The Flames took their 12-3-1 divisional record into San Jose where they have already won once this season. It was a crucial 4 pointer, and both teams played like it.
The Flames got off to a quick start and posted (the dreaded) 2-0 lead, but SJ pushed back and took a 3-2 lead of their own, But the Flames showed a lot of resilience and got themselves back in it and eventually tied it and then won it in overtime. It was a huge victory for the team, and Ortio’s third straight,
The Flow
Hartley replaced Shore with Granlund and on their first shift, he screened Niemi on Wideman’s 11th goal of the season. Five minutes later, Stajan had a real good shift on the PK and eventually caused a turnover that sent Colborne in alone. He made his patented deke on Niemi and it was 2-0 Flames. It was a solid road period and the Flames outshot the Sharks 11-4 while also outhitting them 7-6.
Unfortunately, games also have second periods. It took only 12 seconds for Couture to streak down the wing and beat Ortio with a snap shot. At first it looked like a softy, but the replay showed that it tipped off Wideman’s stick. Two minutes later, Thornton banged in a rebound on the PP and the lead was gone. A few minutes later, Karlsson knocked it in with his foot. It looked like a pretty blatant kick-in, but the short review allowed it, and the Sharks had the lead. A few minutes later, the Flames finally started to push back and after a couple good shifts, Hudler scored with a nice shot to tie it at 3. Shots in the 2nd were 10-6 for the Sharks.
The 3rd was tight checking and pretty even. There weren’t a whole lot of really good chances until about half way through when Marleau went in all alone on Ortio but Ortio absolutely robbed him. The Sharks had a couple more good chances, but Ortio was solid. Shots were 8-4 Sharks but the Flames got a hard fought road point.
In OT, the Flames got immediate possession which resulted in an offensive draw. Monahan won it back to Giordano and went to the net where the rebound landed on his stick and he made no mistake. It only took 24 seconds and the Flames improved their OT record to an incredible 9-3.
Three Stars
1.Joe Colborne: Had a short-handed goal and an assist and was a threat all night.
2.Sean Monahan: Scored the game winner in OT. Nuff said.
3. Logan Couture: Got the Sharks on the board and was his usual, solid self.
Big Save
Mid way through the 3rd period with the game still tied, Marleau had a clear breakaway. He went forehand, backhand and thought he had a goal, but Ortio made a beautiful, fully extended glove save.
The Goat
Was tempted to go with the refs, but decided to go with the commentators. Randorf in particular was horrible and was simply lost on several occasions. At one point, he admitted to having seen the Flames play “3 or 4 times this year”. Seriously, HNIC, this is the best you can do?
Mr. Clutch
Sean Monahan is Mr OT. He won a draw in the offensive zone, went to the net, and banged in the game winner. It was his 5th GWG and 4th OT winner in his short career. He is tied for the league lead with 3 OT winners this year.
Odds and Ends
Heading into tonight’s action, the Flames led SJ in goals for, goals against, 5 on 5 scoring, and goal differential. Basically, the only thing SJ has been doing better is special teams – both their PP and PK have been better than the Flames, and that has gotten them the one or two wins that have them ahead of us… Ortio started his 3rd consecutive game and got his 3rd win. The first goal looked to beat him clean, but the replay showed that it went off Wideman’s stick. Other than that, Ortio was really good again, making several big saves. He stoned Marleau at least 4 times… The Gaudreau-Backlund-Hudler line was uncharacteristically quiet, though Hudler did get the game tying goal late in the 2nd… Backlund assisted on Hudler’s goal, extending his post-injury streak to 4G and 3A in 5 games… Hartley made a surprise move, scratching Shore and inserting Granlund, with speculation being that he wasn’t ready to burn Shore’s last non-waivers game just yet. In the end it looked like a brilliant move as Granlund had a solid game… Giordano had a couple assists, was +2 and had 3 blocked shots, but he also had a couple of shocking, un-Giordano-like giveaways … Shots were 23-22 Flames, they outhit the Sharks 27-15, and held their own in the face-off circle being edged 37-33… The win lifts the Flames into 8th in the west, pending the outcome of the Kings-Ducks game…
Next Up
The western road swing continues in LA Monday night at 8:30 on Sportsnet.
Lines:
Lance Bouma – Sean Monahan – David Jones
Johnny Gaudreau – Mikael Backlund – Jiri Hudler
Mason Raymond – Markus Granlund – Joe Colborne
Brandon Bollig – Matt Stajan – Paul Byron
Mark Giordano – TJ Brodie
Kris Russell – Dennis Wideman
Deryk Engellend – Ladislav Smid
Joni Ortio
