A well rested team meets the team on a back to back; a good case can be made for either side having the advantage.
In the end both teams flashed said advantage as the Flames came roaring out of the gates with a purpose only to have the Blues grind away and take the game towards the latter half of the contest in skating away with a 5-2 victory on Wednesday.
The loss splits the two game road trip at 1-1-0 and moves the Flames back to .500 on the season as they return home for a huge seven game homestand starting on Friday night.
The Flow
The Flames were ready to roll tonight despite being the more tired team and travel, as the Blues battled some rust as they hadn’t played since Saturday. Calgary jumps into a quick lead on the shot clock putting up back to back to back shifts to grab momentum and are rewarded when Matthew Tkachuk gets the puck back to Mikael Backlund who beats the Jake Allen over his right pad to make it 1-0. The Flames kill off the period’s only penalty, a high stick call to Brett Kulak and look to take the lead into the intermission when Travis Hamonic turns the puck over leading to a Steen goal late in the period; 1-1 through one.
Tough start to the second period as the Flames carried through their late first lull into the second. The Blues take advantage when Sam Bennett and Michael Frolik take back to back second period penalties resulting in two Blues’ goals, taking the 1-1 tie into a fairly comfortable lead for the home side. First Jaden Schwartz converts a Tarasenko rebound, and then Pieterangelo blows one past Lack farside. The Flames get a lucky bounce towards the last half of the period when Mikael Backlund puts a puck deep and Jake Allen fell retrieving the puck. Tkachuk jumps on the loose puck and feeds it out front to Backlund who scores his second into the empty net. The Flames gain momentum from the goal and push hard for the rest of the period but can’t solve Allen and the score remains 3-2 for the Blues going into the third.
The Flames had some looks in the third period, but relied on Eddie Lack to keep the game within one into the dying moments, as the Blues were clearly the better team. The Blues finally bust it open when Mark Giordano gets hobbled blocking a shot, sending the puck in on just Dougie Hamilton and a quick Paul Stastny goal on the created two on one. The Blues round things out with an empty net goal to put things away, 5-2 Blues final. A solid road game for a back to back, but the Blues were full money in taking things away in the latter half of the game.
Possession Stats
1st Period – The Flames win the possession battle in the first period with a 17-15 edge in five on five shot attempts, scoring chances were even however at one apiece.
2nd Period – The Blues used the powerplay to get their production in the second, but it’s the Flames that carried the play when not in the box. Shot attempts were 23-18 for the Flames and scoring chances at 6-2 for the visitors.
3rd Period – The Blues have all the scoring chances in the third period (3-0) in putting things away, as well as the shot attempt advantage at 19-15. Overall the Flames had 52% of the shot attempts five on five, and scoring chances were even at seven.
Players – Freaky Friday? Seemed like it on a Wednesday as the fourth line was the possession line while the 3M line got worked but still scored both Calgary goals. All comes down to match-ups clearly as Mike Yeo was pretty particular in who saw the ice against who. The Blues played top line against top line with the that battle going to Tarasenko, Schwartz and Schenn. The Backlund line got Steen and Sobotka and were out played. While the Stajan line saw a lot more of Brodziak and Upshall and less of the top two lines from St. Louis.
Three Stars
1. Alex Steen: Imagine if the Leafs didn’t deal this guy for Stempniak many years ago? Four points including a goal for the Blues forward.
2. Mikael Backlund : Two goals for the Flames shut down center, including a fluke one on a goaltender spill.
3. Paul Stastny: Goal and an assist for the former Avalanche as son of legend night continued for the Blues.
Big Save
Eddie Lack made some pretty damn big saves in the third period to keep things tight, but when it comes to impact it’s hard to ignore the big pad save Jake Allen made on Matthew Tkachuk towards the end of the second period. Back to back chances, one that was blocked and then a crucial save to keep the game 3-2.
The Heel
Has to be Travis Hamonic. The Flames are rolling with a 1-0 lead when he turns the puck over in his own zone; and by turns the puck over I mean a beautiful pass to the opposition resulting in a game changing tying goal for the Blues. Kelly Hrudey thought his stick might have been whacked as he was delivering the pass but the result is the same.
Mr. Clutch
Matthew Tkachuk ended up -1 on the night, but he did put up two assists and could easily have scored three himself. Never quit motor on the 19 year old.
Odds and Ends
The beginning of the Eddie Lack in Calgary era tonight, as Glen Gultuzan gives the former Canuck and Cane his first start in Calgary colours. The line up is otherwise unchanged from last night however, as the Flames tried to sweep both halves of a back to back.
The Flames relied heavily on the top five defensemen as Brett Kulak only saw nine minutes of ice time. Brodie and Giordano saw 25 minutes, Hamonic and Hamilton saw 21, and Michael Stone was on for 16 minutes.
The revamped third line didn’t have a terrible night, but didn’t generate as much as they did in Nashville the night before. Sam Bennett took another stick penalty, which resulted in a Blues powerlay goal, and the line itself was disrupted when it looked like Curtis Lazar was shaken up in the third period. Overall the line was even with 12 minutes of ice time, and an average shot attempt balance of 58%. Good control at times, but not any real scoring chances.
Eddie Lack gave up four goals and finished with a .857 save percentage, but I thought his play was pretty solid overall. Hrudey was right that he may have lost his net on the third goal, and I didn’t love the first Blues goal in the first period, but he made enough solid saves to make up for it. Viable option, but he will have to win in order to get Smith some valuable rest.
Next Up
The Flames head home to take on the Dallas Stars on Friday night, game time at 7pm on Sportsnet. The Flames are looking to snap a three game home losing streak.
Lines:
Tkachuk – Backlund – Ferland
Gaudreau – Monahan – Jagr
Bennett – Jankowski – Lazar
Versteeg – Hamilton – Brouwer
Giordano – Hamilton
Brodie – Hamonic
Kulak – Stone
Lack
