The Calgary Flames had a statement win on Saturday night against the Edmonton Oilers. The statement that best sums up their game in Montreal on Monday night was “Yikes.” The Flames were out-shot and out-played en route to a 2-0 shutout loss at Bell Center to the Canadiens.

The Rundown

Montreal look the lead late in the first period (on their 14th shot). A Jeff Petry wrap-around attempt was blocked, but Jordan Weal grabbed the loose puck and his spin-and-shoot beat David Rittich inside the far post. That made it 1-0 Habs.
Shots were 17-7 Canadiens and scoring chances 13-4 Canadiens in the first period.
Neither team scored in the second period. The Habs sat back a bit but still out-shot the Flames 15-9. The Flames had a slight chances edge by a 9-7 margin.
Ryan Poehling scored in the third period to make it 2-0. Off a face-off scramble he grabbed the puck and waited out Rittich, shooting past him after the goaltender elected to sprawl downward.
Shot were 15-5 Flames and chances 9-3 Flames in the third.

Why the Flames Lost

Montreal was better in every game situation in just about every period. Aside from goaltending, no particular aspect of the Flames game looked impressive.

Red Warrior

Rittich.
There is no second choice.

The Turning Point

Can we go with puck drop? The Flames weren’t particularly good in this game. They were unlikely to claw back from a 1-0 deficit. Poehling’s second Habs goal was a back-breaker.

The Numbers

Data via Natural Stat Trick. Percentage stats are 5v5.
Corsi
For%
O-Zone
Face-Off%
Game
Score
Monahan
68.0
33.3
0.290
Brodie
63.3
25.0
0.325
Andersson
58.6
70.0
0.225
Gaudreau
58.3
28.6
0.425
Kylington
56.7
66.7
0.400
Giordano
52.0
25.0
0.000
Dube
45.8
37.5
-0.050
Bennett
42.8
33.3
0.050
Lucic
42.3
33.3
-0.225
Lindholm
41.4
57.1
0.155
Backlund
41.2
50.0
-0.285
Rieder
40.9
50.0
-0.020
Tkachuk
40.7
50.0
-0.175
Mangiapane
40.0
33.3
-0.075
Rinaldo
36.8
42.9
-0.100
Ryan
36.0
25.0
-0.395
Hanifin
31.0
28.6
-0.700
Hamonic
23.9
16.7
-0.900
Rittich
—
—
2.000
Talbot
—
—
—

This and That

Up Next

The Flames (25-18-5) are back in action on Thursday night when they face the Toronto Maple Leafs.
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