Post-Game: Flames can’t finish the Canucks

The Calgary Flames played two really good periods of hockey at the Scotiabank Saddledome. They had a good power play. They skated well. They generated a lot of chances, especially in the second. Unfortunately, they allowed Vancouver to tie the game late in the second period – in a game the Canucks really didn’t have much momentum in to that point – and the Canucks came out and won the third period handily en route to a 5-3 victory over the Flames.

The Flames had a ton of things on their side: Jaromir Jagr’s return, a rested roster, and they were playing a team that lost in a different city the night prior. They just couldn’t take advantage of them enough and it cost them.

The Flames seemingly scored first, capping off a sequence with several shifts with offensive zone pressure. However, Sean Monahan’s tap-in goal was overturned by a coach’s challenge due to an off-side. The Flames then got into a bit of penalty trouble, but they had two pretty effective kills in a row. Well, until the very end of their second penalty kill. T.J. Brodie lost his stick, everyone in red lost track of their check, and Sam Gagner buried a rebound to make it 1-0. But the Flames kept plugging away, including a late-period sequence where a makeshift line of Kris Versteeg, Mark Jankowski and Jaromir Jagr hemmed Vancouver in their own end for over a minute. But Brodie drew a late penalty, and the Flames capitalized. On the ensuing power play, a nice passing sequence from Sam Bennett to Matthew Tkachuk to Mikael Backlund was finished off by Dougie Hamilton sneaking in from the point for the top-corner tap-in to make it 1-1.

Shots were 8-8. Scoring chances were 6-5 Flames.

The home side gradually took over the game in the second period. The Canucks were extremely fortunate not to give up more. Dougie Hamilton drew a penalty and the Canucks attempted to isolate Johnny Gaudreau’s passing on the power play. Gaudreau shot the puck instead, beating Jacob Markstrom through traffic to make it 2-1.

The Canucks tied things up a few minutes later, as Thomas Vanek uncorked a heck of a wrister from the face-off dot and beat Smith over the shoulder to make it 2-2. But it wasn’t tied for very long, as Micheal Ferland retreived a Gaudreau dump-in and beat Markstrom with a wrap-around to make it 3-2.

But that lead did not last long. On a Flames power play, the puck eluded Brodie at the point and he got in a foot race with Brandon Sutter for the loose puck. Sutter won the race and, with Smith out of the net for some reason, Sutter banked the puck into the open net off Derek Dorsett to make it 3-3. Shots were 16-7 Flames while scoring chances were 15-5 Flames.

The final frame was basically a tale of two power plays. The Flames got an early one when Ben Hutton went off for tripping. They didn’t score. The Canucks got one when the Flames couldn’t clear their zone cleanly and Michael Stone got nabbed for holding. Bo Horvat scored, jamming in a loose puck off a rebound to make it 4-3 for the visitors. 38 seconds later, the Sedins were sprung on an odd-man rush and Daniel fed Henrik for a redirection over top of Smith to make it 5-3. The Flames could not come back. Shots were 8-6 Flames and chances were 7-4 Flames.

They lost the special teams battle, and Vancouver’s goaltender was much better than the Flames’. Smith was pretty average on this occasion and since the Flames couldn’t take advantage of their strong even-strength play through the first two periods, it cost them.

The 3M Line and the Giordano/Hamilton pairing were rock-solid at five-on-five, so let’s give it jointly to them.

There’s so much to not like about the Vancouver short-handed goal.

The Flames have a lead. They have a power play. They should be able to add to it, or at least get to the intermission with a handle on the game. Instead they bobble the puck, everyone forgets what they’re supposed to be doing, and they hand Vancouver some much-needed momentum.

“Today was, I think, a game of critical moments. Critical saves. We’re up 3-2, two minutes left to go in the second period. We repeat it a thousand times here what it means here to go into the third with a lead. We get a power play, and we give up a shortie. That’s a tough one to give up. And then we took a penalty that I don’t think we needed to take, couldn’t get a kill.” – Flames head coach Glen Gulutzan assessing his team’s loss.

“I thought the goals we gave were just exactly that. We gave them goals with unnecessary mistakes, turnovers, and they made us pay. You’re not gonna win many when you give up five. We’ve got to clean up, I felt like that again. Too many chances off the rush where their late guys were getting looks. That’s what I’m feeling like we’re giving up the most” – Flames captain Mark Giordano on his team’s defensive performance.

The Flames (8-7-0) practice tomorrow and then entertain the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday evening in the sixth game of their seven-game homestand.