See I told you the Flames come back. Down 6-0 in the third period they pushed hard and made it … well … 6-1.
It was as good as it was going to get on this night as the Flames were thoroughly dominated in all aspects of the game from buzzer to buzzer in a game one shellacking at the Honda Center in Anaheim. The arena that doubles as a house of horrors for the Flames took the chills to a whole new level in the playoffs as the Flames seemed to show up unprepared for the Ducks.
From here the Flames need to dust things off and go to work in the next two days in dialing in a game plan that can match the onslaught that the Ducks can bring to the table. They’ll have to potentially do that depleted though, as both Micheal Ferland and Jiri Hudler look to be doubtful going forward.
The Flow
The end result in the first period was trouble, with the Ducks forging into a 2-0 lead and controlling the play for much of the period. Inside the debacle however was a bunch of good chances including a Josh Jooris breakaway with the game scoreless, and several other good chances from the point and the deep slot through the period. Hiller couldn’t be faulted for the first one, would like to have the second one back, and had two or three grazed posts mixed in during the period. The Flames weren’t able to take advantage of the rusty Ducks, forcing themselves to think comeback very early in the series.
If the original movie was bad, don’t make a sequel. The Flames trotted out the same effort / game plan / mojo in the second period and received the exact same result. Out shot by roughly the same margin, and out scored by exactly the same margin as the Ducks doubled their lead to 4-0 putting the game away. The Flames have come back from deficits before this season, but other than a game in Ottawa a four goal gap certainly didn’t bode well. Hiller was pulled after the third goal, a wrap around marker that wasn’t really his fault as Wideman pretty much watched Perry take it across the crease, Ramo surrendered the second goal by Etem. The split is still alive!
The ugliness continued into the third period with the Ducks adding two more again to take a 6-0 lead before Sam Bennett scored a relatively late one to make it a 6-1 final. Shots on goal in the third period were 12-8, after getting out shot 12-8 and 11-8 in the first periods giving Flames fans the fact that their club was very consistent as a silver lining!
Three Stars
1.Corey Perry: Two goals and two assists setting a personal best for a playoff game, tying his mark in the first round. Dominant performance.
2.Ryan Getzlaf: Goal and three assists for the former Calgary Hitmen, one of the best first line centers in the game, he proved it tonight.
3.Fredrik Andersen: Was huge in the first period with the game in doubt, turning aside 23 of 24 shots to pick up his 5th straight win this playoff season.
Big Save
Sadly I think Josh Jooris made it easier than it looked, but Fredrik Andersen gets the nod for stoning Jooris on a breakaway with the game only a few minutes old. A goal there and it’s a different game.
The Goat
Lots of targets for this one. Hiller was rough in the first period and you can’t have that. Have to go with Derryk Engellend though as he was on for the first three Ducks goals, and was a team worst -3 on the night. He and TJ Brodie were on the ice and running around for the two key Duck goals in the first period setting up a tough night.
Mr. Clutch
I thought Johnny Gaudreau was the best of the Flames players tonight, though he ended up pointless and -1 (and stapled to the bench either hurt or being sat). He created a lot of action in the first half of the game and could easily have set up two early goals. Took a big hit from behind and didn’t play in the third period.
Odds and Ends
Loved the move to dress Drew Shore over Mason Raymond tonight. I was worried when Bennett was demoted in the middle of game six that we’d see Raymond on the Backlund line, but Hartley went back to Bennett and then instead of putting Raymond on the fourth line he inserted Shore instead. Raymond if he’s going to be effective has to be on the top two lines, and if Bennett is doing the job I’d rather have Shore and his size helping out Bollig and Jooris. Will be interesting if Bouma returns in this series; does Bollig sit down? … Little surprised that the Flames were victimized twice in the first period from the slot given the scouting report on the Ducks and their like to crowd the crease and refuse to leave. You have to see that coming, your head has to be on a swivel, and you have to get position and tie up sticks. You can’t watch and you can’t stand around. … Not a good night for injuries as the Flames lost both Micheal Ferland and Jiri Hudler to injury in the game. Ferland was lost either on a pop behind the Duck’s net or a hit on Nate Thompson in the first; he looked to take a hit on the chin in both instances. Hudler I have no idea, as the TV crew failed to isolate anything. Sad for Ferland as he was such a force in the first round, Calgary can’t afford to lose either of the top nine forwards. Mason Raymond is an easy call for one insertion, but maybe David Wolf gets the nod if they have to make two? Not a good situation, this series was set to be tough enough. … Gaudreau didn’t play in the third period leading to speculation that he was hurt. Thinking he was just sitting though, as why bring him out for the third to just sit there if he couldn’t go. Not sure why they’d bench him, so was probably dinged but available should the game get closer. … Will be interesting to see the adjustments that Hartley makes. The Flames either didn’t really show up or are completely outclassed in this series (or both). I’d advocate coverage in front of the net, and getting back to the speed and forecheck game that made them successful against Vancouver. Too much watching and waiting tonight. You can’t over think this game.
Next Up
Game two of the Western Conference semi final goes Sunday night in Anaheim, as the teams enjoy two days off instead of one between games. Game time 8pm Sportsnet.
Lines:
Johnny Gaudreau – Sean Monahan – Jiri Hudler
Sam Bennett – Mikael Backlund – Joe Colborne
Michael Ferland – Matt Stajan – David Jones
Brandon Bollig – Josh Jooris – Drew Shore
TJ Brodie – Deryk Engelland
Kris Russell – Dennis Wideman
David Schlemko – Kyle Wotherspoon
Jonas Hiller
