The Flames were equal parts effective road execution and holding on for dear life in tonight’s 3-1 victory in Minnesota over the Wild.
Jacob Markstrom was the best player on the ice, as the Flames gave up 14 of the first 15 shots in the third period, but managed to steer a 2-1 lead home with an empty net goal by Blake Coleman.
The Flames have now won two in a row and move back to the .500 mark on the season.
They still have a tough road to get back into things, but you can’t win eight in a row without winning two!
The Lineup
With the win on New Year’s Eve it’s expected the Flames keep things the same for their game tonight in Minniepolis.
So look for Elias Lindholm with Jonathan Huberdeau and Yegor Sharangovich, Mikael Backlund with Andrew Mangiapane and Blake Coleman, Nazem Kadri between Connor Zary and Martin Pospisil, and Adam Ruzicka between AJ Greer and Dillon Dube.
The blueline is still trying that spread it out option with Noah Hanifin and Chris Tanev, Dennis Gilbert with Rasmus Andersson and Jordan Oesterle with Mackenzie Weegar.
It’s expected we see Jacob Markstrom again on goal.
Line Metrics Coming In
xGF%
Huberdeau – Lindholm – Sharangovich 50.0%
Mangiapane – Backlund – Coleman 62.8%
Zary – Kadri – Pospisil 58.7%
Greer – Ruzicka – Dube 44.4%
Hanifin – Tanev 55.0%
Gilbert – Andersson 57.1%
Oesterle – Weegar 48.6%
Goals Saved + Avg
Markstrom +6.0
Vladar -4.6
Wolf -5.2
Trend Tracker
Sure looks like Jacob Markstrom has found his game again.
So with that he’s seeing lots of the net.
In October he was 1-5-1 with a .901 save percentage.
In November he was 5-2-1 with a .894 save percentage.
In December though … 3-3-0 with a .921 save percentage.
He is now 12th league wide for starters with an goals saved above expected of +6.0, and within striking distance of a top ten spot. He’s also 12th in goals saved above expected / 60 minutes, and 12th in wins above replacement.
Has he been Calgary’s best player this year? In the discussion with Nazem Kadri and Mackenzie Weegar in my mind.
Huberdeau Still Popping
Picked up a point against Philly on New Year’s Eve.
Scored a goal tonight.
And his third straight game making noticeable offensive plays.
He won’t have nothing but solid games going forward, but putting a few streaks together will be a huge boost in getting him back to where he needs to be.
Not a 115 point player and won’t be. But he’s not a 40 point player either.
Leave that Line Alone
Mikael Backlund with Blake Coleman is 2/3 of a great line.
But when you mix in Andrew Mangiapane they’re elite.
No not elite offensively, they don’t have the finisher for that type of line. But elite in play driving and making a difference on a nightly basis.
Tonight another great game from that line with Mangiapane scoring the game’s first goal.
Weakened Pairings
The spread it around plan worked against a tired Flyers team on New Year’s Eve.
Not sure it worked as well tonight.
Both new pairings were well under the 50% mark, Dennis Gilbert at a 29% in expected goals on the night, and Oesterle with a rough pinch.
Hard to shelter when you spread the talent around.
Markstrom Start
Best player on the ice.
In the second half of the game he was literally the difference between a 3-1 win and a 4-2 loss.
His stats; 28 saves on 29 shots for a .966 night. His expected goals was at 3.22.
His torrid pace continues.
Establishing himself as a top ten starter again after a rough season last year.
Game Flow
The Flames had a rough start but then slowly took over as the period went along. Early on Jacob Markstrom was on his A game, thwarting the Wild in two or three different scrambles in front of the net. The Flames then took the lead when Andrew Mangiapane hit a goal post behind Marc Andre Fleury, the puck bounces out to Mikael Backlund who sends it to the point. Rasmus Andersson puts it back on net and Mangiapane tips it in. The Flames go up 2-0 when the Flames gain possession on a turnover … Sharangovich to Lindholm to a streaking Huberdeau for the tally.
Through the first ten minutes of the second period the Flames were playing the perfect road game up two goals. Not giving up any shots. Not giving up any chances. But then a bad pinch by Jordan Oesterle leads to a 3 on 1 and just like that it’s a nail biter. The Flames found their composure again and were good to finish the period, but they damage was done.
The Flames can thank Jacob Markstrom for the final score. The Wild came out and dominated the third period; partly due to having back to back powerplays, but also due to the momentum sustained and maintained after the penalties expired. But Jacob Markstrom was having none of it, as he was large in his crease and refused to budge as the Wild crashed the crease. The Flames put it away with an empty net goal by Blake Coleman.
Odds and Sods
Often you can tell when teammates like and support another player. When the Flames were leaving the ice after the first period he was surrounded by two or three players patting him on the back and yucking it up leaving the ice. … The Wild are decimated by injuries with their leading scorer (Kaprizov), their best goaltender (Gustaffson) and their highest minute defenseman (Brodin) all missing. Their leader Foligno was also on the sidelines. … Speaking of leaders, Mikael Backlund had a whale of a game tonight. Presence of mind on the first goal, corralling a rebound and fighting through traffic to get it to the point. Then instrumental physically to draw a penalty late in the second. Then does a soccer kick to Coleman for the empty net goal. … A lot of talk about Chris Tanev blocking shots, but you have to give Rasmus Andersson some credit for putting his body on the line. Tonight four blocks compared to Chris Tanev’s five including a stacked pad save in the third period. … Ryan Huska executed the old Bowman Bench again tonight, dropping Martin Pospisil to rare action in favour of AJ Greer. Pospisil only had one third period shift and two in the last half of the game. …
Special Teams
Flames take the special teams battle, well … Jacob Markstrom does.
The Flames kill off all three Wild powerplays and fail to score on their only opportunity.
Markstrom in beast mode tonight.
Standings and Record
The win moves the Flames to three points back of the Arizona Coyotes, though Arizona has two games in hand.
The team moves back to .500 and they catch the Minnesota Wild for 12th spot in the West.
They still have four teams to pass to get into the final wild card spot.
Calgary is tied with two other teams for 7th in lottery odds with a .500 record.
Counting Stats
Shots: Flames 33 Wild 29
Face Offs: Flames 59% / Wild 41%
Powerplay: Flames 0-1 / Wild 0-3
Fancy Stats
The Flames got the early lead but then pretty much hung for this one in the last half of the game. Five on five the Flames had 51% of the shot attempts with period splits of 58%/54% and 40% respectively. In terms of five on five expected goals, the Flames had 47%, and for high danger scoring chances the Flames had 47%, with a 7-13 split.
In all situations the Flames had 49% of the shot attempts, 51% of the expected goals, and 38% of the high danger splits. The all situations expected goal totals came out at 3.34 to 3.22.
Individually the Flames were led by the fourth line with Adam Ruzicka, Dillon Dube and AJ Greer posting a xGF% of 93%, 88% and 75% respectively five on five. Only three other players were above water; Noah Hanifin, the benched Martin Pospisil and Chris Tanev. Dennis Gilbert was at the bottom of the pile with a 29% night. Elias Lindholm, Jonathan Huberdeau, Yegor Sharangovich and Rasmus Andersson were under 40%.
