May as well get right at it; do the Flames have a new number one goaltender?
That’s the enticing future is now feeling, but the logic answer is no, they don’t, at least not yet. Rookie Joni Ortio continues to cloud things for Hartley and the Flames however as he gives up only one goal on 28 shots to post his second straight victory (in two starts) in pacing the Flames to a 4-1 victory in Arizona.
The Flames in a battle for a playoff spot simply have to ice the best team they can each and every night, but can they do that with Ortio in Glens Falls?
The Flow
The Flames start on their heels and get bailed out in the first 30 seconds by rookie goaltender Joni Ortio when Sam Gagner is left all by himself in front of the net. They settle things down, and right the ship though they really don’t find a lot of jump for the rest of the period. Zeroes after one.
The Flames look great in the first ten minutes of the second, getting rewarded when a seemingly Mikael Backlund wrister hits a Coyote and eludes Smith for the Swede’s 4th goal in his four games back with the Flames. That line continues to show jump, with Backlund and Gaudreau bobbing and weaving however the duo is on the ice when the Coyotes tie it. Backlund leaves his check Boedeker who flips into the slot and beats Ortio off the iron. A Backlund giveaway late in the period almost makes it 2-1 Coyotes, but Ortio is ready and makes a solid save off former Flame David Moss. A late Calgary powerplay is listless giving the home side the momentum heading to the third.
A very calm Calgary team takes to the ice for the third period, and simply gets the job done. They out shoot the Yotes 13-7 (narrowing the gap going into the third) and scoring three straight times; markers from Jones, Giordano and Monahan into an empty net. Ortio isn’t tested in the third, but puts in another solid effort for the Flames.
Three Stars
1.Sean Monahan: Could anyone use an empty net goal more than Sean Monahan? The sophomore scores into the empty net, his first tally in 13 games and adds to assists to pace the Flames.
2.Joni Ortio: Any time you surrender only one goal on the road you give your team a chance to win, and that’s exactly what Ortio did through the first 40 minutes, allowing his teammates to take things over in the third.
3.Mikkel Boedker: The Yote’s hottest player continues his torrid ways with the club’s only goal in a 4-1 setback.
Big Save
Could pretty much pick three or four from Ortio, but the game’s first minute and his diving stone job on former Oiler Sam Gagner was a season highlight package save for the Flame rookie.
The Goat
Wouldn’t have thought this would be my pick heading into the third, but Mike Smith is the goat. Giving up three goals only 24 Flame’s shots simply isn’t good enough for the Olympic third stringer. The Coyotes were the better team through two, and needed their goaltender to answer Ortio’s heroics but he didn’t get it done in the third period giving up two goals on 12 shots, after making several big saves.
Mr. Clutch
David Jones. Pretty solid game for the forgotten one. Jones scores the game winner, adds an assist and goes +3 on the night. Hartley seems to be gaining confidence in Jones as he’s getting more ice and becoming a plug and play winger up and down the roster.
Odds and Ends
Tough road trip at a tough time under tough circumstances. The Flames on a five game road trip really only had one game against a team that they “should” beat, and that was tonight in Arizona. Joni Ortio won them a game in Vancouver, and was key again tonight, and they now have three tough battles in California ahead of them. Tough time and circumstances because the team has had two elongated breaks in the last two weeks, and another coming with the all star break next week. That’s a lot of disjointed flow for a team that desperately needs to hit on all cylinders if they want to get back into things. … Still don’t get where that quick pass, stretch, speed team went this season. A drop in confidence? The changes to the roster with veterans coming back? Or have coaches figured them out and took away their strengths? Because the Flames just don’t generate a whole lot offensively anymore relying way too much on their goaltenders and a powerplay that is really sputtering. A step in the right direction in the third, so could it be effort? Puzzling. … Curtis Glencross seemed to hurt a knee twisting to get a shot on the Coyote net in the first period, and didn’t return. Glencross is a left winger, but I’m assuming that could mean the return of Mason Raymond for Saturday night in San Jose if Glencross can’t go. … Thought Drew Shore looked pretty sound tonight. He didn’t get in on any real offensive chances, but was great positionally and didn’t look out of place at all. If you want to move up the depth chart and solidify and NHL career in Calgary (lets face it anywhere) you need to show you have the defensive chops, and Shore did that tonight. … Mentioned before the game that Monahan scoring is a huge issue for this team. He’s played well but has had no luck. As a streaky scorer a goal from the kid would likely lead to 5 in 4 games and a huge boost for this road trip. Here’s hoping an empty netter counts! … I took the bait and went with the sexy sells opening, I’ll admit it. Ortio was solid though, and a big part of the win because of his efforts through the first two periods. He was an iron and in away from back to back shut outs as it turns out, which is beside the point clearly. He’s hot now and he could easily fizzle out, but until that happens I think the Flames have to activate Ramo, send Granlund down and carry three goaltenders. Let Ortio carry the ball until he loses and then reassess things at the all star break. A team battling for a playoff spot has to ice the best roster they possibly can, and that’s tough to do with your hottest goaltender is 4000 miles away. … The Flames win was matched by the Canucks in Philly tonight meaning they remain two points back of Vancouver, but move to within two points of San Jose (playing now against Toronto so we know where this is going) and one point of the Kings. Still in the mix!
Next Up
The interrupted road trip continues in San Jose on Saturday night when the Flames and Sharks, two teams battling for wild card spots go head to head. Game time 8pm on HNIC.
Lines:
Curtis Glencross – Sean Monahan – Jiri Hudler
Johnny Gaudreau – Mikael Backlund – David Jones
Lance Bouma – Drew Shore – Joe Colborne
Brandon Bollig – Matt Stajan – Paul Byron
Mark Giordano – TJ Brodie
Kris Russell – Dennis Wideman
Laddy Smid – Rapha Diaz
Joni Ortio
