The game was a lot closer than the four goal differential would suggest.
That’s not to say the Flames were robbed, they were not, the better team won, but the goalie differential fell firmly behind the hosts in a 6-2 Knights victory.
Calgary seemed to have things rolling in the second period with back to back goals by Rasmus Andersson and Johnny Gaudreau, but the defending part of the game failed them once again as the Knights reeled off five straight goals to take the win in a walk.
The loss gives the Flames five straight losses in five attempts in Vegas. It’s early but it could be their new Anaheim.
Line Up Changes
Not a single change from the team’s win in Dallas on Thursday night.
David Rittich starts in goal.
The three pairings include the promoted Rasmus Andersson, TJ Brodie down to the third pairing and Michael Stone in for Oliver Kylington.
Up front Andrew Mangiapane on the second line, Sam Bennett on the third line and Austin Czarnik munching popcorn.
The Peters Blender
The lines were the same for sure. But they didn’t last.
In the second period Bill Peters blendered the 2nd-4th lines with Mark Jankowski coming up to the third line and Derek Ryan down to the fourth, Michael Frolik up to the second line and Andrew Mangiapane down to the fourth.
Can’t blame him when the team is struggling, but part of me would love to see a little more time for one of Mangiapane or Bennett on that second line to find chemistry. Neither guy seems to be getting enough of an audition to make things stick.
The Second Unit
Interesting second powerplay unit turn at the end of the second period.
For once the group wasn’t a throwaway on the end of a push from the top unit. They start the two minute penalty and pin the Knights in their own zone for the last 75 seconds of the period generating numerous scoring chances.
Lucic with the net front presence, Sam Bennett shooting the puck and TJ Brodie teeing it up seemed to be a formula that could generate a little offence from the second unit.
They got another chance in the third, and while they didn’t run the table like that late second period chance they had decent zone time and a chance once again.
Good sign for sure.
David Rittich’s Glove
Not a great night for David Rittich overall, I think he’d like to have four of the five goals back to be honest.
That’s not to say his teammates were solid, they weren’t as the Knights were the better team five on five and pretty much took it to the Flames most of the night.
Lost the puck a bit on the first, had his glove fail him on the second, and then had two go through the wickets for goals four and five.
The recurring issue on the season though was Rittich’s inability to get his mitt closed on the puck, an issue when he bats the puck into the slot and gives up rebounds.
Calgary hasn’t been tight this year, so you can’t blame it on the goaltender, but Rittich has to work on that glove hand and tighten things up. No point in making things harder than they need to be.
Bottom Six Not Getting It Done
Lots of traffic between the second and fourth line when it comes to line juggling, but the bottom line remains … the bottom six just isn’t getting it done.
Sam Bennett … one point
Derek Ryan … one point
Milan Lucic … zip
Michael Frolik … nadda
Tobias Reider … zilch
Mark Jankowski … goose
Andrew Mangiapane … no go
Austin Czarnik … doughnut
That’s eight players with two points total on the season. The top five forwards have 20+ points already on the season.
The Flames have to find some chemistry on the bottom half of their forward group, it’s looking far too much like 2017-18 in the early strokes of this season.
Back to Backs
It will be interesting to see if Peters makes any additional changes beyond the expected (and perhaps already announced) first start of Cam Talbot in a Calgary jersey.
Would like to see Oliver Kylington back in though I get the idea of elevating Rasmus Andersson and the need to have a left/right balance in the pairs.
Additionally, I have to assume Austin Czarnik isn’t banged up after two weeks, and it would only make sense to give the extra forward some ice after a loss and the back to back situation. The guy has speed to begin with, and the team is bound to be depleted with travel.
Counting Stats
Team Stats:
Shots – Flames 35 Knights 30
Face Offs – Flames 61%
Special Teams – Flames 0/4 Knights 0/3
Player Stats:
Points – Michael Backlund, Johnny Gaudreau, Matthew Tkachuk, Sean Monahan and Rasmus Andersson with a point apiece in the loss.
Plus/Minus – Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan were the only plus players on the night at +1. Every single defenseman was a minus on the night, something you don’t see every day.
Shots – Mark Giordano leads the way with six shots on goal, edging out Gaudreau with five.
Fancy Stats
Calgary was the better team five on five, depending on which advanced stat you want to mine. In terms of shot attempts the Flames had 54% on period splits of 55%/50% and 56%. High danger chances five on five were even at seven, but the Knights had the higher xGF% at 58%. My view? Go with the xGF%, it matched the five on five eye test, Vegas was more dangerous.
In all situations the Flames had 57% of the shot attempts, 47% of the high danger chances and a xGF% split of 52%.
Individually, a mixed bag. TJ Brodie leads the way leading the third pairing, the only player to best the 60% mark at 61%. Guys in the high 50s included Andersson, Michael Frolik, Gaudreau, and Derek Ryan. The only two players below the 50% mark were Mark Jankowski at 46% and Travis Hamonic at 49%.
