Post-Game: 14 lousy minutes douse Flames against Tampa
By Ryan Pike
6 years agoOn Tuesday night, the Calgary Flames played a pretty good game for the most part. A one-minute lapse in focus resulted in three goals against and a regulation loss to the Vegas Golden Knights. On Thursday night, the Flames once again played a pretty good game for the most part. But their lapse in focus lasted for a little bit under 14 minutes and resulted in five unanswered goals against – many of them fairly ugly. That lapse in focus resulted in a 7-4 loss to the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning.
The Rundown
The home side came out strong early-on, despite having to kill off an early five-on-three disadvantage. That kill gave them some jump and they ended up getting a power play out of some fourth line zone time. Micheal Ferland capitalized on a nice feed from Mikael Backlund from under the red line to make it 1-0 Calgary.
The Lightning pushed back and managed a (weird) equalizer before the end of the first. Ondrej Sustr’s point shot was slightly redirected by Braydon Coburn and barely beat Mike Smith just inside the far post (with Smith trying to look around Michael Stone) to make it 1-1. Shots were 13-9 Flames, scoring chances were 8-7 Flames.
Tampa got an early lead in the second. With Mikael Backlund off for boarding, the Lightning power play group got several whacks at a loose puck after Smith made the initial save and Alex Killorn bonked it in (finally) to make it 2-1. But Backlund redeemed himself with a gorgeous toe-drag around Mikhail Sergachev and a shot that beat Andrei Vasilevskiy to make it 2-2.
Shortly after, the Flames regained the lead off a nice breakout. Johnny Gaudreau sprung Sean Monahan and he beat Vasilevskiy with a wrister to make it 3-2.
A little while after that, a long pressure shift from the fourth line led to multiple scoring chances – again, from the fourth line – and Matt Stajan jammed in a loose puck at the side of the net to make it 4-2.
But just when you thought it was safe to go back into the water, a Matthew Peca shot off the rush squeaked through Smith’s pads and trickled into the net to make it 4-3. Shots were 10-10, scoring chances were 15-12 Flames.
The wheels fell off in the third period. 12 seconds into the period, Tampa tied it off a dump-in that the Flames couldn’t manage to clear. Killorn got his second of the game off a back-hander that beat Smith short-side to make it 4-4. A few minutes later, a bad angle shot from Cory Conacher squeaked through Smith (again) to make it 5-4. A bit of running around in their own end – again – ended up with Steven Stamkos strolling in from the point and beating Smith with a nice wrister to make it 6-4. That spelled the end of the game for Smith, who broke his stick and then swapped places with David Rittich. Rittich got a puck banked in off his back by Conacher from a bad angle to make it 7-4 and the Lightning coasted the rest of the way. Shots were 19-5 Flames and scoring chances were 12-6 Flames – but bear in mind Tampa Bay was up for much of the period, so score effects were rearing their head.
Why The Flames Lost
Smith has been to the Flames what a blanket is to Linus from the Peanuts gang: a comfort. Things just work for the Flames when Smith’s on his game. When he’s not? Things get bad quickly and everyone gets jumpy. The Flames were off-kilter in the third period because they didn’t seem to know what to make of Smith’s game tonight.
- The Coburn goal (1-1) was a tip and a screen, and was largely a product of some iffy defensive zone play.
- The first Killorn goal (2-1) was on a Lightning PP, and was a product of Tampa get multiple good chances.
- Peca’s goal (4-3) squirted through Smith’s pads and he probably wants it back.
- Killorn’s second goal (4-4) was off a bad turnover, but Smith didn’t seem to square up to it.
- Conacher’s first goal (5-4) was from a bad angle and Smith didn’t seal things off.
- Stamkos’ goal (6-4) was a product of a lot of jumpiness. Smith had time to square up to the shot, but Stamkos managed to beat him.
By my accounting, that’s three goals that Smith probably wants back. That’s uncharacteristic, of course, but that leakiness sunk the Flames. The players in front of him were not amazing, especially during that late second/early third stretch, but if Smith manages a big save here or there it’s a completely different game.
Red Warrior
Stajan’s fourth line was superb this evening and Stajan himself had a very strong game.
The Turning Point
The Stamkos goal both ended Smith’s night and put this one entirely out of reach.
The Numbers
(Percentage stats are 5-on-5, data via Corsica.hockey)
| Player | Corsi For% | O-Zone Start% | Game Score |
| Stajan | 70.0 | 40.0 | 1.320 |
| Lazar | 68.4 | 40.0 | 0.875 |
| Hathaway | 65.0 | 25.0 | 1.125 |
| Tkachuk | 61.1 | 78.6 | 1.325 |
| Hamilton | 60.0 | 85.7 | 1.900 |
| Brodie | 59.7 | 66.7 | 1.975 |
| Gaudreau | 58.1 | 71.4 | 1.100 |
| Monahan | 58.1 | 76.9 | 1.070 |
| Hamonic | 58.0 | 58.8 | 0.675 |
| Frolik | 57.9 | 69.2 | 0.675 |
| Giordano | 57.5 | 80.0 | 0.725 |
| Backlund | 56.4 | 69.2 | 1.720 |
| Ferland | 55.6 | 72.7 | 0.925 |
| Brouwer | 50.0 | 40.0 | -0.005 |
| Stone | 48.3 | 22.2 | -0.700 |
| Kulak | 48.2 | 20.0 | -0.450 |
| Jankowski | 47.1 | 33.3 | -0.310 |
| Bennett | 46.2 | 33.3 | -0.475 |
| Smith | — | — | -2.400 |
| Rittich | — | — | -0.450 |
This and That
For a game between two teams that only play twice a year, this game was unusually spirited. Through the first 40 minutes, most whistles ended with a scrum of some type. Matthew Tkachuk fought Jake Dotchin in the first, while Garnet Hathaway fought Yanni Gourde in the third.
Anatomy of a Losing Streak:
- One: Led Winnipeg 1-0, lost 2-1 in a shootout
- Two: Led Buffalo 1-0, lost 2-1 in overtime (after 2 unanswered goals)
- Three: Led Los Angeles 1-0, lost 2-1 in overtime (after 2 unanswered goals)
- Four: Led Edmonton 2-0, lost 4-3 in a shootout (after 3 straight goals)
- Five: Led Vegas 2-1, lost 4-2 (after 3 unanswered goals)
- Six: Led Tampa Bay 4-2, lost 7-4 (after 5 unanswered goals)
Goodness gracious, that’s a lot of blown leads.
The Drive to 95 (Points)
The Flames now have 58 points with 31 games remaining. They need 37 points over their remaining schedule – the equivalent of a 18-12-1 record to hit the 95 point mark that’ll probably be the playoff cut-off.
Up Next
The Flames (25-18-8) practice tomorrow, then finish off their homestand with a game against the Chicago Blackhawks. The Blackhawks will be playing for their playoff lives.
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