Lose three at home and the season appears to be in jeopardy.
Head out on the road and rectify that feel with back to back 6-2 wins despite a depleted blueline with wins over the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday night and tonight in San Jose by the very same score.
Tonight it was the depth as Milan Lucic led the way with a three point night, as the bottom six boasted six scoring points in carrying the team to a really important win away from Calgary.
Now it’s on to L.A. with back to back games and a chance to really grab hold of their season.
Will the work ethic and consistency hold?
Lineup Changes
Man where to start.
With Mark Giordano and now Travis Hamonic out with somewhat medium to long term injuries the blue line has been completely rebuilt. So the new top pairing has Noah Hanifin with Rasmus Andersson. The second pairing has TJ Brodie flipping to the left side to play with Michael Stone. Finally Oliver Kylington is paired with Brandon Davidson.
In my mind that’s …
4-4
2-7
6-8
Up front Sam Bennett has the flu bug and is unable to go, being replaced late by Buddy Robinson who went down and back up in a day without actually going anywhere. The hint is Sean Monahan between Johnny Gaudreau and Elias Lindholm, the second line of Mikael Backlund between Matthew Tkachuk and Andrew Mangiapane. The usual third line of Derek Ryan between Milan Lucic and Dillon Dube. And finally three of Mark Jankowski, Zach Rinaldo, Robias Reider and Buddy Robinson.
The ex-Oilers and the Bottom Six!
Seems like every bottom six forward had themselves a day in San Jose tonight.
Ex-Oilers Milan Lucic and Tobias Rieder led things off with back to back goals in the first period, both scoring in back to back games after hitting the twine on Saturday in Vancouver.
Then Zach Rinaldo finishes off a Monahan line flurry to make it 3-0 Calgary. Finally with San Jose getting back into the game Mark Jankowski gets into the act putting the Flames up 4-2.
Rinaldo, Jankowski and Rieder add assists as well for two point nights, Lucic gets two apples for a three point night bringing the bottom six to a nine point evening.
Lucic Challenged Again
What is it about Milan Lucic and the San Jose Sharks?
Last week in Calgary Barclay Gaudreau challenged Lucic after the big winger took down Evander Kane on a clean hit in the neutral zone. Tonight after a little less than clean hit on Ferraro it was Stefan Noesen stepping in to pick up his teammate.
Lucic didn’t go off in either bout, as I don’t think he has much interest in pummelling none fighters; a move that may see him get less action. Shame though as the fight would have been the filling in the sandwich that resulted in a Gordie Howe hat trick.
Rasmus Andersson Logging Minutes
Was interesting today as I dug into some Rasmus Andersson data in looking at the -18 on the season that was pointed out on the site in comparison to the Darnell Nurse contract in Edmonton.
Andersson has the fourth highest negative differential for defenseman that have played 250 minutes this year (230) at -15%. There certainly could be flaws in how xGF% is calculated, but to be that far off side points to a season that has had more than a bounce or two go against him. He and Mark Giordano have formed the most effective pair this season when it comes to underlying numbers but are -7 despite a 57% xGF.
Luckily the eye test supports the latter and not the former, as tonight Andersson logged huge minutes in the absence of Mark Giordano. That’s four straight games with 20 plus minutes in the captain’s absence, tonight with 20.5, an assist and +2. I think we all knew he was heading to top four duty as late as next season, but me think the opportunity right now means it happens this season.
Powerplay Continues to Pop
The Flames continue to roll on the powerplay with goals in four straight games and tonight going 3 for 6.
What made it even better was the fact that two of the three markers were from the second unit and not the first. Getting Mikael Backlund going is huge for the last third of the season, and if the Lucic string continues it remains a big story.
The Sharks did go 1/1 on their man advantage however.
Goal Differential
The whole goal differential thing has always been interesting to me.
The Flames have had decent seasons with bad goal differentials, and then seasons like last year where they pumped it huge into the positive category.
Interesting this year to see a -22 after the Nashville game turn into a -14 in just two games. Is that an example of how fickle the statistic can be?
The Flames are ranked 27th in actual goal splits five on five this year, but 16th in expected. Does that say they’re a great team? Absolutely not, but there are likely some bounces in play as well.
The last two games the bounces have demonstratively gone their way.
Tkachuk Friendship Tour
No turtling.
No huge hits.
Instead tonight Matthew Tkachuk gets tripped twice and scores a goal on a powerplay after the second infraction that will be on the highlight list for the entirety of the month.
The Sharks were incensed. Their fans were incensed. But if you put a stick in a guy’s feet there’s a very good chance he goes down. Tonight Tkachuk did, and he was happy to convert a man up.
Log Jam
What a complete mess in the Pacific Division.
With Calgary losing three straight, the Oilers two, and the Canucks going 0-4-1 in a stretch of five, it looked like nobody would lay claim to the division and make it their own.
But with the Flames win tonight Vegas, Calgary and Edmonton are all tied for 2nd in the division … the Oilers having two games in hand.
Arizona won as well to keep up the hind pressure, while the Canucks won as well to push their lead to three points over the field.
Hanifin Answers the Bell
After a few weeks of sketchy hockey, that’s back to back games of solid hockey from Noah Hanifin.
Tonight he led all skaters with 25 minutes of ice time, had two assists, was +2 and finished third on the team in terms of possession numbers.
The kid is still so young, so a bounce back when he’s really needed is a huge sign for the Flames as they shape their future lineup missing two key veterans.
You never know what players will do with opportunity when key players go down. We’re starting to learn a little more about Noah Hanifin’s mettle.
Counting Stats
Team Stats:
Shots – Flames 37 Sharks 36
Face Offs – Flames 39%
Special Teams – Flames 3/6 Sharks 1/1
Player Stats:
Points – Milan Lucic leads all skaters with three points on a goal and two assists.
Plus/Minus – Tobias Rieder, Mark Jankowski, Zach Rinaldo, Rasmus Andersson and Noah Hanifin lead the way with a +2 on the night.
Shots – Johnny Gaudreau was the man with five shots on goal.
Fancy Stats
Score effects certainly determined the final number as the Sharks finished with 55% of the shot attempts on the strength of a 77% third period, after Calgary had the edge through forty with 57% and 58% in the first two periods. High danger chances five on five finished 11-10 San Jose, with the Sharks enjoying a 6-2 edge in the third period. The Flames had the edge in xGF% with a 58.5% mark on the night.
In all situations the Flames had 50% of the shot attempts, 56% of the high danger chances and 64% as a xGF measure.
Individually the Flames were led by Sean Monahan, Johnny Gaudreau and Noah Hanfin, who were all above the plus mark on the night. Brandon Davidson and Oliver Kylington struggled as the third pair finishing under 30%.
