The Flames are reeling.
After a 5-0-1 start to the season, the undermanned club has hit the diversion to the mean smack between the eyes as they’ve lost four straight and have been outscored 10-1 in the last two games after getting thumped 5-1 in Utah tonight.
Five on five the Flames were solid through two periods, but were out goalied and out special teamed in falling to the ex Coyotes.
The Flames didn’t get the outcome they were looking for on Mikael Backlund night, and now return to play Jacob Markstrom and the Devils on Friday night.
The Lineup
Lots of change for the Flames with the 5-0 spanking in Vegas.
Sam Honzek returns after his absence from an upper body injury (concussion?) suffered against the Blackhawks earlier this month. He slides into Connor Zary’s spot on the Mikael Backlund line with Blake Coleman. Zary moves to Nazem Kadri’s line with Martin Pospisil, in a reunion of a very effective line from last season. That move bumps Andrei Kuzmenko to the Jonathan Huberdeau line with Yegor Sharangovich. Finally, this bumps the struggling Anthony Mantha to the fourth line with Ryan Lomberg and Justin Kirkland. Kevin Rooney to the sidelines.
On the blueline change as well. No change to the top pairing with Rasmus Andersson and Kevin Bahl. Brayden Pachal moves up to play with Mackenzie Weegar, and both Jake Bean and Tyson Barrie return to the lineup with Daniil Miromanov and Joel Hanley taking a seat.
Dustin Wolf gets his first road start as the Flames continue the rotation.
Pre Game Stats
With the three game skid the Flames are finally starting to see some correction in numbers.
Their PDO, while still ranked 4th is now at 1.021, which is high but not as eye popping as the 1.05 they boasted ten days ago. The 102.1 is built on the 5th best all situations shooting percentage (not sustainable), and the 8th ranked all situations save percentage (potentially more sustainable with quality young goaltenders).
A really telling stat … the Flames are now 24th in five on five xGF%, suggesting they are now routinely out played.
They were 2nd overall before the skid. They now sit 12th.
Mikael Backlund …
1000 games is an amazing accomplishment.
1000 games with the same team is a rare and special accomplishment.
Sometimes players latch on and wind down their careers in limited roles, playing limited minutes. Mikael Backlund, if anything has had his role increase with the exodus from Calgary; moving from the team’s third line center to arguably their second.
And his numbers are astonishing.
Going back to the beginning of the 2022-23 season (2.1 seasons), Mikael Backlund is ranked 21st for forwards that have played 1400 or more minutes in xGF% at 57%. And he’s not a one trick pony. He his 34th for forwards in xGF60 in that time frame at 3.10 goals per game five on five. He’s been an elite play driving forward for a dozen years in the best league in the world.
With game 1000 tonight he becomes the second player in Flames history to play 1000 games in Calgary colours. He’s now 219 games behind Jarome Iginla for the franchise lead, and 51 games past Mark Giordano.
He sits 7th in all time Flames scoring with 536 points and has a chance to catch Gary Suter for 6th by season’s end.
I’m guessing he will be 4th behind only Iginla, Theo Fleury and Al MacInnis when he’s done.
Great Flame. Great career. Great human.
Wolf’s Start
Honestly not his best game.
Certainly his worst of five starts on the season.
He got better as the game marched on, including a third period where the Flames seemed to abandon him completely.
In the end 3.55 in expected goals in all situations and five against.
On the Farm
Matt Coronato with a deuce!
No not that kind of deuce, but a two goal game in his second start for the Wranglers since being demoted.
The controversy from the agent has been quelled, but clearly it’s a great sign to see the young sniper get to work on proving that he’s deserving of a recall.
Keep it up!
Odds and Sods
Rough start for the Backlund line on Backlund night. I mean the first shift was solid, but their second shift featured two turnovers from Blake Coleman, the second resulting in the first Utah goal. This after getting hemmed in for almost two minutes. … Don’t mind the Utah colour scheme. Team needs a name, but I like the jersey build. So many new teams go extreme, they have the basic NHL look which this old guy appreciates. … Interesting merit but then not roster moves for this game. Scratching Rooney and Hanley made a lot of sense. Demoting Mantha did as well. But Miromanov had a great game in Vegas, maybe his best of the season. … I thought Sam Honzek looked a little hesitant when he got the puck in his first few shifts. A little gun shy from the big hit he took that put him out. That might be it? Could be heading to the Wranglers. … The Flames were pretty good five on five in the first period, but their powerplay just stunk. Complete momentum killer. … To activate Sam Honzek the Flames sent Adam Klapka to the Wrangers before the game. A good start to the season for the Wranglers and they’re getting deeper. … Have to hand it to Anthony Mantha for taking the demotion well and playing a pretty robust hockey game. Scores a second period goal, and then takes a roughing penalty. The latter not the aim, but you want that big guy involved. … Calgary probably the better team again in the second but drop the middle frame by a goal. …
Fancy Stats
The Flames were solid five on five through two periods, but lost the battle on special teams and then mailed in the third. The Flames, five on five, had 47% (38%/67%/35%) of the shot attempts, 63% of the high danger chances, and 55% of the expected goals. In all situations they had 43% of the shot attempts, 44% of the high danger chances and 38% of the expected goals.
Individually, the Flames were led by Andrei Kuzmenko with an xGF% of 83%. Jonathan Huberdeau, Brayden Pachal and Yegor Sharangovich were all in the 70s. Blake Coleman with a brutal night at 7%.
