Most games have story lines coming in.
It might be a rivalry, a traded player returning, a futility streak or a win streak in a certain arena. When the Maple Leafs play anywhere in Canada it’s a circus, with 1,100 media in tow, they take over a city and cause chaos in whatever Canadian city they preside.
With the Leafs big win in Edmonton last night the Toronto vibe was upbeat as the high scoring young Leafs were set to carry on where they left off in Edmonton against a Flames squad that has struggled to score goals of late.
So colour everyone in the media surprised on both sides of the aisle when the Flames come out and score twice in a minute and then go on and shut out the Leafs in a 3-0 game on Wednesday night.
Sometimes story lines are just that … stories.
The Flow
Well you would have to call that jump wouldn’t you? The Flames pounce on the Leafs for two goals and a goal post in the first 90 seconds of play, which would certainly qualify as a good start. The Flames started their fourth line and it turned out to be a solid idea as Micheal Ferland skates the puck out of the corner finding Freddie Hamilton out front who one times it past Jhonas Enroth. Thirty seconds later it’s 2-0 when Sean Monahan stops up in the slot and fires, his rebound squirting to Kris Versteeg who makes no mistake. Forty five seconds later the Flames almost made it 3-0 when Micheal Frolik found himself all alone and fired one of the post; crazy start for the Flames. The Leafs push back on the powerplay but it’s the Flames that find the net again, this time a stretch pass results in a great Frolik to Matt Stajan pass for a tip in to complete a dominant first period for Calgary. So much for that flat period you expect for the first game home after a long road trip.
Looked like the second was setting up to be all Toronto as they forced the play early and forced the Flames to play on their heels. Calgary recovers though and gets a strong stretch of zone time in front of Enroth including several blue chip chances that could have put the game away. As the period trots along the Flames continue to pour it on, giving the Leafs very little chance of coming back. Lots of zone time, but a general failure to convert chances to even shots let alone goals in too many instances. The Leafs get a late chance on a turnover but Jokipakka gets a stick on the Nylander before he can steer the puck past Johnson. The period concludes with a Leaf onslaught on another powerplay but the Flames or more specifically Chad Johnson holds strong and the Flames protect their three goal lead through two.
The third period was that predictable put this to bed plan from the Flames, devoid of a lot of action. The Leafs wanted to solve Johnson and end his shut out bid so they carried the play, literally throwing everything at the net in the hopes of getting one on the board. Nylander has another chance but is stoned by Johnson, Mitch Marner gets a good bounce on a knocked down puck and is sent in alone on Johnson, but the Calgarian gets his mitt on it to preserve his shut out. In the end the Flames win 3-0, Chad Johnson’s third shut out in his last eight starts. Quite a run!
Possession Pulse
First Period – Flames lead with 15 shot attempts compared to the Leafs 13, the Leafs with a 9-5 edge in scoring chances.
Second Period – Shot attempts were pretty tight in the second period at 18-17 Toronto, scoring chances were on the Flames side however 8-4 Calgary.
Third Period – Shot attempts all Toronto in the third period to the tune of 26-10 for Toronto, the scoring chances followed accordingly at 7-3 for the visitors.
The Players – The newly reunited “top line” was on it tonight as Monahan led the team five on five corsi at 58%. His linemates were 2nd and 3rd around 57%. That’s rarified air for Monahan and a really good sign as it looks like he’s doing something he wasn’t even able to do on top with Gaudreau on his side and that’s drive play. The fourth line got running around as Garnet Hathaway at 28% was at the bottom of the list; so too were Jokipakka, Ferland and Matt Stajan, all around 33%.
1. Chad Johnson:Not sure the high count of 39 shots was exactly indicitive of what went on out there, but that’s not to take anything away from Chad Johnson who was simply great tonight for the Flames. Another shut out. Wow.
2. Kris Versteeg: Another solid game from the veteran. His goal right after Hamilton’s really took the starch out of the Leafs.
3. Mitch Marner:Leafs were shutout, but Marner was their most dangerous player, looked good all night in a losing effort.
Big Save
They say the 3-0 lead is the worst lead in hockey and you expected a push back from Toronto. When said push back came early in the second period, Chad Johnson had to have a quick glove to stone William Nylander in front of the net just two minutes into the second period.
The Goat
Has to be Jhonas Enroth, the Leafs goaltender that is still winless in blue and white and didn’t kick this one off on the right foot. Anytime a goaltender gives up two goals and a goal post on his first three shots he’s not doing much to help his team, regardless of the level of scoring chance..
Mr. Clutch
Sean Monahan. He’s far from out of the woods, but they’ve altered his game to the positive in the driving play sense, he’s noticeably spending less time in his own zone, and he followed up a big goal in Brooklyn with an assist tonight. Baby steps..
Odds and Ends
Lots of changes again to the lineup against the Leafs, the biggest one is the return of Chad Johnson to the net. I think they have it right by putting TJ Brodie back with Denis Wideman; as odd as it sounds it seems to be working, while Brodie had a rough game without Wideman against the Islanders. Lots of youth come out with Kulak, Shinkaruk and Jankowski all hitting the press box. The one that bugs me though is Monahan. How can a player be broken and needing of a demotion to simplify his game be back to his regular linemates after one shot in a third period in Brooklyn? I think the kid may need a bit more time finding his game than 15 minutes. … News of the day 1: Dougie Hamilton trade rumours. Had to laugh at Brian Burke on Toronto radio today. Most Flames fans have guessed there wasn’t much to the Dougie Hamilton rumours and Burke did a good job of clearing the air so the room isn’t effected. He also warned he may give up the team with the low ball offer and the leak if things get much worse. That does two things I guess; 1) it moves up the trade value if they are trading him but doesn’t it also 2) make teams a little leery of talking to Calgary for fear of getting outed? … News of the day 2: Gaudreau. No real news is good news after 2+ weeks in my mind. If there was a hitch in the recover you report it to take the pressure off of the player coming back. But if it’s good news you still don’t move up the timeline for fear of adding said pressure. I’d guess no bad news now probably suggests closer to the four weeks than six. … Two games is too little to build a narrative, but what if the struggles of Sean Monahan this season was the perfect opportunity to tare the player down and rebuild him back up as a more complete version of himself. There’s been a league wide view of Monahan as a two way Toews player, but his possession stats have always suggested a player that has had trouble chasing the play in his own zone. Tonight a 58% rate against a pretty green team is just a good start, but what if? … Back to the Hamilton thing. Why would the Flames want to move a top three defenseman at age 23 for another young forward with skill? The whole point of getting Hamilton from Boston was to get a balance between forwards and defenseman in the core. At the time he made it three defenseman and three young forwards, and that was without the face plant last year and the addition of Matthew Tkachuk. … I know it’s not now. But the results from Chad Johnson coupled with his calm play at some point has to generate a discussion about making the guy a number one goaltender going forward and locking him up, it’s such a good story. I’m an Elliott believer as well and I’m sure we will see him retake the number one net again, but as I said it’s something to watch. I’ve never been a fan of Greg Millen as a broadcaster, but he mentioned during the Flyers game that Johnson’s style reminded him of Carey Price.
Next Up
The Flames host the perennially boring Wild on Friday night, which of course isn’t fair as Jacques Lemaire is no longer their head coach. Images stick though; game time 7pm on Sportsnet.
Lines:
Tkachuk – Backlund – Frolik
Versteeg – Monahan – Brouwer
Bennett – Stajan – Chiasson
Ferland – Hamilton – Hathaway
Giordano – Hamilton
Brodie – Hamilton
Jokipakka – Engelland
Johnson
