Post-Game: Flames tame the Wild

The Calgary Flames were in a crazy high-scoring game on Tuesday night in Columbus. They returned home on Thursday night for a much less crazy, more defensive, game against the Minnesota Wild. They beat the Wild by a 2-0 score.

The Flames carried play for a good chunk of the first period, but simply couldn’t get a shot past Alex Stalock. They did midway through the period, as Johnny Gaudreau seemingly held the puck in at the blueline while skating around the perimeter of the zone. He ended up with a pass from below the red line to Elias Lindholm, who beat Stalock with a one-timer. But the Wild challenged and the goal was over-turned because Gaudreau was off-side.

Shots were 11-8 Wild in first, scoring chances 4-4.

The Flames got on the board early in the second period during some four-on-four play. Gaudreau whacked a puck loose inside the Flames blueline and sprung himself and Lindholm on a two-on-one. Gaudreau found Lindholm with a nifty cross-ice pass and Lindholm beat Stalock top corner to make it 1-0 Flames.

Things were back and forth for the remainder of the period. The Flames nearly scored a couple times on a power play but couldn’t bury their chances. Shots were 14-8 Wild, chances 6-3 Wild.

The Flames doubled their lead early in the third period off a few smart plays. First, Mark Giordano found Gaudreau at the offensive blueline and sent him into the Wild zone one-on-one against a defender. Gaudreau protected the puck and passed it to the trailing Lindholm, who waited out Stalock and beat him five-hole to make it a 2-0 score.

From there, the Flames did a pretty good job keeping the game going, running clock and holding onto the puck. Aside from a Giordano penalty immediately after Lindholm’s goal, they didn’t give the Wild a ton of zone time or scoring chances.

Shots were 6-3 Wild and chances 4-3 Flames in the final period.

The Flames were the better team overall, but they were also much better defensively than they were in recent weeks. They played a smart 200-foot game and got key contributions from their goaltender, their best defenseman and their top forward line.

Smith was at times, uh, “unconventional,” but he was really engaged in this game and was superb. He made big saves when called upon and even threw a couple of body-checks behind the Flames net.

Lindholm’s third period goal made it 2-0, but the Flames had a big penalty kill just after that goal. The Wild could’ve crept back into this game, but the Flames’ PK – and particularly Smith – were quite sharp.

Both Flames goals had the exact same scoring: Lindholm from Gaudreau and Giordano at even strength.

Mikko Koivu left the game following a collision with Giordano in the early part of the third period. Giordano caught Koivu with his leg while trying to close off his entry into the offensive zone. It wasn’t exactly a knee-on-knee hit, but there was definitely some iffy contact.

Mikael Backlund got flattened by a big hit from Mathew Dumba late in this game.

The Flames (18-9-2) practice tomorrow. They host the Nashville Predators on Hockey Night in Canada on Saturday night.