Flames 5, Red Wings 1 post game embers: Everybody loves a good night for Wings

It’s such a crazy idea that if you get consistent scoring throughout your lineup then it becomes a lot easier to win hockey games! I wonder if this is something the Calgary Flames might stick with going forward.

The Flames played their best game of the season yet, despite having some of their biggest concerns rear their heads again. They started a little slow, getting bailed out by two big saves from David Rittich early on. They had a little bit of penalty trouble.

However, that early start? The Flames were able to take back momentum (and get the lead!) That penalty trouble? They weathered it, and responded with a power play goal of their own (and didn’t play shorthanded for the rest of the night!) It feels like the Flames are finally starting to shake off their early-season rust, which is a relief. True, the schedule has been kind to them this week, but perhaps that’s what they needed to get back on track.

The best part of it all though was that they got contributions from everyone. Milan Lucic has been a very divisive player, but he had an objectively good game. Sam Bennett had his best game of the season, and that’s not just because he scored a goal – although that definitely helps. Even Mark Jankowski continued his strongish play since getting scratched, although it would be nice to see less shots by him that get blocked immediately and have no chance of making it to the net.

The Flames held a one-goal lead going into the third, and they decided that more was better instead of trying to just protect that lead. That’s the good stuff! It might be a costly win though, but we can save that for the bad news.

They scored so much they got their way back into the positive side of the goal differential. They also, as already stated, got goal support throughout their lineup. Their top power play got two goals, even with Derek Ryan having to substitute in for Elias Lindholm. The third AND fourth lines scored, although by the time they did they were both the same line essentially with occasional appearances by Jankowski.

Rittich provided more than enough relief in net, even though he said after the game that he was just “all right” because he’s so humble and mostly just never satisfied. Even when that weird squeaker got through him, nobody deflated and let the Red Wings back in it.

The 3M line keeps looking really good out there, although they likely would want the shift back in which they were scored on.

Mark Giordano had the kind of game that makes you believe him when he says he wants to get another Norris trophy. He got the scoring started, he ended the scoring for the night, and had several great chances in between. It’s not surprising that he was near the top for CF%Rel and xG%Rel. Everything on the back end continues to follow Giordano.

Even though Lucic took over alongside Ryan and Bennett and the goals started coming, the latter two were having just as strong of a night with Mangiapane before he got injured. If those two can build something together, it really takes the pressure off the rest of the lineup. They don’t need to be scoring every game, but they were tied for the team lead in shots with four apiece, and weren’t stuck in the defensive zone (or worse, watching from the penalty box).

Hoooo boy, the Flames (and everyone who enjoyed watching Calgary Flames hockey) better hope that the injuries to Mangiapane and Lindholm aren’t that serious. Due to Calgary’s precarious financial situation (i.e. being less than $200,000 from the cap), they don’t have the room to call up any players to replace them without doing some serious juggling (or dipping into Juuso Valimaki’s LTIR space).

Lindholm is the leading goal scorer for Calgary, and Mangiapane has been arguably the best part of the bottom six. To lose either player for any period of time would be a serious blow for Calgary, especially as they are just potentially finding their groove.

If they are both unavailable, what will the Flames do? Their options are very limited. If they want to call up another forward, they likely will have to send Oliver Kylington down to Stockton as he the only player that wouldn’t require waivers. They could just decide to play with 11 forwards (with Tobias Rieder drawing back in) and seven defenders and just pray that nothing happens.

They could also play Kylington at forward, which I acknowledge is a crazy idea but something that I’ve been hoping to see for a while to see if it would help ease of defensive logjam once Valimaki returns. (If he returns this season…)

Luckily, the Flames are taking a road trip down to California this weekend, so their AHL team won’t be far away for whatever decisions they end up making. Even though the Stockton Heat are also on the road this weekend, they never leave the state of California, so that won’t be an issue.

(Editor’s note: Once news filters out later today about everyone’s injury status, we’ll have more on the roster and cap implications.)

As for the hockey game itself… Frolik could have played the shift they got scored on better?

88.89 – Jankowski’s CF% on the night, which is very good. However, his xG% for the night was a less impressive 0.27. It’s great that he’s driving play, but it would also be nice if he created some actual chances.

7 – The number of high danger chances that Ryan and Bennett were on the ice for last night. They truly were on one. As far as individual high danger chances, Ryan, Mangiapane, and Lucic were all tied for the team lead with two apiece.

4 – Rebound shots against David Rittich. This is a stat I’ve already brought up this season, but it bears repeating just how well he’s putting an end to scoring chances for other teams. He’s swallowing up chances, he’s making smart redirections, and he’s doing this mostly from the comforts of his own net instead of wandering off to nowhere land like someone who name escapes me at the current moment.

11:24  – Austin Czarnik’s ice time for the night, the first time this season he’s cracked the ten minute mark. Perhaps Bill Peters just wanted another rightie and that’s why he chose Czarnik over Jankowski in the third, but it was good to see get regular ice time. For comparison, Jankowski was the least-used non-injured forward for the night logging just 8:24.

104.7 – The combined percentages of the powerplay (18.5%) and the penalty kill (86.2%) after going 2/5 on the PP and not allowing a goal against on the PK. It’s always a good sign if your combined special teams percentage is over 100, so it would be nice if the Flames could stay over that hump going forward.

It was a great win, and now the Flames have something in a test going to California for a potentially shorthanded back-to-back. Their competition should be a tad easier than last weekend’s Vegas/San Jose duo, but that doesn’t mean the Flames should take this any less seriously. The bare minimum should be two points this weekend if they’re looking to build off of what has been a great week.