logo
FlamesNation has no direct affiliation to the Calgary Flames, Calgary Sports and Entertainment, NHL, or NHLPA
Post-Game Wrap-Up: Flames goons beat up Arizona (with goals)
alt
Photo credit: Mark J. Rebilas/USA Today Sports
Ryan Pike
Dec 10, 2019, 23:38 ESTUpdated: Dec 11, 2019, 00:04 EST
Comments
Riding a five game winning streak, the Calgary Flames headed to Glendale looking for revenge from their last visit. Mission accomplished. The Flames were equal parts defensively structured and offensively opportunistic en route to a 5-2 road victory to extend their winning ways to six games.

The Rundown

The Flames did something unusual in the opening frame: they scored early and often. Just two minutes in, Cam Talbot made a big save at one end and the fourth line went the other way up the ice. Michael Frolik took a nice pass from Zac Rinaldo and drove the net, tucking it behind Antti Raanta on the first Flames shot of the game to make it 1-0 for the visitors.
A couple minutes later, Derek Ryan’s face-off win was teed up by Johnny Gaudreau to make it 2-0 Flames.
Shots were 15-11 Coyotes and scoring chances 10-5 Coyotes in the opening period.
The Flames extended their lead early in the second period. After an initial scoring chance didn’t materialize, Frolik stole the puck in the corner and fed Rinaldo in the slot for the one-timer to make it a 3-0 Flames lead.
The Flames made it 4-0 later in the second period. Talbot made a big save at one end and a couple nice passes later, Sean Monahan scored on the rush.
Jakob Chychrun scored with 11 seconds left to spoil Talbot’s clean sheet off a scramble in the Flames zone to make it 4-1.
Shots were 15-15, while scoring chances were 12-9 Coyotes in the second.
The Flames spent much of the third period defending. Rinaldo drew a late penalty and Milan Lucic deflected a low Rasmus Andersson shot into the net on the power play to give the Flames a 5-1 lead.
Phil Kessel added a late power play goal to cut the lead to 5-2, but it was too little, too late.

Why the Flames Won

For a team that spends all its time chasing, they managed to get a lead early and not just sit on it but also add to it. They gave up quite a few shots and more than a handful of scoring chances, but they did a superb job of boxing out defensively around their slot and net-front area and largely stopping Arizona from getting too much momentum in the offensive zone.
When your team keeps high danger chances to a minimum and stays out of the penalty box, good things tend to happen. The Flames played an effective road game and got a pair of points for their efforts.

Red Warrior

Let’s give it collectively to Frolik and Rinaldo, the fourth line super friends. They combined for the Flames’ first and third goals and were generally big positive contributors.

The Turning Point

Scoring two goals in the opening four minutes was huge for a team that hadn’t scored in Glendale in their last two visits. From there, they just tried to play smart defense knowing that the slightest mistake wouldn’t tilt the game.

The Numbers

Data via Natural Stat Trick. Percentage stats are 5v5.
Corsi
For%
O-Zone
Face-Off%
Game
Score
Mangiapane
60.9
37.5
0.400
Hanifin
52.9
26.7
1.075
Jankowski
52.6
71.4
0.350
Rinaldo
52.2
66.7
2.175
Lindholm
50.0
27.3
-0.170
Frolik
46.2
66.7
1.650
Rieder
44.4
33.3
-0.070
Stone
43.8
30.8
0.150
Hamonic
43.2
29.4
0.525
Brodie
35.4
37.5
-0.175
Gaudreau
35.3
27.3
0.750
Ryan
33.3
27.3
0.440
Lucic
31.0
25.0
0.490
Andersson
25.0
42.9
0.050
Giordano
23.5
38.5
-0.475
Dube
22.2
21.4
-0.775
Monahan
20.0
21.4
-0.005
Backlund
18.8
21.4
-0.160
Talbot
—
—
3.100
Rittich
—
—
—

This and That

Up Next

The Flames (17-12-4) are slated to stay overnight in Glendale and fly home tomorrow. They host the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday night at the Saddledome.
Mary Brown’s Chicken & Taters is no fuss, no fillers. We make our signature chicken and other menu items 100% fresh from scratch. After 50 years, we are still proudly keeping it authentic and perfectly seasoned as Mary Brown herself would have done it. We take our signature chicken with serious dedication but, hey, we still know how to have fun with it — just try our Chicken Pop-Ins. Visit us to explore all our menu options and find a location near you.

Uncategorized

Breaking News