Post-Game: Flames come up empty against Ducks

The Calgary Flames hoped to get a couple points tonight. They clinched a playoff spot in their last game, and several players and coaches admitted to the media that maybe they had gotten a bit sloppy and held their sticks a bit tight in anticipation of clinching. Given the chance to unclench a bit and just play against the Anaheim Ducks, the Flames responded by playing rather poorly.

The Flames were victimized by a series of unforced errors and shoddy defensive play en route to a 4-3 setback to the Ducks in their final regular season home date of 2016-17.

The home side had some nice jump early, skating rather well and just whiffing on some decent chances in the offensive zone. They took a penalty, though, and the Ducks made them pay. Patrick Eaves boxed out Mark Giordano out front and buried a rebound from an initial Ryan Kesler shot to make it 1-0. (For some reason, the Flames began the penalty kill with Matt Stajan and Lance Bouma rather than the usual Mikael Backlund and Michael Frolik pairing.)

The Flames recovered reasonably well from that goal and got their legs under them again, but the Ducks made them pay on the rush just prior to the end of the first. The Flames got all tangled up with each other on a Ducks zone entry, leaving Jakub Silfverberg wide open for a really nice wrister that beat Brian Elliott high to make it 2-0. Shots were 10-9 Anaheim.

Calgary roared back in the second with a pair of power play goals from Kris Versteeg. On the first, early in the period, he was left wide-open on the half boards and got a really nice shot off that beat Jonathan Bernier just inside the post to make it 2-1.

On the second goal, with the Flames nursing a two-man advantage, Versteeg wandered right to the side of the net and jammed home the puck to make it 2-2.

But once again, the Flames gave up a late goal in the second. Once again, it was some lapses in defensive coverage. Matt Bartkowski’s lazy rim around the boards couldn’t get out of the zone, he and Deryk Engelland couldn’t recover the puck, and Korbinian Holzer snuck in from the point and beat Elliott on a redirect to make it 3-2. Shots were 12-7 Anaheim in the second.

The Flames pressed a bit in the early third and a great shift from the 3M Line, forcing turnovers and pursuing the puck, led to a nice redirection by Michael Frolik of a Mark Giordano point shot to make it 3-3.

It seemed that this game was destined for overtime. But once again, some bad defensive play cost them late. Bartkowski pinched from the point but bobbled the puck, leading to a Ducks rush. Bartkowski and Engelland rushed back to cover Kesler and negate his initial shot (which he got off from a bad angle), but nobody (especially not Johnny Gaudreau) covered Logan Shaw and he buried the rebound to make it 4-3. Shots were 12-5 Ducks.

The Flames had very little going on at even strength. They’re healthy and had last change at home, but they really seemed to have no answer for Anaheim’s pressure at 5 on 5. It also doesn’t help that they were occasionally very bad in their own end, frequently just tossing the puck up the boards from behind the net and hoping that Anaheim wouldn’t grab the loose puck.

It’s a shame, too, because while this wasn’t a game they had to have it was up for grabs in the third period and they just couldn’t grab hold of it.

The Shaw goal was absolutely the wrong goal at the wrong time. Bartkowski made a dumb move with the puck in the offensive zone. Engelland and Bartkowski (and everyone else, seemingly) seemed fixated on Kesler’s initial shot. Elliott kicked out a big rebound into the slot. Nobody picked up Shaw entering the zone. Bad on many levels.

Versteeg had two goals, so let’s go with him.

The Flames now mathematically cannot catch the Ducks in the standings. If the Oilers get one more point, the Flames cannot catch them, either. The Flames seem destined for either third place in the Pacific or a wildcard spot.

The Flames (44-31-4) fly to Anaheim tomorrow. They play the Ducks at Honda Center on Tuesday night.