Well that was something.
Following the Calgary Flames this year you start to learn a few survival tips. No lead is safe. They don’t quit. Never try to pre-write a game story when the team is down. But tonight may have broken the mould.
The Flames, down 4-3 going to the third period were pretty even money for coming back and winning the game. They were playing an up and down team that was mostly down, and an unproven goaltender that with pressure was sure to bend.
The script was rolling out as expected. Calgary was generating a shot/chance per minute in the period and it only seemed like a matter of time until the game was tied. Then not so much. A turnover at the blueline by Noah Hanifin and it’s 5-3 Philly and suddenly the inevitable didn’t seem to inevitable.
But not so fast. Rasmus Andersson scores his first NHL goal with 68 seconds left to play, then a very late rush results in a Sean Monahan game equalizer with seven seconds to play and the teams are off to overtime where Gaudreau ends it on a second rebound.
Yes they’ve come back all season. Yes it was somewhat expected. No we haven’t seen anything like that.
Line Up Changes
The big change to the lineup, is of course, the return of the captain to the blueline. With Giordano’s return Dalton Prout takes a seat and the Flames go back to running the pairs they’ve been running since Juuso Valimaki went down with a lower body injury.
Up front the Flames are making less changes then expected given the practice configuration from yesterday. Bill Peters looked ready to demote Bennett to the fourth line and move Austin Czarnik up the roster, but he either got cold feet or was sending a message because the top three lines remain the same.
Mike Smith returns to the cage looking for his 7th win in a row.
Giordano Impact
You just can’t underestimate the impact on a roster with the return of Mark Giordano.
Second in five on five minutes behind his partner TJ Brodie, first in shorthanded minutes by a country mile, third in powerplay minutes despite missing two games. Fifth in team scoring (first in defenseman), and the team’s heart and soul in terms of leadership.
His entrance moves TJ Brodie back to the right side, and Rasmus Andersson back to the third pairing.
It’s a spike five on five, and it’s a huge lift to the penalty kill without a doubt. I’ve never been sold on Giordano as a powerplay guy but given their game in Edmonton I may be wrong.
But tonight? Quite a return. Scores a short handed goal, and then adds two assists; one on the tying goal with seven seconds left and then again in overtime on the Gaudreau winner.
He now has 32 points and sits one back of the lead for defenseman scoring.
The Smith Start
You can’t take the last six games away from him. He won six in a row, and put up huge stats in the process. Results were results and he was getting him.
Tonight though, he struggled mightily, giving up four goals on five shots in the second period, the fourth of which was heinous to the level we saw earlier this season when he was struggling.
We didn’t see Smith in the third period, but he wasn’t on the bench. After the game we learned from Bill Peters that he wasn’t able to go, so they made the switch.
It’s Rittich’s net again heading out on the Flames road trip, a three gamer that starts in Minnesota on Saturday afternoon. If he’s hurt it’s hard to say who will come up given the performances and injuries in Stockton.
Alberta Gone Streaking
https://twitter.com/calgarypuckcom/status/1072892697747193861
Interesting to dig into two hot Alberta teams and the numbers behind their streaks.
The Flames streak is much longer, and within it there isn’t a single metric that would point to un-sustainability. They’re not being carried by their goaltending. They’re not using unusually high shooting percentages to out score teams. They’re not getting out played in terms of shots, shot attempts, scoring chances or high danger chances.
They are what they are.
The Oilers on the other hand are different. They have decent shot metrics, and their shooting percentage is right around NHL average. However, they’re goaltending has gone on a tare to the tune of a .940, and they’ve been run over when it comes to scoring chances and high danger shot attempts against.
With the injury to Oscar Klefbom last night, I’d expect a drop.
The Rasmus
Rasmus Anderesson is built like an offensive player. Ok, maybe not built like one, but he certainly plays like one. Since coming to the NHL late last year, he’s been an on your toes, see the ice, move the puck, anticipate well, jump into the play, find the open guy offensive weapon … without an NHL goal.
The other night his fellow countryman, position-mate and draft class and round alumnist Oliver Kylington scored his first NHL goal, and I’d guess it must have burned. How dare the guy come up and score this quickly while I’m plying my trade and waiting and waiting and waiting for my first goal?
Well the wait was worthwhile given the circumstances of the marker at 58:52 of tonight’s game.
A pass from Johnny Gaudreau, flat … sliding … right in the wheel house to Andersson who had just found his feet from getting put on his derriere moments earlier is one timed to bring the Flames within a goal.
It may not be end to end through the team but it will have a great story behind it given the comeback.
Coach Ward
You have to hand it to Geoff Ward and his work with the Flames powerplay.
A top ten unit now, he has both the top and second unit creating chances and zone time. The top unit is firing on all cylinders and looking dangerous on every minute they take the ice. Clearly they have an East/West bent in their focus as the quarterback Gaudreau is constantly trying to whip the puck across the “key” in order to find one of Tkachuk, Monahan or Lindholm open for a shooting lane.
He had a rough start, but he’s been as advertised in his expertise.
Big Boys
Another huge night for the Flame’s top scorers.
Johnny Gaudreau gets a goal and an assist to move past 40 points. Sean Monahan scores his 19th and 20th of the season and adds an assist. Matthew Tkachuk posts four assists. Captain Mark Giordano returns from a two game suspension to score a goal and add two markers.
Insane that Elias Lindholm ended up with no points, but he was +2 and was 65% in the face off dot.
The Flames now have three players in the top 20 scorers.
Standings Implications
How great is it that I know look at the conference standings option on NHL.com instead of the Division? I was already pretty pleased that my focus in the last month or so had moved form the Wild Card option to Division, so this next step is quite pleasing.
The Flames have 42 points in 32 games, and lead the Predators by a point though Nashville has a game in hand. The Jets are two points back but have two games in hand.
In the Pacific the Flames have five point leads over San Jose, Anaheim and Vegas, with a game in hand on the Knights and soon the Ducks as they are losing with five minutes to play.
Fancy Stats
A dominating game for the Flames, not not to the extent you’d expect. Five on five the Flames had 62% of the shot attempts, 68% of the scoring chances, but only 53% of the high danger chances with a 8-7 split through 60 minutes. The period by period split of shot attempts was all Calgary at 58% / 61% and 74%.
In all situations the Flames had 66% of the shot attempts, 66% of the scoring chances and 59% of the shot attempts.
Individually, Alan Quine led the way with 83% of the shot share, but he only played 4+ minutes. Monahan, Gaudreau and Lindholm were all in the 70s and joined by Kylington. Only three players were under the 50% mark; Austin Czarnik who only played 3 minutes total five on five, plus Derek Ryan and Mark Jankowski.
