Game Takes: Flames 4 Oilers 2

January 31st, 2015 | Posted in Game Takes | By: D'Arcy McGrath

Statistics and averages need sample size in order to draw conclusions and push hypothesis.

When a team does something out of character for a dozen games its easy to scoff at the results and suggest that the shoe will drop and the math will push the upstarts back to normalcy. The Flames, starting in January of last season have now reeled off the equivalent of a hockey season with a solid winning record despite advanced stats that suggest they have an aversion for having the puck on their sticks for more than 40% of the game.

Tonight the Flames pushed hard against another law of averages, that is their penchant for coming from behind, winning their 9th game when trailing coming into the third, this time erasing a 2-0 Edmonton lead to win the contest 4-2. Crazy.

The Flow

A little bit of deja vu from New Year’s Eve with the Flames spotting the Oilers a 2-0 lead after one. The game starts with Calgary pushing the play, but the fourth line loses their check on a face off in the Calgary zone resulting in a Jordan Eberle goal early. That goal is quickly followed by back to back scraps before the game settles in to a back and forth battle. Another lost face off results in the second goal for the Oilers when Hiller stays too long on one post and fails to get over to the other side to stop Pouliot, a player let go by Wideman on the check. Calgary pushes again late but can’t find a marker before the end of the stanza.

Calgary continues their territorial edge in the second period, especially in the first 10 minutes, but had difficulty beating shin pads, sticks and bounces in generating a whole lot offensively. The period was scoreless and the shots 6-5 Calgary, but the time possession was two to one for the Flames in the 20 minute frame. Calgary now at 104 minutes scoreless and counting.

So how does the NHL’s best third period handle the 29th place club in the third period with an entry point of down 2-0? Easy, score four unanswered goals and walk away with a 4-2 home ice victory, naturally. The Flames come out buzzing again, and finally hit the scoresheet when Mason Raymond walks around the net and fires a puck through a Paul Byron screen to put the Flames on the scoreboard. The Flames come back three minutes later when Lance Bouma buries a Mikael Backlund pass to tie things up. The Oilers, reeling, take a penalty and you guessed it, bank shot Sean Monahan and the Flames lead 3-2. Bouma adds another on a two on one when Backlund feeds him again and its lights out for the Oilers.

Three Stars

1.Lance Bouma: The feel good story for the season continues as Lance Bouma just keeps on chugging, scores two third period goals to pace the Flames.
2.Mikael Backlund: Two great off wing passes to the center of the ice, resulting in Lance Bouma third period goals.
3.Jordan Eberle: Great game for the local kid, as Eberle picks up two points in the first period and continues to push the play through the game.

Big Save

With the Flames back in the game and pressing in the third period, Klinkhammer, the well traveled winger has a chance on a partial break to pop the Saddledome balloon but is fronted by Jonas Hiller to keep the game 2-1 Edmonton and set up the comeback.

The Goat

Oiler whipping boys Schultz and Yakupov both go -2 in a disastrous third period for the Oilers as they roll over and cough up another one to their rivals.

Mr. Clutch

David Jones. He’s starting to push the balance in that odd Calgary/Colorado trade with a quietly solid season this year. He’s been less injured, and more consistent, and a good big body presence for the Flames most nights. Picked up two points tonight and was key in the 4 goal third period for the good guys.

Odds and Ends

Hard to remember the last Oilers game that had me tense through the day! Usually both teams are long and dusted by the time the last day of January rolled around, so a game that matters as much as this one did to the Flames is new for me. Do remember the Flames officially eliminating the Oilers from playoff contention a number of years ago, and of course two years ago the Oilers pounded the Flames before inexplicably falling apart and sliding down the standings soon after. … Interesting to see Bollig push a fight with Aulie in the first period. A move that was clearly driven from the last game when Stajan got lit up by Aulie on New Year’s Eve. Good sign either way, but leaves me wondering if it was a Hartley call? Leadership call? Bollig on his own? … Was interesting to see Hartley alter the lines in the second period, moving David Wolf up the roster a notch, and Paul Byron down a few. Byron was the story in town after the Wild loss because of another blown breakaway, and was a start in Hudler’s place despite the fact CBC was reporting that Baertschi was going to dress. An energetic player that has been snake-bit, which when you’re small clearly hurts your chances of staying in the lineup. Wolf for the record looked good, hitting a cross bar in the second period. Sadly he left the game in the third period with what looked like a knee injury. … Coming into the season the Achilles’ Heal, or at least the expected issue was goal scoring, and not having a lot of pop up front. Fast forward 5 months and the Flames have Gaudreau as a rookie of the year candidate, but now find themselves in a bit of a funk, or at least it appeared to be the case through 40 minutes. The game reminded me a lot of that game in Phoenix when the Flames looked flustered through 40 than world beaters in the third. So why? A lot of it seems to come from the transition as the puck is constantly caromed off the glass and in players feet instead of tape to tape with short passes as we saw earlier in the season. Do teams back off in the third? Do the Flames come on? Do they have better fitness? Is the come from behind mystique pushing them and wreaking havoc with opposition psyche? Interesting … The Lance Bouma story continues to be a great example of development versus drafting and I guess basic patience. Bouma is not a guy that jumps off the page, and if judged by total impact on the game in his first few pro seasons, would barely register. Then he discovers the penalty kill and the shot block to carve out an NHL niche, and now he’s contributing up the ice too. Good teams develop hockey players this way, bad teams give up quickly and move on. … Mikael Backlund with two assists now has 10 points in 10 games since returning to the lineup three weeks ago. Talk about a trade deadline acquisition. …

Next Up

A huge game on Monday night with the Jets in town to play the Flames. Game time 7pm on Sportsnet. Huge opportunity to pull closer to Winnipeg or for the Jets to put a spike in the Flames.

Lines:

Lance Bouma – Mikael Backlund – David Jones
Johnny Gaudreau – Sean Monahan – Paul Byron
Mason Raymond – Josh Jooris – Joe Colborne
Brandon Bollig – Matt Stajan – David Wolf

Mark Giordano – TJ Brodie
Kris Russell – Dennis Wideman
Daryk Engelland – Rapha Diaz

Jonas Hiller



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