Burn the tape!
An old saying that couldn’t be used in a more proper time frame than tonight’s game a true disaster for two goaltenders and two franchises, but one more than the other as the Florida Panthers skated away with a 6-5 debacle on Friday night.
As Count Floyd used to say on SCTV … “Scary kids, … oooh very very scary”.
The Flow
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Could be an insult to even describe what I saw under the word flow. The Flames started the game firmly on their heels. It was a pretty big surprise that they actually went ahead on a Matt Stajan slapper because they were getting completely outplayed. At one point the Panthers were up 7-1 in shots with the Flames scoring on their only attempt on net let alone shot. By the end of the period it was tied at two, Calgary’s two markers on only six shots.
The second was more of the same. Teams would direct pucks to the net and goaltenders would flat out miss them. Calgary went ahead when Montoya lost a rebound and Mikael Backlund scored his second goal in as many games after a 29 game hiatus. The Panthers tied it. Calgary goes ahead again when TJ Brodie fired a puck that appeared to go right through the jumping cat on the logo of Montoya and out his rear end to snatch the lead again. The Panthers tied it. You get the idea, off to the third tied at four.
The third was a banner period for goaltenders as they only surrendered three goals in this period instead of the predetermined four yielded in each of the first two periods. The Panthers go ahead the Flames tie it on Stajan’s 2nd of the night late, but 45 seconds later the Panthers find the winner and everyone stands and leaves trying to forget what they saw.
Three Stars
1.Erik Gudbranson:Lead the Panthers in ice time, had an assist and was +3 for the visitors.
2.Matt Stajan: Two goals and a +2 rating on a night as ugly as this? Should have been first star.
3.Jonathan Huberdeau: Goal and an assist to pace the Cats in a weird one.
Big Save
Do I have to pick one? Neither guy deserved his name in lights but when Paul Byron cut through the defense and went in all alone on a sieve you had to assume the game was about to be tied again, but Montoya slid over and got a pad on the play to keep the game 5-4 Florida.
The Goat
Take your pick honestly. The third defence pairing (Smid and Engellend) were both -3, but then so too was the third line of Mason Raymond, Paul Byron and Markus Granlund. Lots of “3”s in there so lets blame the number three for the goat. (Revers of Sesame Street).
Mr. Clutch
Mikael Backlund. Slick Swede picks up a goal and an assist for the second straight game, and is a +1 on a night when many of his teammates were -2 or -3. He brings some calm to a team that needs a lot more than some in this one.
Odds and Ends
Backlund has been very impressive in his two starts since the injury, and as I said last game I hope its not just momentum and energy. He never panics with the puck, makes good reads and makes the wingers that hit the ice with him better. The lines tonight were a hot mess, but he still managed a solid outing moving in and out of all four lines. … Will be interesting to see what Hartley comes up with for lines tomorrow night in Vancouver. The Monahan/Hudler/Gaudreau line didn’t click at all but then Monahan probably had his worst game since turning pro 18 months ago. He fought the puck all night, coughed it up often, and was -2 in a game where he was barely recognizable. Hudler and Gaudreau had a late shift with Backlund that showed promise, and I think the Stajan/Glencross/Jones lines had some jump at times so there are a few combinations that he can work with. … What this team really really needs is a boost to the defense core. The Flames may be happy to leave things as they are in a surprising season that wasn’t meant to amount to much, but the club desperately needs to upgrade the 3/4 defenseman and move Wideman into a 5 role. The key is finding the four that can play with Russell and start the ripple effect. If the team is serious about the playoffs they may want to try Wotherspoon there soon. … Will be interesting to see what Hartley does in Vancouver tomorrow night in goal. Hiller was awful so does he come back with Ortio? I think I would. I get the veteran gives you the best option cliché but Ortio has been red hot in the AHL in the last 10 weeks so why not throw him in and see what happens? … The Flames have now lost three in a row and have slipped back to 3 games over .500 in a conference that likely dictates the need to be 14 games over when the dust settles. That’s not good math people … The Oilers shocking win over the Hawks tonight has them a point out of 29th and two points out of 28th so maybe that franchise player worry can be put on hold!
Next Up
With the home stand over the Flames start a disjointed road trip in Vancouver tomorrow night (Saturday), game time 8pm on HNIC. Then they return home for four days before heading to Arizona.
Lines:
Johnny Gaudreau – Sean Monahan – Jiri Hudler
Curtis Glencross – Mikael Backlund – Joe Colborne
Mason Raymond – Mikael Backlund – Paul Byron
Lance Bouma – Matt Stajan – David Jones
Mark Giordano – TJ Brodie
Kris Russell – Dennis Wideman
Deryk Engellend – Laddy Smid
Jonas Hiller
