The LA Kings came to town angry. Calgary’s huge comeback win, and Gaudreau’s magical 3-goal performance, were still fresh on their minds, as evidenced by Doughty’s pregame comments: “We know what to expect from him now. We maybe underestimated him a little bit in the first game. Not this time.”
And of course, it is a huge game in the standings, with LA sitting at 43 points (tied with Vancouver and San Jose) and the Flames only two points back at 41.
But for the 5th time in their last 7 meetings, the Flames frustrated the Kings and came away with the two points. It was tough at times, but they got the early lead with 2 fantastic goals off rushes and then held on for a hard fought and well earned 2 points.
The Flow
Well, the Kings may have been looking forward to the rematch, but it was the Flames that had a jump in the first. It was tight checking for about 10 minutes until Hudler entered the zone one on one and, instead of shooting, spun around and fed a beautiful pass to a wide open Glencross trailing the play. He made no mistake, beating Quick and giving the Flames the lead. Then only a minute later, Gaudreau came down the left wing, turned Greene inside out, then passed it over (or through) the other d-man who was sprawled on the ice in an attempt to stifle what was now a two on one with Hudler. Hudler then passed it back to the trailing Granlund in the slot, who had a wide open cage into which he made no mistake.
Two beautiful goals, and the Flames were up 2-0 after one. Shots were 7 apiece, but that was not at all indicative, as the scoring chances and positional play favoured Calgary.
The second is usually the Flames’ worst period, and I go into it hoping for a blank from both teams. And not unexpectedly, the Kings had a pushback. However, the Flames were solid defensively and kept them to the outside for the most part. And with a minute left in the period, I thought I was going to get my wish. But then a bad line change and a good pass by Brown to Toffoli, who went in alone and made it 2-1. Shots in the second were 10-3 in favour of the Kings.
They carried momentum from that goal into the third and held the play for the first 7 or 8 minutes. But the Flames again kept them to the outside for the most part. Then they got their skating legs going and started to push back.
But it was going to be a grind the whole way. LA kept pressing. A late surge by the Flames and Gaudreau drew another penalty as Stoll held his stick. But the Flames couldn’t capitalize and after killing the penalty, the Kings pressed to the final buzzer for the equalizer. However, Hiller and the Flames shut the door and preserved the win.
Three Stars
1.Jonas Hiller: He was solid throughout the game, especially after Toffoli’s goal, and then again late in the third with Quick on the bench.
2.Jiri Hudler: Two beautiful assists as he set up both goals.
3.Tyler Toffoli: Got LA’s only goal and very nearly got them another one.
Big Save
After Toffoli made it 2-1, the Kings had more pressure in the final minute. Gaudreau coughed it up in the slot and Toffoli jumped on the rebound and looked to wrap it around Hiller to tie the game. But Hiller’s right leg shot out and thwarted Toffoli to keep the score at 2-1. It might have been a very different game if they had tied it up there.
The Goat
Hard to pick one as the Flames played a pretty solid effort throughout. I thought about giving it to the line change that resulted in Toffoli’s goal, but really it was a great pass by Brown and a great play by Toffoli. No need to point any fingers.
Mr. Clutch
Could have given it to Hudler for being absolute money on both goals, but I am going to give it to Hiller as he made a few key saves at key times that kept the Kings at bay.
Odds and Ends
The Kings entered the game red hot on the PP with 10 goals in their last 5 games. However, the Flames PKers did a nice job of shutting down both LA power plays… After the Kings scored the first 3 goals in the series, the Flames scored the next 6 straight… The Flames have taken 5 of the last 7 games between these teams… Last year on December 29th, the Flames had a record of 14-18-6 for 34 points in 38 games. They were 20 points behind the Kings, and only 4 up on the Oilers. They didn’t get their 20th win until Jan 31st and game #54. After tonight’s game they are 20-15-3 for 43 points… The Canucks, Sharks, Kings and Flames now all sit with 43 points, though the Flames have played more games than the others… Glencross scored for the second game in a row… Gaudreau has 7 points in his last 4 games… Hudler has 6 points in the last 4 games, 19 in the last 16, and has overtaken Giordano for the team lead…
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Next Up
It’s a New Years match up with the Oilers, as the Flames put their 3 game winning streak on the line.
Lines:
Curtis Glencross – Sean Monahan – David Jones
Johnny Gaudreau – Markus Granlund – Jiri Hudler
Mason Raymond – Joe Colborne – Paul Byron
Brandon Bollig – Matt Stajan – Lance Bouma
Mark Giordano – TJ Brodie
Kris Russell – Dennis Wideman
Deryk Engellend – Rapha Diaz
Jonas Hiller
