Luckily it’s October.
In October hockey clubs can have building block games, or at least some of them can … the ones that have aspirations up the standings and time to whiff on the odd start, struggle to find consistency, and use the early part of the season to stumble their way in finding their game.
So with that one can find positives in the Flames 3-1 loss in San Jose on Thankgsiving Sunday Evening. They out played the Sharks in almost any measure, only surrendering 17 five on five shots and two high danger scoring chances. But they found a way to lose. A short handed back breaker against coupled with an astounding lack of finish around the Shark’s cage resulted in another loss, and a 1-2-0 three game road trip.
It’s early. There’s no point in debating that. But this is a franchise that is looking to break a nasty run of one year in one year out when it comes to playoff streaks, and this is the “out” year. They best be getting going.
Hopefully tonight was a step in the right direction.
Line Up Changes
With back to backs and a loss in Vegas, Bill Peters made as many changes as a 22 man roster would allow.
Michael Stone took a seat for Oliver Kylington, sending TJ Brodie back up to the top pairing and Rasmus Andersson back to the third pairing to reform the Swedish duo.
Up front Mark Jankowski took a seat, as the struggling center was a healthy scratch after some dispirited play through the early part of the season. Sam Bennett took his spot at center, with Austin Czarnik entering the lineup to form a third/fourth line with Milan Lucic. Derek Ryan centered Tobias Reider and Andrew Mangiapane, and Michael Frolik returned to the 3M Line.
In goal David Rittich took a seat and was replaced by Cam Talbot, his first start as a Flame.
Cam Talbot In Net
Cam Talbot had his first start for the Flames and was pretty solid despite giving up three goals on only 2o shots.
The first goal was off a skate from the corner with little chance. The second a laser of a shot to the short side top corner, and the third on a two on one shorthanded.
He wasn’t a game star by any means, but he wasn’t the problem.
Backlund is Back
Good to see Mikael Backlund back on this road trip after a slow start, likely due to an injury.
It would be easy to talk about the line as a whole, as they were dominant, but the guy leading the charge and doing the most creating was Backlund. He led the team in shots with six, and 87% possession metrics as he drove the net and found chances with almost every shift.
Sadly his inability to finish said chances is one of the bigger reasons the Flames lost the game however, especially the second period short handed break away that didn’t result in the most dangerous of shots.
Bottom line however, a driving Mikael Backlund certainly makes that 3M Line tick, a good sign as the team returns home.
Bottom Six Woes
Going into the season fans see the upside in rosters, and depth was certainly something the Flames seemed to have in the bottom half of their roster.
This wasn’t the 2017-18 Flames trying to make Tanner Glass, Curtis Lazar, Kris Versteeg, Matt Stajan and Freddie Hamilton into a mix that could produce.
Yet here we find ourselves with the exact same result as that lost season; zero output from the bottom six forwards.
I’m not surprised that Mark Jankowski has found himself struggling and scratched tonight. He was poor in the playoffs, and didn’t look much better in camp.
You can’t expect a walk on like Tobias Reider to light it up, and anyone hoping for Milan Lucic to lead the way offensively is bound to be disappointed.
We all know the Sam Bennett story.
But the guy that his off to the most surprising start is Derek Ryan. Last year Ryan was a slow starter, but he did so in a low event hockey style that had him creating very little, but giving up almost nothing, all the while winning face offs.
To start the season he’s third worst on the team at 44.7% CF, and fourth worst in terms of xGF% at 43.2%. That along with zero points and a face off win percentage of 39.7%. He’s just not getting it done. And they need him to drive his line.
Andrew Mangiapane Battles Size
Andrwe Mangiapane has a boat load of skill and IQ moxie, but on this road trip it became pretty apparent that he may not be physically strong enough to do the things he wants to do on the ice.
He spends a lot of his night getting off his knees in board battles, and is too easily squeezed out when he tries to beat someone wide or get to a loose puck.
Still a young player at 23, there is more than enough time to add some strength or find a strategy or two to minimize the size inequity, but at this point he’s having a tough time contributing at the NHL level.
Oliver Kylington Should Use His Skill
Good night for Oliver Kylington back in the lineup.
He was heavily sheltered (100% offensive zone starts) effectively and played a strong game.
One thing I noticed however that was peculiar and literally ran counter to his skill set was his penchant for literally standing still in his own zone when sizing up his options in moving the puck.
It didn’t hurt him as he found an outlet every time and didn’t turn the puck over, but you’d like to see the guy using his boots and moving up ice as he looks to move the puck or take it himself.
It would make him a more dangerous player.
Some Flames Early Season Team Stats
Goals/Game – 24th
Against/Game – 15th
PP% – 21st
PK% – 13th
Shots/Game – 16th
Shots Against/Game – 16th
Face Offs – 21st
CF% – 16th
PDO – 22nd
Counting Stats
Team Stats:
Shots – Flames 33 Sharks 20
Face Offs – Flames 46%
Special Teams – Flames 0/4 Sharks 0/2
Player Stats:
Points – Elias Lindholm and TJ Brodie were the only Calgary players to pick up a point.
Plus/Minus – TJ Brodie was the only plus player at +1.
Shots – Mikael Backlund leads the way with six shots on goal.
Fancy Stats
The underlying numbers certainly suggest a more consistent and hard working effort from the Calgary crew. They had 57% of the five on five shot attempts with period splits of 57%/46% and 79%, score effects certainly playing a role in the third as the Sharks sat on the lead. The final five on five high danger chances were extremely low with Calgary having three and the Sharks two. The Flames had a 66% xGF on the night.
In all situations Calgary had 55% of the shot attempts, a 5-4 edge in high danger chances and but only 47% in xGF as the Sharks had the better powerplay and scored shorthanded.
Individually, the Flames expected possession monsters came to play with TJ Brodie leading the way at 86%, and joined by his partner Mark Giordano and the 3M Line all in the 80s. Oliver Kylington, Sean Monahan and Johnny Gaudreau also had strong nights. On the other end Noah Hanifin, Andrew Mangiapane and Derek Ryan all finished under 40%.
