Oh the trap game.
A team that wasn’t supposed to come near the Stanley Cup Playoffs this year in the middle of a Covid out break that has them missing seven of their best players lining up against a hot team with points in ten straight eying a seven game road trip that will see them at the airport the next morning.
Yep … you just knew it didn’t you?
So it doesn’t come as a huge surprise that the Sharks scored an early third period goal and then added two empty netters in putting the Flames away by a 4-1 score.
Now the Flames weren’t exactly bad. They weren’t sharp, but they also didn’t get a lot of puck luck around the net and had enough shots and chances in the second period to win most games.
But lets face it, the team has had some bounces in running out to a 7-1-3 record to start the season. Tonight they took their lumps.
The Lineup
No change again, which is becoming pretty much the norm in Calgary this season.
Other than changing goaltenders, the only swaps we’ve seen that haven’t involved injury revolved around the 6th defenseman spot with Nikita Zadorov taking a seat for five games with Juuso Valimaki playing, and now Valimaki sitting for five as Zadorov plays. If it aint broke right?
So up front it’s Elias Lindholm with Matthew Tkachuk and Johnny Gaudreau, Mikeal Backlund between Blake Coleman and Tyler Pitlick, Dillon Dube between Millan Lucic and Andrew Mangiapane, and Sean Monahan between Trevor Lewis and Brad Richardson.
On the blueline no change as well; Noah Hanifin with Rasmus Andersson, Oliver Kylington with Chris Tanev and Nikita Zadorov with Erik Gudbranson.
Jacob Markstrom got the start in net.
Line Metrics
xGF%
Gaudreau – Lindholm – Tkachuk 65.6%
Coleman – Backlund – Pitlick 50.0%
Lucic – Dube – Mangiapane 72.0%
Richardson – Monahan – Lewis 16.7%
Hanifin – Andersson 54.9%
Kylington – Tanev 69.0%
Zadorov – Gudbranson 60.0%
Goals Saved + Avg
Markstrom 6.5
Looking at those Line Metrics
Coming into tonight’s game, if you filter combinations down to 100 minutes or more the Flames had the best forward line (Matthew Tkachuk, Elias Lindholm, and Johnny Gaudreau) and the top defense pairing (Chris Tanev and Oliver Kylington) in the NHL through 11 games in terms of expected five on five goals splits.
That’s pretty amazing.
Amazing for a few reasons actually.
Johnny Gaudreau at those heights really shows a) chemistry with his linemates, but also b) his bump in defensive and back pressure hockey.
Oliver Kylington going from the outside looking in to a full time top four and then on league’s best pairing? That’s just found money isn’t it?
And finally what more can you say about Chris Tanev and the impact he’s had on Calgary defenseman. That’s now Noah Hanifin, Mark Giordano and Oliver Kylington that have had huge boosts in their play paired with Tanev. Really tells you how bad defensively Quinn Hugues is as he didn’t get the lift. (Hugues is under water with both Poolman and Myers to start the season)
Slow Start
Certainly not much of a first period, though not unexpected in what could set up as a trap game.
With the Sharks missing 6-7 key players with a Covid out break the Sharks were ripe for the picking
The Flames however would have that, and the fact that they are off to the East on a seven game road trip the next morning playing in their heads, and potentially creating a dud.
So not much happened in the first period, which for the Flames isn’t a bad thing if you find it in later periods.
No damage done as the Flames out shot the Sharks 8-4 despite being short for three and a half minutes.
Dominant Second
The Sharks come out and score on a great Brent Burns pass up the middle to XXXXX to make it 1-0, but 30 seconds later Milan Lucic bangs home his 5th of the season; a play that was reviewed, counted, challenged, and then allowed.
But from there the Flames just worked the Sharks for the rest of the period, but couldn’t solve Aidan Hill again in the stanza to forge ahead.
Two goal posts, some scrambles in front of the net, but no twine.
Lucic Again
I’m not about to make the case for Milan Lucic the 30 goal scorer, heck not even suggesting he’s going to get 20.
But if his puck luck early in the season gives him 15 on the season what a story for the Flames and that trade with Edmonton.
With James Neal bought out and playing in St. Louis, and Milan Lucic scoring at a third liner rate plus providing physical play and leadership it’s just the deal that just keeps getting better.
Jack Beck scoring stats don’t hurt the equation either.
Special Teams
The Flames didn’t lose the hockey game on special teams, but they certainly could have won it.
Three chances with the man advantage including two when the team was rolling had the making of a go ahead powerplay goal, but it just didn’t materialize in the second period when the team was charging.
The Flames generated 15 shot attempts and six shots on goal with the man advantage but only two high danger chances in the end, as the Sharks kept them to the outside.
Counting Stats
Shots: Flames 38/ Sharks 26
Face Offs: Flames 52% / Sharks 48%
Powerplay: Flames 0-3 / Sharks 0-2
Fancy Stats
The Flames played a solid if ineffective first period, and a dominant second, but never had the lead and with that piled up some pretty decent possession stats on the night. Five on five they had 55% of the shot attempts with period splits of 55%/66% and 45% respectively. In terms of five on five expected goals, the Flames had 60%, and for high danger scoring chances the team had 56%, with a 14-11 split. Truly the second was enough to win most games.
In all situations the Flames had 57% of the shot attempts, 50% of the expected goals, and 55% of the high danger splits.
Individually the Flames were led by Blake Coleman with 80% of the five on five splits while on the ice. Erik Gudbranson and Mikael Backlund were also solid posting 76%, 75% respectively. Tyler Pitlick, Nikita Zadorov and Matthew Tkachuk were all at or over the 60% mark. The fourth line and Andrew Mangiapane were at the bottom of the list with numbers around the 40% mark.
