Flames Scoring Chances – Game 54 versus Los Angeles

 

 

I said to Pat during on OT the other night that the Flames have been extremely even-keel during the recent streak: never dominating or being dominated in terms of either possession or scoring chance differential. That pattern carried through tonight, with the CGY and LAK finishing within a couple of chances of each other. Even when it looked like the Flames were going to run away and hide in the second, the Kings titled the ice back half way through the period.

The other thing I mentioned on the radio was the need for the Flames big guns to create more against a team like LAK. Iggy et al have been pretty blah despite the winning streak recently, but tonight they came to play. Jarome was buried by Sutter tonight in terms of zone starts, but finished above water in scoring chances and even in terms of possession. He was great all around, dominated puck possession down low and drove the net. He and Tanguay combined for 14 chances and 12 shots on net. Massive night from those guys and it’s the reason the Flames got a point.

Bourque, on the other hand, continues to be just terrible. Zero chances with him on the ice again, he also was scored on twice and took two offensive zone penalties. If he wasn’t scoring in the shoot-out right now he’d be utterly useless. He’s been flat-out bad for the entire season and he either has to figure things out or get dealt sooner rather than later. That’s tough for me to admit, because I’ve been a solid Bourque booster since he arrived. He’s just not the same player who was driving results the last two season though.