Post-Game: Flames Take A Point, Leave A Point In Pittsburgh

The Calgary Flames headed to the Steel City of Pittsburgh in desperate need of points. Playing against the defending (two-time) Stanley Cup champions, they looked very strong for big stretches of this game. But a combination of shaky defensive play and iffy goaltending conspired against them at key times in this game. They dropped a 4-3 overtime decision to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Flames got a key point in the Western Conference playoff race. But they left a crucial point on the table at a time where they cannot afford to do that, even against the defending champs.

Before the game was more than a few minutes old, the Flames were down two goals as the Penguins scored on their second and third shots on Jon Gillies. Off a botched puck retrieval on a Penguins dump-in, Chad Ruhwedel’s wrister from the point beat Gillies through traffic to make it 1-0. A little bit later, Gillies attempted to play the puck but he passed it right to Evgeni Malkin… who calmly skated to the front of the net and deposited it in the open cage to make it 2-0. But the Flames battled back. On a fourth line shift that resulted in several scoring chances, Mark Giordano battled to collect a loose puck then beat Tristan Jarry with a wrister inside the post to make it 2-1.

Before the period ended, Mikael Backlund undressed Kris Letang and Jarry with sweet dekes to tie the game at 2-2.

Shots were 14-9 Flames and scoring chances 13-8 Flames.

The middle frame was pretty even, with the Penguins slightly carrying play. The Penguins took the lead late in the period after Letang jumped into the rush on a three-on-two and beat Gillies with a wrist shot to make it 3-2. But the Flames battled back and tied it with two seconds remaining as TJ Brodie drove the net and shoveled the puck out front for Troy Brouwer’s tap-in to make it 3-3.

Shots were 10-7 Penguins, but chances were 7-4 Flames.

Neither team scored in the third period, though Gillies was nearly fooled by a 171-foot wrist shot by Olli Maatta… on a Flames power play. Shots were 12-9 Flames and chances 13-9 Flames, but they just couldn’t bury anything.

So it was off to overtime. The Flames had many chances, including a two-on-none rush where the puck rolled off Johnny Gaudreau’s stick and so his attempt missed the net. But the Flames had a defensive breakdown and Phil Kessel found a wide-open Justin Schultz for a tapper into an open net to win this one by a 4-3 score.

Shots 2-1 Flames in OT.

The Flames were the better team overall and had a ton of chances. But in a few situations – the Flames power play and a few moments early in the game – they weren’t very good. Their defensive zone scheme is still a bit of a yard-sale, and their power play was pretty dodgy.

And it must be said: Gillies was really shaky tonight and it seemed to make the other five guys on the ice with him a bit jumpy.

Backlund was very good, especially with his awesome first period goal, so he gets the nod. But Brouwer also had perhaps his best game in months and he was well-deserving of the ice-time he got as the game wore on.

The Flames never led in this game, so the game-clinching goal almost seemed inevitable.

Micheal Ferland and Troy Brouwer swapped spots late in the second period, with Brouwer joining Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan on the top line. Ferland was minus-two in his return to action and generally wasn’t great.

The Flames now have 74 points with 15 games remaining. They need 22 points over their remaining schedule – the equivalent of a 11-4-0 record – to hit the 96 point mark that’ll probably be the playoff cut-off.

The Dallas Stars are hosting the Ottawa Senators tonight. At time of this writing, the Stars have a 1-0 lead.

The Flames (32-25-10) head off to scenic Buffalo. They practice tomorrow and then play the Sabres on Wednesday night.