There have been games this season where I look up the advanced stats the next morning and vehemently disagree with the bottom line. Sure the Ducks had more shots in a 6-3 Calgary win, but the Flames were the better team despite the fancy outcomes on web sites across the continent. And then there are nights like tonight.
Tonight the Flames were effectively schooled. A playoff caliber team out classed what looked like a playoff pretender by a 4-2 score in a game that broke open late but was held in check only due to the heroics of goaltender Kari Ramo.
The Flames were bad or the Wild were good, or a little of both, but they weren’t in the same league.
The Flow
Great start for the Flames. They pretty much owned the play for the game’s first five minutes, something completely out of character for the club this season. They were rewarded when a high traffic slot melee resulted in a loose puck bouncing out for Josh Jooris who roofed it for his continuously surprising 12th of the season to give the Flames the lead. The Wild got untracked and came at the Flames pretty good, including a Minnesota powerplay that resulted in a partial break for Sean Monahan only to be caught by Suter from behind, keeping the game 1-0. Later on the powerplay the Wild made them pay when Matt Dumba picked up his own trickling rebound to tie things up. Calgary hangs on at the end, and is out shot by a 13-6 margin.
The Flames start the second where they finished the first; firmly on their heels! The Wild continue to roll over them as the Flames play chip and chase and Minnesota drive the puck hard to the net and put pressure on the Flames at every turn. Calgary stabilizes midway through the period and generates some chances of their own, probably controlling the play for a good 5 minutes in the middle of the period. The Wild finish the period on a frenzy to out shoot the Calgarians 15-9 but neither team are able to find the scoresheet.
The Flames seemed to be playing for overtime from the drop of the puck in the third period, a recipe for disaster that ended in well … disaster. The Wild scored three straight third period goals, chasing Ramo and running away with a fairly routine 4-2 victory. The home team was clearly the better team on this night with the Flames clinging to a 1-1 tie as long as they possibly could.
Three Stars
1.Zach Parise: A late goal to give the Wild insurance and a whopping 7 shots on goal for the former Devil.
2.Kari Lehtonen: Koivu had a terrible start to the season, but has turned the corner including a goal tonight (well aware of his season given my hockey pool!)
3.Jonas Brodin: An assist, a +3 and 23 minutes of ice time for the emerging young goaltender.
Big Save
Not entirely sure why Zach Parise was left all alone in the slot towards the end of the first period in a crucial game deadlocked at one, but he was. Not to worry, Ramo slid over and stoned his forehand to backhand move to keep the game knotted. If you want to pick a series of saves how about the last couple of minutes of the second when the Wild seemed to have 8 shots in a row on Ramo, with the Finnish goaltender sprawling his pads out to stop all of them.
The Goat
Thought the Flames big three on the blueline had a tough one, with Russell putting up a -3, Wideman -2, and Brodie -1 with a late giveaway to Parise to put things away and some bad passing choices on a crucial late powerplay. These guys are tiring out in my estimation.
Mr. Clutch
Devan Dubnyk didn’t get a game star but was solid in keeping the Flames at bay especially for a stretch in the second and then late in the third when the Flames pressed. His play is even more impressive when you consider he’s started 33 straight games!
Odds and Ends
Jooris’ first period goal gives him 12 on the season which is quite a story in itself if not for the exploits of Johnny Gaudreau. League wide Jooris is now tied for 9th spot in rookie goal scoring, an amazing feat for a guy that wasn’t even on the Flames radar when camp opened in Calgary in the fall. He is now. … Speaking of Gaudreau, was interesting to see that play towards the end of the first period when Gaudreau got the puck near the point and had no direct challenge from a Wild player, almost as if they scouting report is not to challenge him for fear of getting beat. He eventually flipped the puck in on goal harmlessly. … Hartley got creative with his right wingers half way through the game, making the lines tough to track. It appeared Paul Byron got elevated into Jones spot and Jones flipped down to play with Granlund and Raymond, but as I say it was tough to track. … Speaking of Byron, that third period shift with Backlund and Bouma was epic Byron, reminding me of that shift in San Jose that resulted in a goal before Christmas. If he was 6’2″ he’d be an impact player. … Have to wonder if Johnny Gaudreau has been told to take the puck coast to coast whenever he gets the chance. If he hasn’t they may want to tell him to mix it up a bit. The kid is ridiculously talented, but the NHL is the NHL and he can’t go end to end 7 of 8 times he carries the puck up the ice. Being a small player I can see why he doesn’t want to take it wide and risk being stapled, but the book on the kid must be growing to wait and stick check him. … Its always interesting in a hockey game when you see one team coming hard, they score, then they take the gas off and the other team comes back. The Flames were road kill all night until the Wild got up then it was like a switch was flipped and the Wild were sitting back and the Flames were coming. The big problem with Calgary tonight? They played like they were sitting on a lead when they were tied, something you just can’t do.
Next Up
The road trip continues with a matinee in Nashville on Sunday afternoon, game time 3pm on Sportsnet.
Lines:
Lance Bouma – Mikael Backlund – David Jones
Johnny Gaudreau – Sean Monahan – Jiri Hudler
Joe Colborne – Marcus Granlund – Josh Jooris
Mason Raymond – Matt Stajan – Paul Byron
TJ Brodie – Deryk Engelland
Kris Russell – Dennis Wideman
David Schlemko – Rapha Diaz
Karri Ramo
