge game for the Kings if they want to get playoff bound and they needed to make some adjustments, but not something you see every day. … So how many times have Dustin Brown and Mark Giordano lit each other up over the years? I’d give the edge to Giordano all time on the former King’s captain, and certainly tonight with that thunderous second period hit. … Kid of hard to decide if you should look up or down these days in the standings isn’t it? The other day in my trade deadline article I suggested the Ducks might be ripe for the picking as they have the toughest schedule in the West to close out their season. Tonight with the win the Flames move to within two points of the club from Anaheim with the Ducks having a game in hand. Catch the Ducks and the Flames get a first round matchup with the Oilers their first meeting since 1991, 26 year ago. Looking downward the Flames now have a five point lead on the Blues that just shed Shattenkirk, and a six point lead on the Kings. It’s happening!
Next Up
The Flames homestand continues on Friday night when the Detroit Red Wings come to town. Gametime 7pm on Sportsnet West.
Lines:
Tkachuk – Backlund – Frolik
Gaudreau – Monahan – Ferland
Versteeg – Bennett – Brouwer
Bouma – Stajan – Chiasson
Giordano – Hamilton
Brodie – Stone
Bartkowski – Engelland
Elliott
