The Flames just didn’t have it tonight.
They gave up too much, their discipline was a mess (Ottawa had nine powerplay opportunities), their forecheck was off, and with that the expected result; a 4-3 regulation loss to the Ottawa Senators.
The didn’t go away. They stuck with it, and made it interesting to the end, but not a banner night for this plucky Calgary Flames hockey club.
Next up the Red Wings on Wednesday night.
The Lineup
No change from the Flames win over the Wild on Saturday afternoon, save for a switch out in goal.
Connor Zary up the middle between Jonathan Huberdeau and Blake Coleman, Nazem Kadri with Andrei Kuzmenko and Martin Pospisil, Mikael Backlund between Yegor Sharangovich and Matt Coronato, and Kevin Rooney with Justin Kirkland and Ryan Lomberg.
One the blueline we see Rasmus Andersson and Kevin Bahl. Mackenzie Weegar with Daniil Miromanov. And Joel Hanley gets back to back games, lining up with Brayden Pachal on the third pairing.
Dustin Wolf gets the start; only his 4th road start of the season.
Pre Game Stats
I took some heat on the site today suggesting Justin Kirkland’s production is a good story, but that it wasn’t sustainable since it appears he’s on a heater.
So why not look at Flame’s skaters five on five in terms of expected vs actuals goals per game …
Due for a Down Correction:
- Just Kirkland – +3.16 (Kirkland has been on for 1.64 more goals than expected, and has given up 1.52 less goals than metrics suggest. Total 3.16)
- Anthony Mantha – +1.48
- Ryan Lomberg – +1.15
- Jonathan Huberdeau – +0.96
- Mackenzie Weegar – +0.80
Keep Your Chin Up:
- Tyson Barrie – -1.15
- Yegor Sharangovich – -0.52
- Nazem Kadri – -0.38
- Mikael Backlund – -0.33
- Andrei Kuzmenko – -0.22
Prospect Update
The 2024 draft class continue to catch headlines.
Andrew Basha, sadly for the wrong reasons as he was injured before the weekend and is out week to week.
Matvei Gridin has figured out junior hockey and continues his torrid pace. He now has 27 points in 22 games, after being under a point per game through 15 games. He now sits 16th in the Q in points per game at 1.227. Look for him to keep on climbing.
Nobody is hotter than Zayne Parekh these days. He took a while to adjust back to the OHL from the Flames preseason; posting 15 points in his first 15 OHL games this season. Since then? In his last 5 games he has 14 points, all of them multi point games.
Parekh now sits 3rd in defenseman scoring, and is closing in on the leaders.
Speaking of leaders, the Flames have the 7th (Battaglia), 25th (Parekh), 28th (Misa) and 29th (Mews) ranked scorers in the Ontario Hockey League, with two of them defensemen.
Wolf’s Start
An odd one for Dustin Wolf.
The Senators outworked the Flames and deserved the victory, but they had a bunch of puck luck in and around the Calgary cage.
The first goal was a man left all alone. The second a double tip. The third an attempted shot that turned into a pass.
Not a good stat line for Wolf in net, but not sure he had much of a chance on any of them.
In the end the Senators have 2.65 expected goals in all situations but score four on Calgary’s rookie candidate.
Matty Coronato Here to Stay
Another eventful night for the Flames 2nd year player.
Tough first period for Matt Coronato. He gets power slammed into the boards behind the goal line on a Tim Stutzle back check midway through the period and leaves the ice. Shakes it off and on his very next shift gets interfered with by Jensen and slams into the boards awkwardly and leaves the ice again. Does Coronato come back? You bet he does, and sets Jonathan Huberdeau up for a powerplay goal, the first goal of the game.
In the second he battles in front of the Ottawa cage, keeps a loose puck alive and gets another assist on the Yegor Sharangovich goal
Later in the second he had a rebound chance to tie the game, but couldn’t elevate.
Now up to 11 points in 16 games, which would be good for 56 points in a full season.
Odds and Sods
Fun to watch Flames hockey this season with the increasing role from young players. Seeing Coronato and Connor Zary both getting powerplay time every game is a blast. You can include Yegor Sharangovich with powerplay time as well. Kevin Bahl playing first unit PK, and of course Dustin Wolf as the Flames defacto starter. … Not sure I would have challenged the no goal with Kirkland in the crease. Sure there was a push/bump, but not enough for a player whose momentum was already taking him into the paint. And they paid the price for it …. They got the next one right though. No brainer! … Calgary lucky to escape tied up after one as it turns out. Too many times short, and too much reliance on Wolf. … Yegor Sharangovich is starting to feel it. Goals in three straight games now, giving him 5 on the season and back to a 20 goal pace more or less (would be a 27 goal pace if he didn’t miss time with injuries). … You could hear the Flames fans on the Ottawa concourse walking around and doing the Wolf howl. Good stuff! … Is it a penalty if you push a player on the side of the pants when he has the puck? That’s the thought that comes to mind with Mackenzie Weegar’s third period minor. No stick so it can’t be a crosscheck. He didn’t get his feet or legs so it’s not tripping. It shouldn’t be interference because the player had the puck. Odd call. … Kevin Bahl just keeps adding more and more skillset to his game. He was big. Then he was big with a good reach defensively. Then he was big with the reach and a touch of a mean streak. Now he’s big, has the reach, can be testy and suddenly can dangle? That acquisition just keeps getting better and better for Calgary. Can’t wait to add a first round pick name to the package. …
Fancy Stats
The Flames had the better of the underlying stats, as they pushed the play down in the last 30 minutes of the game. At least, five on five. But when you’re short nine times five on five is only part of the story. The Flames, five on five, had 51% (41%/52%/67%) of the shot attempts, 55% of the high danger chances, and 61% of the expected goals. In all situations they had 46% of the shot attempts, 45% of the high danger chances and 44% of the expected goals.
Individually, the Flames were led by Mikael Backlund with a masterclass contest with a xGF% of 93%. Matt Coronato, Yegor Sharangovich and Joel Hanley were all in the 80s. Rasmus Andersson was in the 70s. Kevin Rooney and Ryan Lomberg posted zero for an expected goal split tonight; that might be bad. Justin Kirkland at 11%. Fourth line got cratered.
