Amazing how similar games one and two in this series have been.
One team scores early.
And that’s it … nobody scores again.
In game one the Flames struck early on a powerplay goal and hung on for a 1-0 win, tonight the Stars returned the favour converting a five on five Joe Pavelski goal in the first period into essentially the same final score; but with an empty netter to make it 2-0.
The Flames for their part looked rattled. They forced the play, were disconnected, and far too happy to shoot from the perimeter with no net front presence.
Will be interesting to see what adjustments are made for Saturday’s game in Dallas.
The Lineup
Up 1-0 in the series the Flames are going with the exact same lineup as they did in game one. Why mix with a winning recipe right?
This time around, I’m sure Darryl Sutter is hoping he’ll have his whole lineup for the entirety of the game, and not just the first period.
So its Elias Lindholm with Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk, Mikael Backlund with Andrew Mangiapane and Tyler Toffoli, Calle Jarnkrok between Blake Coleman and Dillon Dube, and Trevor Lewis centering Milan Lucic and Brett Ritchie.
On the blueline it’s the expected six, with Erik Gudbranson coming back in after taking a pass on the final regular season game in Winnipeg. So it’s Noah Hanifin with Rasmus Andersson, Oliver Kylington with Chris Tanev, and Nikita Zadorov with Gudbranson.
Jacob Markstrom gets the start in the nets.
Regular Season Line Metrics
xGF%
Gaudreau – Lindholm – Tkachuk 62.2%
Mangiapane – Backlund – Tofoli 45.0%
Dube – Jarnkrok – Coleman 42.0%
Lucic – Lewis – Ritchie 41.7%
Hanifin – Andersson 56.8%
Kylington – Tanev 57.4%
Zadorov – Gudbranson 56.8%
Goals Saved + Avg
Markstrom +10.8
Stars & Flames: Last 10 Regular Season Games
In the last 10 regular season games the Dallas Stars were ranked 14th in win percentage at 0.60. They had the 21st ranked CF%, and the 22nd ranked xGF%. They weren’t exactly setting the world on fire. They had the 32nd ranked team five on five shooting percentage and the 7th best team save percentage.
The Stars on the season had the 11th best powerplay (just behind the Flames), and the 19th ranked penalty kill.
The Flames finished the season with the 7th ranked win percentage at 0.700. They had the 6th ranked CF%, and the 25th ranked xGF% (stinky). Their team shooting percentage was ranked 8th, and their team save percentage was 17th.
The Flames powerplay was ranked 10th, and their penalty kill was ranked 56th.
Klingberg Focus
The C of Red was certainly ready to let Jon Klingberg have it as the player was booed in the warmup, something I’m pretty sure I’ve never seen.
When the game started he was attacked both by the crowd and many a Calgary player and it looked to have rattled the player as he turned pucks over, missed his marks creating icing calls, and took two minor penalties.
The first of the minors was in a tussle with Matthew Tkachuk that got the crowd ever more into it.
More Non Event Hockey
The second game featured a few more high danger chances, but still not what you would call end to end high octane hockey.
The Stars got the game’s only goal in the first period when Noah Hanifin sent the puck up the boards to a winger that wasn’t there (yet) in Milan Lucic. The turn over led to a great Joe Paveski tip and from there the Flames were chasing the game.
Will be interesting to see if the series changes at all in Dallas or if this will continue to be a first goal wins affair.
Special Teams
Was an interestingly called game from the officials.
They backed off on the powerplay derby, as each team didn’t match their ten opportunities as we saw in game one. Only five in total with the Flames getting three and all five ending in doughnuts. Only one high danger chance on the powerplay for either team so you can safely say the PK units dominated, and with three kills to two they get the edge.
The other wrinkle was four coincidentals on the night, a fair way to control emotion in a game, but an added damper on five on five flow. More than a few of them could have just been let go … let them play.
Psyche
Honestly if you’re a Calgary fan you’re glad Darryl Sutter is the head coach, because it looks like coaching has some work to do when it comes to the team’s mental toughness.
Last night it felt like the Dallas first period goal caused a panic that never really went away.
It was like every player on the ice wanted to tie the game up NOW, and with that the game became forced and at times a little individual.
The system fell out of synch, they weren’t moving in a connected group of five as we’ve seen all year, a lot of decent passes went off of sticks, shots into shin pads, and no look passes forced to areas that could never work.
The other angle … it’s Dallas. They’ve found a way to disrupt the Flames flow.
That’s the $1M question. Can Calgary get back to how they have played all year, or has Dallas found a way to make that difficult? Does Sutter have an adjustment or two up his sleave?
As I said … glad they have Sutter.
Rough Night for the Meat
It wasn’t the best of nights for Calgary’s larger contingent as both the fourth line and third defense pairing were chasing it all night.
The fourth line was on for the only goal against, and took one of the minor penalties.
The third pairing seemed to get caught in their own zone too often resulting in long shifts and some tired legs.
Brett Ritchie was a team worst 18.4% in xGF% on the night.
Sutter had the fourth line at eight minutes again, so he’s not exactly rolling the four lines, but is it time to try some quicker feat in the final trio?
Counting Stats
Shots: Flames 29 Stars 23
Face Offs: Flames 43% / Stars 57%
Powerplay: Flames 0-3 / Stars 0-2
Fancy Stats
Similar to game one the Flames held a large territorial advantage, but that’s pretty much it. Having the puck more often and in their zone with greater frequency didn’t really translate to a lot of scoring chances, or an edge in chances over the Stars. Another very low event hockey game. Five on five the Flames had 66% of the shot attempts with period splits of 36%/78% and 67% respectively. In terms of five on five expected goals, the Flames had 55%, and for high danger scoring chances the Flames had 50%, with a 5-5 split.
In all situations the Flames had 66% of the shot attempts, 50% of the expected goals, and 59% of the high danger splits.
Individually, the Flames were led by Oliver Kylington with 74% in xGF% on the night. His partner Chris Tanev, and Matthew Tkachuk were also in the 70s. Blake Coleman, Johnny Gaudreau and Elias Lindholm were in the 60s. Four players were at the bottom and under 30% on the night; Brett Ritchie, Milan Lucic, Nikita Zadorov and Erik Gudbranson.
