Ducks 3, Flames 1 post-game embers: The first period was really good
By Mike Pfeil
7 years ago[Hey guys. Ari here in the square brackets. I don’t really have much to say about that excuse for a game last night, but Mike took a great look at breaking down the third – and backbreaking – goal against, so be sure to enjoy that.
Otherwise? What I do have to say: the Flames were outstanding in the first period. It was one of the best periods they’ve played in recent memory. And then they blew it. They gave up an early goal on a set play and allowed a squeaker later in the second. As soon as the Ducks took the lead, you knew it was over. They were dominant in controlling the Flames’ attempts at breaking out when they played in Calgary a couple of days ago; why would this time have been any different? If this ends up being the first round playoff matchup then the Flames are doomed unless they do some immediate and incredibly effective adjustments, and absolutely nothing about them as of late makes me think they’re even remotely capable of that.
Everything that followed the hit on Cam Fowler took me out of the game. I personally don’t care for that stuff, so I checked out.
Please enjoy Mike’s stuff, it’s great as always.]
Why do you do this to us?
The other night in Calgary Johnny Gaudreau’s effort on the backcheck created quite the stir, but last night the lapse by the fourth line and the Brodie-Stone pairing led to another low-light moment. At this point, with what this team has been through, and the general overhaul that they’ve had systemically it’s a comedy of errors on this sequence that could have been avoided. Unfortunately this is the current universe and we’re left with a ridiculous result in which everyone loses here.
- There’s zero pressure from Lance Bouma here. Moreover, Bouma’s positioning leaves him victim for Shaw and Nate Thompson to break out.
- Bouma has an opportunity to continue pressuring the forecheck when they break into the zone and there is a limited effort on his part.
- Michael Stone elects to try to suppress the entry which doesn’t go as planned. He has the opportunity to take the body and try to make the entry difficult: which doesn’t happen. There’s too much room for Shaw to get in and get the shot off.
- Bouma needs to land the hit in the corner and there needs to be more support there from Brodie. It’s entirely possible the play is dead there if handled effectively.
- With Brodie still in the corner – in no man’s land – there are two possible scenarios: chasing after the puck or heading back to the front of the net. Not doing either collapses the entire defensive scheme and doesn’t allow for proper rotations to handle Bouma’s initial mistake.
- Not reading Brodie’s error, Stajan misses his man [Wagner], who he should have followed to the front of the net. Wagner scored.
Special thanks to Rachel Doerrie on making sure everything egregious was caught.
The team is going to the postseason and it goes without saying that these situations cannot keep happening, especially at this point in the season. A lot of things didn’t go well last night, but something like that – if played correctly – may very well have put the Flames in a position to possible make it 2-2. Of course – for the sake of repeating myself – this is the current universe and that didn’t happen. It’s all too likely these two teams meet in the first round and there needs to be more out of everyone involved here.
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