A terrible second period in Philadelphia took some of the joy out of a skid stopping shoot out win on Saturday afternoon.
The team picked up two points, but they were lucky to be in the game going into the third; there was certainly a lot of work to be done.
Tonight in Pittsburgh the Flames didn’t quite get the result they were after, having to settle for a single point in a 3-2 overtime loss at the hands of the Penguins. But in terms of style points it was certainly a building block as the Flames played a solid road game and were full marks for being in it to the end.
They gave up too much, but also generated more in an exciting back and forth game that was fun to watch to the end.
It’s a process right? I sure hope so.
Line Up Changes
Finally some good news on the injury front, as TJ Brodie is back in the lineup after a scary incident at practice 11 days ago in Calgary.
His insertion on the top pairing with Mark Giordano means Brandon Davidson is on his way to Stockton, while Oliver Kylington lines up with Michael Stone on the third pairing. No change to the second pairing as Noah Hanifin continues to play alongside Rasmus Andersson.
Up front Bill Peters is back to giving Andrew Mangiapane a look on the second line with Mikael Backlund and Matthew Tkachuk, which I’m very much in favour of. The line was decent with Austin Czarnik as well, but for the most part has looked the most effective with Mangiapane this season. No change to the top line; Sean Monahan between Johnny Gaudreau and Elias Lindholm … or the third line with Derek Ryan between Milan Lucic and Dillon Dube. The fourth line has Zack Rinaldo taking a seat for Tobias Rieder, Rieder lining up with Mark Jankowski and Michael Frolik.
First Period Goal & A Lead!
For the first time in 1o games the Flames scored first on Tuesday night, when Dillon Dube did the trick giving the Flames their first lead in almost seven games.
Additionally, the goal was the first time in 11 games that the Flames scored in the first period as they launched another monkey off their collective backs.
Would have been nice to have the win, but killing some ugly streaks and starting a points in two straight run is certainly a step in the right direction.
TJ Brodie Return
I thought TJ Brodie was solid in his return from that scary fainting incident 11 days ago.
He didn’t get any points, but was noticeable skating the puck and containing the Penguins; the trickle down effect noticeable as the team’s three pairings seemed much more solid without two replacement players in the group of six.
Back with Mark Giordano, Brodie had 24 minutes of ice time, had a hit, two blocks and a take away to go with a CF% of 51.52%.
Wild Overtime
Thought the Flames had the better of the chances in the overtime including a Johnny Gaudreau breakaway that didn’t result in a shot, and another in all alone chance for Mikael Backlund that firmly glanced off the cross bar.
On top of that they had most of the zone time, keeping the Penguins chasing while they made line changes and cycled the puck.
No puck luck or the Flames walk with this one in extra time.
The Akim Aliu Issue
By now you’ve all heard about the Akim Aliu tweets tonight on social media.
Essentially he suggested Bill Peters made disparaging racial comments towards Aliu when he was coaching the Rockford IceHogs of the American Hockey League.
The Flames offered this statement by Brad Treliving …
Through social media, we became aware of this issue this evening. We take these matters very seriously. We want to complete a full and proper investigation before we provide any further comments on the matter.
Not a good look is it?
I have no reason to believe Aliu would make such a thing up, and the incident just isn’t far enough into the past to claim a different era, or things have changed, or that it was out of context.
The world was pretty cognisant of what can and can’t be said in 2008-10 so there can be no excuses.
For the Flames I’m not sure what kind of investigation they can honestly have. Can you really ever find corroborating proof that something didn’t happen? The bomb has been thrown, and honestly the only way out for Bill Peters is likely owning it and apologising.
Either way it puts the Flames in an interesting pickle. With the team off to a tough start is this an option now to distance themselves from a guy that made a big mistake without the normal statistic of a normal failed coach?
It’s going to be an interesting few days.
Counting Stats
Team Stats:
Shots – Flames 34 Penguins 38
Face Offs – Flames 53%
Special Teams – Flames 1/2 Penguins 1/3
Player Stats:
Points – Five players with a single point in the game including Dillon Dube, Sean Monahan with goals, and Johnny Gaudreau, Rasmus Andersson and Derek Ryan with assists.
Plus/Minus – No Calgary players finished with a plus on the night.
Shots – Mark Giordano edged out Johnny Gaudreau for shots on goal with six in the game.
Fancy Stats
The Flames had the edge in five on five shot attempts with 53% on the night on period splits of 71%/47% and 45%. In terms of high danger chances the Flames were edged 7-6 by the Penguins. Calgary had a 49% xGF% five on five.
In all situations the Flames had 51% of the shot attempts, 48% of the scoring chances and a xGF% of 46.4%.
Individually, the Flames were led by the second line and Mikael Backlund with 65%. His wingers posted 63% each. Other guys with solid nights included Oliver Kylington and Michael Stone with numbers in the high 50s. The fourth line and Mark Jankowski brought up the rear with numbers in the 40s. Dillon Dube had the highest xGF% on the night.
