Flames Scoring Chances – Game 39 versus Edmonton

 

 

 

A completely dominant first 30 minutes and not much else after that got the Flames the ‘W’ tonight. The Oilers were a team ripe for the picking – normally bad, they were lacking their top tough minutes center (Horcoff), Their top defender (Whitney) and lost Jordan Eberle half way through the game. Throw in JFJ and Ryan O’Marra getting ice time – who are probably below replacement level players – and you have a glorified AHL squad.

That said, the Flames played a throughly underwhelming game after their second goal. They allowed the Oilers to tilt the ice towards the offensive end and it ended up a lot closer than it should have been.

As for the individual players, the Iginla line faced Penner and Hemsky (the only EDM line worth a damn) and were +2 in terms of SC but were actually under water in terms of possession. That despite way more offensive zone face-offs than any other CGY line. I mentioned in the COL scoring chance count that the Flames first line has been good during the last few weeks, but would still likely be exposed against better competition. Tonight may be a precursor to that should that trio remain once the schedule gets tougher.

Stajan et al were the opposite: good possession, bad scoring chance differentials. That unit faced mostly the kids and, despite spending some time at the right end of the ice, were rather underwhelming – especially when it came to managing the puck in the neutral zone. Stajan is a guy that continues to be uh…not terribly compelling.

The Bourque unit was buried a bit by Sutter, taking the bulk of the d-zone draws. They mostly saw lesser lights, though, so keep that in mind.