Post-Game: Canes not able to beat Flames

The Calgary Flames are a weird team this season. They played really well and controlled the puck a lot for about six weeks, but were a .500 team during that stretch. Lately they’ve had the puck less than their opponents but seem to be a bit better at utilizing the puck when they do have it. The Flames beat the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday afternoon by a 4-1 score. The Flames led the entire way and the outcome never really seemed in question, despite the Flames being out-shot for the fourth consecutive game.

The Flames hit their CBA-mandated break on a seven game winning streak.

The game was pretty even in the opening period, though the Flames did a good job at generating chances and making them dangerous ones. They opened the scoring off a nice effort from their fourth line. Curtis Lazar stole the puck inside the Calgary blueline and drove into the Carolina zone and towards the slot. He toppled over as he approached the slot, but Matt Stajan jumped on the loose puck and shot it past Scott Darling to make it 1-0.

They later made it 2-0 off a nice sequence. Micheal Ferland hit Sebastian Aho to dislodge the puck in the neutral zone, then went off for a change. Johnny Gaudreau snatched the puck and entered the Carolina zone, passing back to the trailing Dougie Hamilton for a wrister and a two-goal lead.

Shots were 10-10, but scoring chances were 12-9 Flames.

Neither team scored in the second, but Carolina played arguably their best period of the game. You can argue “score effects,” and you’d probably be right to some extent as the Flames sat back and let the game come to them. But the Flames also took two penalties and had to kill them off. Shots were 16-12 Hurricanes and chances were 9-5 Hurricanes.

Mark Giordano got tossed from the game early in the third period with a match penalty for a check to Sebastian Aho. The ensuing skirmish – and a subsequent high-sticking penalty – resulted in a Flames goal. Carolina hit the post on an odd-man rush in the Flames zone, resulting in the goal horn going off and some confusion. Since the puck wasn’t in Calgary’s net, the Flames grabbed it and went back the other way on a three-on-one rush. A nice passing sequence ended with Hamilton tapping in his second of the game to make it 3-0.

The Flames made it 4-0 later in the period on the power play. Matthew Tkachuk attempted a cross-crease pass to a wide-open Gaudreau. The pass rebounded off a defender back to Tkachuk, who decided to put it on net and scored on a confused Darling.

Lee Stempniak scored on a rebound on a late Carolina power play to break Mike Smith’s shutout bid, but 4-1 was as close as Carolina got. Shots were 12-4 Carolina but chances were 7-2 Flames.

Carolina wasn’t all that good tonight. The Flames may not have had the puck a ton, but Carolina didn’t do a lot with it when they had it. The Flames got strong goaltending (again) and managed an even performance on their special teams (again) and got timely goals from their best players, and their fourth line. It was hardly a five-star performance, but it was also a perfectly acceptable effort from a team playing their last game on a long road trip.

The fear was the Flames would come out flat with their eyes on the five day break. They came out and played well early, which got them the points.

Let’s go with Hamilton, who scored twice. But Tkachuk and Gaudreau were also pretty sharp, as was Smith.

Goals late in periods are often killers, and the 2-0 goal for Calgary was this afternoon. Carolina got a bit crossed-up and the Flames got an odd-man rush and doubled their lead. It ended up being the game-winner.

D’Artagnan Joly had two assists in Baie-Comeau’s 5-3 win over Cape Breton.

The Flames now have 54 points with 37 games remaining. They need 41 points over their remaining schedule – the equivalent of a 20-16-1 record to hit the 95 point mark that’ll probably be the playoff cut-off.

The Flames (25-16-4) head back to Calgary today and enjoy a nice break. They’re back on the practice ice on Friday afternoon and back in action on Saturday afternoon at home against Winnipeg.