Beyond the Boxscore: Calgary Flames escape with victory on the back of Jacob Markstrom

Welcome back one and all to Beyond the Boxscore: Season 3 –  a place to find out which Flames players had statistically great nights combined with some insight into what was working or not by myself (Shane Stevenson – @Flash_33 on Twitter). We’ll have charts, video breakdowns, colour commentary, and plenty of in-depth analysis.

It’s a Team Game – The second period of this game was a prime example of what not to do at 5v5 in the NHL. The entire thing was spent in the Flames own end defending. Jacob Markstrom had to be on top of things from the onset of the match, not even letting a fairly weak goal get the better of his mindset – he was here to play. Calgary had trouble defending the passes to the center of the ice as well as getting the puck off rebounds and out of their own zone. The combination of those two things alone meant Calgary spent a bunch of time in their own zone. Even new head coach Ryan Huska acknowledged the Jets probably deserved a better fate than what they got, but he also isn’t going to give the win back either.

Corsi King – One man stands alone above the crowd of players below 50%, Andrew Mangiapane (57.59 CF%). No matter who he was playing with he ended up winning his own overall attempts battles. Following him up was Walker Duehr (45.98%) who I am excited to see this year, he’s another guy that’s made the Flames because he has an engine that doesn’t quit. The team really got buried in chances so there’s not much else at the top.

Corsi Clown – Nazem Kadri (17.96%) had a particularly rough night. He was also carrying some really young wingers at all times – everyone needs to do their share on a line. No single person needs aggressively called out – the quality of play issue was an entire team fault not any one player really was a centerpiece of it all. New guys Yegor Sharangovich (26.83%) and Jordan Oesterle (29.51%) made their Flames debut – their sequels will certainly be better.

Taken By Chance – Leading the team in high danger chance involvement while also leading them in the amount given up is a bit unique, but that’s what Rasmus Andersson (23.76 SCF% // 31.13 HDCF%) just did. The high danger rate was fourth best on the Flames after the first game. Nazem Kadri (8.78% // 8.84%) saw himself on the wrong side of double-digit high danger chances against. Some of those came off passes from the half wall or some from behind the net. The whole team suffered breakdowns and its fortunate for them they didn’t bite them very much.

xGF% – Mangiapane (52.63%) with the clear best start to the season for the Flames skaters (not goalies). Blake Coleman (34.88%) came in behind him while Duehr (33.32%) rounded out the podium. That’s it for the positives here, multiple Flames saw over 1.00 xGA while nobody was able to generate even 0.50 xGF for the squad. At least when they did get opportunities, they made sure they were chances of significance.

In The Crease – I will eat some early season told-ya-sos. I was clamouring for Wolf and here Markstrom strolls in and is an absolute unit. One bad goal against, but he showed an ability to bounce back and continue to fight for a win. The second period specifically was some of his finest work having to constantly stand on his head. Far and away the opening night MVP with second place Mangiapane a full lap behind him.

Today’s Specials – If there was one thing that had me jittering with anticipation it was the debut of the Savard-Play and I was not disappointed. There were some break in issues, but the entire team has always struggled to find the zone when the opposition all stand up in a wall at the blue line. Once possession was established the Flames found quality chances and quality looks – making quick decisions, just what the dr. ordered.

Player Spotlight – Adam Ružička – I can’t preface how much the whole team struggled, but that being said I actually really liked what I saw from Ružička. He has a shoot first mentality that nobody talks about, and it helped him rack up a PP assist because of it. Creativity and potential just ooze out of this young lad who has the ability to play both up the middle and on the wings. Watch out for this one this year – he’s going to surprise some people.