Well that pretty much played out to script didn’t it?
Team with three games in four nights and a back to back playing another team that was dismantled by the first team in a reverse situation on Monday night gets up for the game and delivers the expected pay back beat down.
100%.
The Flames hung in for the first half of the game, trailing 2-1 and getting chances of their own, but a late second period goal and two more in the third turned this one into a laugher, as the Flames fell 5-1 to the St. Louis Blues.
The Flames snap a two game win streak, and return to Calgary for just a single game against the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday night … Hockey Day in Canada.
The Lineup
Sutter isn’t expected to make any changes to his 18 skaters, though his toggle in the middle six is tough to predict. Last night towards the end of the first period he swapped out Andrew Mangiapane for Dillon Dube suggesting it was necessary to get the lines going and they are different players (one straight line speed, one darty). So hard to say where he kicks off tonight’s game with no pregame skate.
So I’ll assume status quo with Elias Lindholm between Matthew Tkachuk and Johnny Gaudreau, clearly the NHL’s hottest line of late. Mikael Backlund between Andrew Mangiapane (or Dillon Dube) and Blake Coleman. Sean Monahan between Milan Lucic and Dillon Dube (or Andrew Mangiapane), and finally Adam Ruzicka between Trevor Lewis and Brett Ritchie.
No change on the blueline with Noah Hanifin with Rasmus Andersson, Oliver Kylington with Chris Tanev, and Nikita Zadorov with Erik Gudbranson.
In a bit of a surprise the Flames went with Jacob Markstrom for the 6th straight game and in a back to back which was somewhat surprising.
Line Metrics
xGF%
Gaudreau – Lindholm – Tkachuk 64.0%
Mangiapane – Backlund – Coleman 63.2%
Lucic – Monahan – Dube 69.4%
Lewis – Ruzicka- Ritchie 66.7%
Hanifin – Andersson 56.7%
Kylington – Tanev 59.1%
Zadorov – Gudbranson 59.4%
Goals Saved + Avg
Markstrom +10.1
They Were Due
Calgary’s top line has been running roughshod over the opposition in the last dozen games or so, so it was likely overdue to have a bit of a stinker from the trio.
They were all held off the scoresheet, but were also ground into the ice in their own zone much more than they’re used to this season, posting shot attempt splits in the 40s and even 30s.
Both Matthew Tkachuk and Johnny Gaudreau had six game point streaks snapped.
Rough Night For Monahan
The resurgence of Sean Monahan has been a solid story in recent games, as the much maligned center seemed to be finding his game and making a difference in the team’s last five encounters.
Tonight was a bit of a misstep in the journey toward returning the Monahan of old.
He lost his man on the Blues first goal, and turned the puck over at the opposition blue line on their second one for a pretty rough first period.
So -2 on the night and four shots on goal; something that’s been a good sign of late. His face off work continued however as he was 67% in the face off dot on the night and he did have positive underlying metrics.
Just two clear cut gaffs that led to his team having a tough night.
Learning Curve for Ruzicka
After scoring on Monday and adding an assist last night, Adam Ruzicka was seeing his third straight start for the Flames as he has earned a little more Darryl Sutter trust.
Hopefully a bit of a wobble on Thursday night doesn’t destroy the accumulated work he’s done.
Ruzicka tried a break out pass from behind his net that ended up on Brandan Saad’s stick for the “yeah that’s over” goal in the third period, and then took a tripping penalty on his next shift. He was another player with a -2 night.
The Blues Are the Bizarro Flames
Funny to notice how mirror image the Blues and Flames are these days.
St. Louis is leaning on their backup goaltender while the Flames rely on their starter.
The Blues largely get out played but have the finishing ability to chalk up wins despite not having favourable splits. The Flames out corsi, out shoot and out chance the opposition but need 45-62 shot nights to score enough goals to hit the win column (exaggerating for effect).
Last night the Flames out shot attempted, out shot, out chanced but didn’t out score the Blues as the St. Louis pattern continued.
The Flames style of play is certainly a Darryl Sutter trade mark, and not a bad plan for a team that is thin in offensive weapons.
Special Teams
The Blues take the edge in special teams scoring once in four opportunities and killing all three of the Flames chances.
The Flames powerplay was amazing against St. Louis on Monday, but a little flat both last night in Columbus and again tonight in Missouri.
Standings and Record
The loss moves the Flames to 20-13-6 good for 46 points in 39 games. They hold down the final wild card spot with games in hand on teams both above and below them.
Their .590 win percentage is still 6th in the conference and 2nd in their division.
Counting Stats
Shots: Flames 29 / Blues 28
Face Offs: Flames 61% / Blues 39%
Powerplay: Flames 0-3 / Blues 1-4
Fancy Stats
As I mentioned above, the Flames had the edge in most metrics five on five in a game where they were never really close, perhaps score effects making an impact. Five on five the Flames had 57% of the shot attempts with period splits of 55%/55% and 64% respectively. In terms of five on five expected goals, the Flames had 61%, and for high danger scoring chances the Flames had 60%, with a 10-4 split.
In all situations the Flames had 59% of the shot attempts, 63% of the expected goals, and 68% of the high danger splits.
Individually, the Flames were led by Mikael Backlund with a 79% split of five on five shot attempts on the night. Other players in the 70s included Milan Lucic, Dillon Dube and Andrew Mangiapapne. Chris Tanev, Blake Coleman, Sean Monahan and Oliver Kylington were all in the 60s. Six players were under water, the whole first line of Johnny Gaudreau, Elias Lindholm and Matthew Tkachuk, as well as the fourth line of Trevor Lewis, Adam Ruzicka and Brett Ritchie.
