It wasn’t pretty, not even close.
The Flames took over the game midway through the first period, carried it to a 3-1 lead by midway through the second and then had to fold like a cheap tent and cling to a lead as the playoff desperate Blue Jackets came on hard looking to tie the game up.
In the end David Rittich and his teammates held strong, securing a 4-2 victory, putting the Flames three points up as they adequately use the game in hand on the idle San Jose Sharks to widen their lead.
With nine games to go, and a head on to head on March 31st in San Jose the Flames are now in the driver seat of their drive to the division and conference championship.
How great is this season?
Lineup Changes
The Flames once again had to go without three of their top nine forwards tonight as Sean Monahan, Sam Bennett and of course James Neal were forced to sit out against the playoff desperate Columbus Blue Jackets. That forced an emergency recall from Stockton with Curtis Lazar seeing his first NHL action this season in the injured forward’s place. So once again a top line with Derek Ryan centering the top line, a stable second line, Mark Jankowski centering the shrimps (Andrew Mangiapane and Austin Czarnik), and a fourth line featuring Garnet Hathaway with callups Alan Quine and Lazar.
Once again Oscar Fantenberg is in on the third pairing, as he continues to write the story of a boring deadline deal that might just be a very shrewd move by Brad Treliving to bolster their blueline.
David Rittich moves back into the nets against a tough opponent.
David’s Post
Can’t argue with the bottom line as David Rittich stops 31 of 33 shots on the night to give the team the kind of goaltending they required to win a tight game.
Did he have some luck? Of course he did, we heard the clink of a post or cross bar on at least four different occasions, but that happens – the Flames hit four or five posts in Winnipeg on Saturday.
The start itself suggests to me that Rittich is the starter going forward given the circumstances. Last week the Flames went with Mike Smith against the Jets, the toughest opponent of a back to back, but with the circumstance of Mike Smith being ill and not being ready for the easier game against the Rangers. Rittich has now played the Leafs, the Knights, the Knights, Rangers and Jackets; a slate that seems to suggest he may be the man.
Tonight he didn’t do anything to lose that mantle, especially if you subscribe to the notion that a post is all the goalie is showing.
Jacket Jury
So where do you stand?
I can’t help but hope that the Jackets fail given the drama of how they didn’t move their assets despite being out, and then doubled down to add at the deadline pretty much nuking their immediate future. It’s great theatre.
I get that we should be cheering for them given the example it sets going forward; going for it works to more teams should go for it, but I just can’t do it.
So tonight the Habs beat the Flyers and the Flames snuff the Jackets to make that East wildcard race much more interesting.
Mangiapane is an NHLer
There’s little doubt now right? Andrew Mangiapane is now an NHL hockey player, and won’t spend any more time in the American Hockey League.
Tonight he scored the team’s second goal on a great feed by Mark Jankowski, but it’s his play away from the scoreboard that continues to amaze as the winger continues to solidify his spot at this level. His metrics are solid, if you dig into advanced models that use quality of teammates and quality of opposition to index impact on the game he’s top five on the team for impact.
He had a tepid start at the NHL level last year but an off season of work, some focus, maturity and some seasoning has made all the difference in prepping him for damage at this level this year.
The Hanifin Block
First off the move itself was a brave act, kudos on the kid for a high try factor in throwing his body in front of the puck in an awkward moment.
But what a scene when the team realized Hanifin might be in trouble. First goalie David Rittich comes out to rescue him, waving to the refs to call the play so he could look after his teammate. Then an equally inspiring scene when he returned to the bench after being checked out, including a great scene with Mike Smith walking the distanced to chat and pat him on the back.
This stuff matters. You need skill, but if a team doesn’t have that culture thing down they’re going nowhere.
Playoff Lineup
So what does this team do for the playoffs up front?
The top six are a given at this point though Sam Bennett always seems to sneak into the mix for Michael Frolik once you assume things are set. James Neal will play. Derek Ryan will play. So with Bennett that’s nine. I’d argue Mark Jankowski with size will play despite his inconsistency.
They like Garnet Hathaway, but what do you do with Austin Czarnik vs Andrew Mangiapane?
Both are playing well, but only one gets dressed.
Delay of Game
Did the Flames delay the game in the third when they iced the puck three straight times? I think so yeah.
But is that a common call when teams do exactly the same thing? Is it a Bill Peters thing that is strategic call that he knows could end up on the wrong side once in a while?
Tonight’s call was at least the second time this year (Monahan in Minnesota) that it’s been a call, and is that consistent across the league? If so then no problem, I actually agree with the idea of penalizing teams for pissing around on an icing call.
Just hoping it’s a consistent call.
Standings Implications
Such a huge win with the Sharks losing last night in Vegas, their third straight loss. The Flames move three points up on the conference and division lead with even games played.
They also have a seven point lead on the Jets with Winnipeg having a game in hand should things become tighter in the divisional battle that we’re assuming will also be the conference.
The Flames are now 26 points up the Oilers if you’re worried about that battle.
Counting Stats
Team Stats:
Shots – Calgary 28 Jets 21
Face Offs – Flames 55%
Special Teams – Jets 1/4 Calgary 0/3 (Shorthanded goal)
Player Stats:
Points – Mark Giordano/Elias Lindholm and Mark Jankowski with 1
Plus/Minus – Travis Hamonic and Lindholm +1
Shots – Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk with 4
Fancy Stats
Is it a depleted a lineup, a lack of urgency or score effects? That’s the question to be asked when you look at the metrics in tonight’s game. The Jackets had 53% of the five on five shot attempts with splits of 58%/45% and 36% through the game. Some more detail on the timing, Calgary got the lead 3-1 in the second and then carried the lead at +8 in shot attempts up to five minutes to go in the second and then just folded the rest of the way.
In scoring chances the Jackets had a 27-25 edge (52%), while high danger chances were tied at seven apiece.
In all situations the Flames had 45% of the shot attempts, 48% of the scoring chances and 44% of the high danger chances.
Individually, Garnet Hathaway led the way with a 67% despite playing only four minutes (five on five). Rasmus Andersson was the only other player to hit the 60% mark. Austin Czarnik , Oscar Fantenberg and Curtis Lazar were all above the 55% mark, Lazar playing only five minutes. TJ Brodie and Mark Giordano got shredded tonight, both posting values under 30%.
