Flames Give Up 5 in the Third; Lose to Ducks

February 21st, 2015 | Posted in Game Takes | By: Gary Cooper

As hard as it is to believe, the Flames were in a position to move within 7 points of the Ducks for the Pacific division lead if they could manage a regulation win. And for a change, they got off to a good start, getting an early lead. But despite a perfect 14-0-0 record when leading heading into the 3rd, they gave up 5 3rd period goals and let the game slip away.

It was a particularly disappointing loss, being on the eve of a 7 game road trip that will take them much of the eastern seaboard. Also, the Canucks had lost earlier in the evening, opening the door for them to grab 2nd place in the Pacific. But it wasn’t to be. and now they will have 3 days to think about this one before facing the Rangers on Tuesday.

The Flow

The Flames looked determined to get off to a better start. They moved the puck well, hit everything in sight and even generated a couple penalties to get a 40 second 5 on 3. But the PP couldn’t deliver. They kept working though, and kept forcing turnovers from the Anaheim defense. After some good pressure, Fowler coughed it up in the slot to Colborne. He turned and fired and, though Gibson saved it, he left a big juicy rebound that Stajan buried to give the Flames that rare first period lead. The period continued the same way, with the Flames getting a little more zone time than the Ducks. I liked the way the Flames were able to pressure the Duck defense down deep to generate turnovers. Shots were 11-9, hits were 13-6, and face-offs were 11-8, all in the Flames’ favour.

The Ducks tried to get off to a better start in the 2nd and had a couple early shots. But the Flames pushed back. One of the Ducks’ penalties in the 1st was a brutal crosscheck by Stoner on Gaudreau. Jones answered it in the 2nd with a heavy check on Stoner that left him slow to get up and then he drew a penalty. But for the 3rd time in the game, the PP was anemic. The Flames kept pressing though, and a couple minutes later, Wideman kept the puck in at the blue-line and made a really good, heads-up shot-pass right to Bouma’s stick in front and Bouma directed it through Gibson’s legs to make it 2-0. Really nice play by Wideman. A bit later, Gaudreau got his stick up on Kesler’s face (who could blame him) and gave the Ducks their first PP of the night. But the PK was up to the challenge. After a lengthy shift in the Flames’ end, a couple forwards tried to get in a line change, allowing the Ducks to enter the zone with an odd man rush. Perry fired a slapshot and the rebound hit Cogliano and ended up behind Hiller. Shortly after, the Flames had a 4 on 1 – Hudler to Gaudreau to Hudler to Brodie, but he couldn’t get the shot through. It was an energetic, and occasionally scary period, but it ended with the Flames leading 2-1. Shots were 16-8 in favour of the Ducks.

The Flames got an early PP to start the 3rd but couldn’t find any success. The Ducks gained momentum from the kill and controlled the majority of the play from there. Cogliano raced down the wing and threw it out front nicely to Beauchemin who tipped it home to tie the game. A couple minutes later Getzlaf fired a harmless looking shot from the point that was well wide, but bounced off the boards, out front, and off the back of Hiller’s leg and into the net. Suddenly the Ducks had the lead for the first time in the game. Just a short while later, Backlund coughed up the puck in front of his own net, giving Palmieri a freebee. 4-2 Ducks with 8 minutes left. After another turnover in their own end, the Ducks jumped on the puck and Maroon threw it out front to a wide open Silfverberg who put it past Hiller to make it 5-2. Flames got a late PP and Monahan hammered in a rebound to make it 5-3. Assists to Glencross and Gaudreau. But with Hiller on the bench, Lindholm curled one into the empty net from inside his own bluelline to end it. Final score 6-3 Anaheim. Shots were 38-28 for the Ducks.

Three Stars

1.Andrew Cogliano: Had a goal and an assist and used his speed to generate chances all night
2.Hampus Lindholm: Saved two possible goals, making saves on a 2 on 1 and a 4 on 1 in the second period. Then got rewarded with the empty netter to close the night.
3.Ryan Getzlaf: As he often does against the Flames, used his size to cause the Flames fits. Had a goal and an assist and was +2

Big Save

With the Flames up 2-1 late in the 2nd, they had a 4 on 1 rush. Hudler passed it to Brodie in the slot who fired a shot towards Gibson. But Lindholm, the lone defender kicked out his right skate and made a great toe save.

The Goat

After the Ducks had tied it, and had grabbed the momentum, Getzlaf shot it from the point about a foot wide. Instead of hugging the post, Hiller was a couple feet out in front of his net, and not really following the puck. It bounced off the back wall and out front where it hit the back of Hiller’s leg and went in. The goal was a backbreaker and everyone in the building knew it.

Mr. Clutch

Hampus Lindholm seemed to be the only defenseman capable of stopping the Flames in the first two periods. He made several good defensive plays, including making saves on a 2 on 1 and a 4 on 1.

Odds and Ends

Lots of off-ice distractions for the first time all year. Earlier in the week, it came out that the Flames had asked Curtis Glencross to waive his NTC. Speculation was that his list was originally just one team – with many believing that was Anaheim – but apparently that list has expanded to include a handful of teams. Glencross is a warrior who loves the Flames and loves the city, but sometimes it is just time for a change. With 10 days until the trade deadline, we shall see if tonight was his final home game, and whether his time with the Flames has come to an end… In other news today, Bennett hit the ice wearing a white jersey instead of the green one he has ben wearing as a non-starter. That led to speculation that he might be in the lineup tonight, however that didn’t happen… Instead, Granlund was called up and inserted into the lineup, replacing the injured Byron… Lance Bouma scored his 12th goal and 3rd in the last 4 games. He now has 8 points in the last 10 and 15 in the last 19 games. Incredible. It seems pretty clear that his emergence is a big reason why Glencross’ ice-time has been reduced. Bouma provides more energy, more hits, and now, more offense than Glencross and as a result has moved up into the top 6 (along with Gaudreau as the LWs), pushing Glencross down the depth charts… Sean Monahan got his 20th goal of the season, to go along with 20 assists. If memory serves, that makes him the first Flame to score at least 20 goals in each of his first two seasons since Makarov in 89 and 90.

Next Up

They get a long weekend off before the longest road trip of the season gets started in Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night. Gametime is 5PM on Sportsnet West

Lines:

Lance Bouma – Mikael Backlund – David Jones
Johnny Gaudreau – Sean Monahan – Jiri Hudler
Curtis Glencross – Markus Granlund – Mason Raymond
Brendan Bollig – Matt Stajan – Joe Colborne

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

Jonas Hiller



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