Up until this three game California road trip the Flames were money when it came to third period comebacks. Five times in the nine victories before they left snowy Calgary behind the Flames had found victory where there appeared to be sure fire defeat.
To some extent, their lucky finally ran out.
A well played game in Anaheim resulted in a narrow 2-1 loss, in L.A. they pretty much led coast to coast, before coming up short once again in San Jose by a score of 3-1, a score that included an empty net goal in a third period that had the Flames pressing hard but not finding the equalizer.
Three well played games but only one victory as the team heads back to Calgary.
At least their starting goaltender appears to have found his legs.
Line Up Changes
I’m never opposed to coaches making changes in back to back games; seems to make sense to inject some fresh legs into what would otherwise be a tired team.
The Flames used that theory in goal and on the blueline with Mike Smith coming in for David Rittich and his shutout last night, and Michael Stone finally getting back into the lineup after missing six straight games.
The forward group was left alone.
Rasmus Andersson sits on the blueline, after an up and down game in Los Angeles. You can’t question Andersson’s ability to transition the puck but he still bleeds shot attempts (3rd worst in attempts against, 2nd worst in differential), scoring chances (3rd worst differential), and high danger chances (4th worst).
Keen Eye On the Second Line
The Flames had their third line come alive in Los Angeles last night, a huge boon if the second line now featuring James Neal could find their stride. Last night the second line was the Flame’s worst, not generating much and getting hemmed in far too often.
Tonight, it didn’t take Bill Peters long before he abandoned the experiment all together. Midway through the second period he moved Neal back to the third line and Michael Frolik back to the 3M line in an effort to stabilize things with the Sharks only being held in check by Mike Smith’s goaltending from running away with things.
In the third period with the Flames looking to tie things up he moved Frolik to the third line, James Neal to the pine and elevated Sam Bennett to the second line; a move that resulted in a Sam Bennett penalty shot that was denied.
Have to give Peters credit he’s not afraid to mix things up if they’re not working.
Does A Back to Back Threaten The Tight Defensive Ship
It was a good test for the Flames recent defensive prowess both in terms of the opposition, the San Jose Sharks, and the situation, which is back to back games on a road trip. Would tired legs mean the end of the seven game stretch of giving up single digit five on five high danger scoring counts?
In a word, yes … yes it does.
The Flames gave up eight in the second period alone, and 12 overall as the Sharks almost put things away save for the work by Mike Smith. The Flames looked tired midway through the game and in danger of getting blown out. They found some late legs when the Sharks went into shell mode and tried to sit on a 2-1 lead.
Mike Smith Performance
Now that’s more like it.
I’ve always been on the fence when it came to Mike Smith. I don’t think he’ll be the goaltender they had at the beginning of last season. It would be nice, but at his age, and given the struggles we’ve seen I wouldn’t count on it. I didn’t however think the level of stink that he’d brought to this season was likely to continue either; a rebound was in the cards but how much and for how long was very much in question.
Tonight he got beat on his first shot, a great shot by Evander Kane, but it was unscreened and clearly not the start he nor the Flames were looking for. The only other puck to beat him though was on a bang bang play to Donskoi with blown coverage in front of the net.
The Sharks had numerous two on ones, breakaways and blue chip chances, but Smith kept the Flames in the game and gave them a chance.
Hopefully it’s a sign of things to come and not a one and out performance.
Fancy Stats
The game ended dead even in five on five shot attempts with each team putting up exactly 50, a number that even the most challenged math experts could compute. In terms of scoring chances though the Sharks had 62% and high danger calibre chances were 57% for the hosts; very much reflective of the eye test.
In all situations (the Flames didn’t receive a powerplay), the Sharks had 53% of the shot attempts, 67% of the scoring chances and 62% of the high danger chances.
Sam Bennett led all Calgary skaters with 62% five on five shot attempts spit, the only player over the 60% mark. Mark Jankowski with his second straight solid game, Derek Ryan, Michael Stone, and Jusso Valimaki were all in the high 50’s. The second pairing had a rough night with Noah Hanifin and Travis Hamonic both in the 30s to bring up the rear.
Standings Impact
The loss to San Jose allowed the Sharks to move into a tie with the Flames for 2nd in the Pacific, though the Flames hold the spot with more ROWs. Colorado beating Edmonton pushed the Oilers out of the final wild card spot and into non playoff oblivion, never to be seen again. Dramatic? Sure but you have to find some fun in a Flames loss.
