Before the game began, Jon Gillies was given the opportunity to shed his training camp number for the goalie jersey digits of his choice and ironically he picked a player sitting on the bench in the very same rink; #32 of Johnathan Quick. Equally ironic was the fact that his veteran clone was 190 feet from him all night as the equally mammoth Ben Bishop tended goal for the Kings against Gillies in his first NHL start.
That’s where the comparisons ended however, as the Flames and Jon Gillies turned a dominant second period into a 4-1 win to keep pace with the Nashville Predators and regain the 1st wildcard spot in the West’s crowded playoff race.
It was feel good story night for the Flames with the Gillies first start, first win beginning, but also in goals from two players that don’t see the lineup very often in Dennis Wideman and Freddie Hamilton .
The Flow
Both a good start for the Flames and a spooky start for rookie Jon Gillies, as the Flames go the first five and half minutes without giving up a shot, leaving the youngster to simmer in his own nerves without a touch. The Flames get an early powerplay on a Anze Kopitar hold on Sam Bennett and don’t disappoint when the second unit hits the scoreboard, a one timer by Sam Bennett on a pass from Mikael Backund and it’s 1-0 Calgary. The Kings push back right after with the Kopitar line pushing hard and keeping the puck in the Calgary zone. Soon after the rookie gets caught a bit on the far side when Trevor Lewis blasts one over his pad and under his blocker to tie the game at 1-1, and from there the Kings continue to pour it on. Calgary settles things down a bit without about 8 minutes to play in the period, and begin to generate a bit towards Bishop again, but fail to score on a great chance by Johnny Gaudreau on a set up by Sean Monahan. The Kings get a late powerlay but the Flames do a great job of keeping everything to the outside, and the game remains tied at 1-1 through 20 minutes of play.
The Kings get another powerplay chance early in the second when Dennis Wideman is tagged for a slash, an iffy call at best. The Flames kill it off effectively, and then spring Dennis Wideman coming out of the box for his 5th of the season as he beats Ben Bishop through the wickets to put the Flames up 2-1. The Flames gain momentum from the Wideman goal and start to wrestle away control of the play in the second for a good stretch, including a great top line shift where Gaudreau undresses Gravel but fails to tuck one in by Bishop. A few minutes the later the fourth line goes to work with Curtis Lazar and Troy Brouwer combine to set up Freddie Hamilton and the Flames lead 3-1. The Flames aren’t done there, as the Bennett line steps on the ice and scores another one, Bennett finding Kris Versteeg who puts it to the point where his point shot is tipped by Alex Chiasson and in and it’s 4-1 Flames. The Kings have a good shift late in the period as a penalty to Frolik expires leaving Gillies to make a great save on Fobort to end the period with his club up 4-1.
A careful start to the third for the Flames as they get caught icing the puck a few times, but don’t really surrender any real quality scoring chances. The Kings sensing the end, take their foot off the gas pedal and the Flames start to generate some chances of their own including a Mikael Backlund partial break that is denied by Ben Bishop. The Flames continue to play smart while also pushing the puck up the ice and enjoy a good chunk of zone time, but Bishop is equal to the task. A late powerplay shows a dominant Flames first unit pouring on the pressure but the game ends in a 4-1 final for the Flames, game 81 on the books.
Possession Stats
1st Period – Five on five shot attempts were 20-12 for the Corsi “Kings” in the first period, something that certainly jived with the eye test. Scoring chances over all however were 13-12 Calgary, five on five chances 11-6 LA.
2nd Period – Flames close the gap in the second period with a 17-13 for the Flames with scoring chances 27-21 for the Flames overall, and all even at 19 five on five.
3rd Period – Kings third period score effects finish has them up 51-38 five on five in the end, 18-9 in the third period, but the scoring chances were 9-5 for the Kings five on five. Scoring chances in the game were 32-31 Calgary in the end.
Players – Calgary’s top defense pairing is back on top after an off game in Anaheim as the Giordano/Hamilton pairing were 1/2 in possession with 64 and 57% respectively. Other players above 50% for the Flames on the night included Kris Versteeg, Micheal Ferland, Sam Bennett and Derry Engelland. On the bottom end, the revamped 2nd pairing had a rough night with Dennis Wideman finishing last at 23%, and his partner TJ Brodie at 31%.
Three Stars
1. Jon Gillies: The 23 year old rookie looked shaky on his first few touches but then really settled into a stable, NHL caliber performance picking up his first win in his first NHL start.
2. Sam Bennett : Scored the first goal, had a big hit, and should have had an assist on the fourth goal in a great performance by the Flames.
3. Freddie Hamilton : All kinds of jump, and was rewarded with a goal on one of numerous hard working fourth line shifts tonight.
Big Save
So torn between the Gillies save on Fobort in the second, or the Bishop save on the Johnny Gaudreau breakaway attempt. The Gillies stop was a bit of a Hail Mary Dominic Hasek like spin so I’ll give it to the rookie as he keeps the game 4-1 through two periods.
The Goat
Would never say he cost his team the game but Kevin Gravel had a tough night on the blueline for the Kings. First he gets stripped by Mikael Backlund for a shorthanded breakaway, but escapes. Then he gets completely undressed by Johnny Gaudreau for a chance that should have ended up behind Bishop. Then he gets stripped by Sam Bennett behind the net setting up Alex Chiasson’s 3-1 goal on the night. All this in about 6 minutes of play in the second period..
Mr. Clutch
Derryk Engelland. Was just huge in the first period on the penalty kill and overall through the game. Just can’t get over how much this guy has exceeded all expectations on his contract in Calgary. Great add, solid team player.
Odds and Ends
Are the Flames resting players for the playoffs? Tring to make sure everyone is fresh? Helping players with injuries? Trying to avoid playing the Ducks in the first round? All acceptable reasons for four regulars coming out for tonight’s game at the Staples Center against the Los Angeles Kings. Michael Stone sits for Dennis Wideman, Lance Bouma and Matt Stajan are coming out for Freddie Hamilton and Curtis Lazar. And finally starter Brian Elliott is backing up rookie Jon Gillies in his first NHL start. … Gillies has been an interesting prospect almost immediately after his selection in the draft; from US World Juniors, to his star studded stats in College, to a quick start in the AHL last year before getting hurt and missing the year he’s been an interesting player to watch. … A little bit of fan controversy around Dennis Wideman coming instead of rookie Rasmus Andersson, and to be honest I honestly see both sides. Wideman is done in Calgary so why not see what the rookie can do in a live fire exercise in a tough NHL arena? Plus he hasn’t played in a month which can’t be great for development. On the other side though I would assume Dennis Wideman will be the next guy up in the playoffs if the team encounters an injury so why not get him ready? Much like the last two seasons with the likes of Tyler Wotherspoon and Brett Kulak I do think the experimenting should have been done earlier; could potentially have given the team a better defense core if Andersson proved his chops. Now they don’t know. … Interesting to see Gulutzan sending Sam Bennett out in the second half of the Flame’s powerplay in the first period. He scored, so it looks prophetic, but the choice itself is an interesting twist going forward. Bennett is a more dynamic player than Frolik and could add a lot to that second powerplay unit if he’s confident, which lately he has been. … Crazy in the NHL how World War III can be followed by a very quiet physical game the next time two clubs meet. Really speaks to the code and what has to happen, and how little actual emotion carries on. … I’m a stats guy, a tally guy, a keep track of stuff guy so nothing makes me happier than a first NHL game so I can look back on the draft and see how that draft class is doing. The 2011 draft is well known with Sven Baertschi, Markus Granlund and Johnny Gaudreau all establishing solid NHL careers, but lately the 2012 draft has picked up steam. Jon Gillies makes his NHL debut tonight in the same week that Mark Jankowski is named to the AHL All Rookie team. Add in a Brett Kulak and maybe that draft is going to end up being an above average pull for the Flames when the dust settles. … So what was Jon Gillies start tonight? My gut says it was a way to get Brian Elliott a rest before the playoffs, but you have to wonder what his performance does for the Flames next season. Do they see him as ready for the backup spot even though their sample size is one game? I just can’t see it. But maybe they get a Chad Johnson at a low enough ticket that they can pitch a battle at camp and see where it goes. He certainly looked good tonight. … The Flames now control their wildcard destiny on Saturday; a win and they get the Ducks, a loss and they need a Predators loss with equal points to avoid the Hawks.
Next Up
Last game of the regular season goes Saturday night in San Jose, game time 8pm on Sportsnet.
Lines:
Tkachuk – Backlund – Frolik
Gaudreau – Monahan – Ferland
Versteeg – Bennett – Chiasson
F. Hamilton – Lazar – Brouwer
Giordano – Hamilton
Brodie – Wideman
Bartkowski – Engelland
Gillies
