Post-Game: Jets set, Flames flummoxed in fourth straight loss
By Ryan Pike
3 years agoIn many ways, the Calgary Flames’ contest on Friday night against the Winnipeg Jets felt like a rerun. The Flames weren’t awful and played effective structural hockey. But they couldn’t translate zone time into dangerous scoring chances, while the Jets were able to. The Flames lost 3-2 to Winnipeg to extend their losing skid to four games.
The rundown
The Flames and Jets had a fairly even first period. The Flames had a power play and had zero shots. The Jets had a power play and scored off the initial face-off on a deflection off Blake Wheeler to make it 1-0 Jets.
Shots were 10-6 Jets and scoring chances 6-5 Jets in the first period.
The Jets carried play in the second period and added to their lead off a bad line change by the Flames. Tucker Poolman sprang Kyle Connor into the Flames zone on a breakaway. Jacob Markstrom made the initial save, but Connor poked in his own rebound to make it 2-0.
Shots were 10-7 Jets and scoring chances 9-6 Jets in the second period.
The Flames got on the board on the power play early in the third period. After the first unit didn’t do a whole lot, Mikael Backlund kept it simple and chucked the puck on net. It deflected off Milan Lucic and Josh Morrissey and in to cut Winnipeg’s lead to 2-1.
But Lucic took two minors on the same play and Markstrom fired a puck over the glass on the penalty kill, leading to a two man advantage for the Jets. Paul Stastny buried a feed at the end of a nice passing sequence to make it 3-1 Jets.
The Flames got one back off a nice puck movement sequence, as Noah Hanifin fed Elias Lindholm, and Lindholm’s feed to the net-front was deflected by Matthew Tkachuk past Connor Hellebuyck to make it a 3-2 game.
The Flames got a late power play and made a push with the goalie pulled for the extra attacker, but they couldn’t get the game tied up and the Jets held on for the victory.
Shots were 13-9 Flames and scoring chances 5-4 Jets in the third period.
Why the Flames lost
The Flames had plenty of zone time, but couldn’t translate it into enough dangerous scoring opportunities between the dots. Meanwhile, the Jets were able to play a patient game and take advantage of Calgary’s miscues.
Red Warrior
Hanifin had a pair of assists and looked great with the puck.
The turning point
We have two:
- The first was Connor’s goal, which extended Winnipeg’s lead to 2-0.
- The second was the Lucic double-minor, which really killed the team’s momentum at the worst possible time. (And led to the third Winnipeg goal.)
The numbers
Data via Natural Stat Trick. Percentage stats are 5v5.
| Corsi For% | O-Zone Face-Off% | Game Score | |
| Nesterov | 76.0 | 70.0 | 0.440 |
| Valimaki | 73.1 | 70.0 | 0.710 |
| Tkachuk | 66.7 | 50.0 | 1.400 |
| Lucic | 66.7 | 71.4 | 0.520 |
| Bennett | 61.9 | 71.4 | 0.090 |
| Ryan | 60.0 | 70.0 | 0.610 |
| Lindholm | 57.1 | 55.6 | -0.040 |
| Mangiapane | 55.0 | 20.0 | -1.130 |
| Nordstrom | 53.9 | 62.5 | 0.070 |
| Tanev | 53.3 | 75.0 | -1.010 |
| Dube | 50.0 | 75.0 | -0.340 |
| Leivo | 50.0 | 62.5 | 0.090 |
| Backlund | 50.0 | 50.0 | -0.530 |
| Monahan | 47.4 | 33.3 | -0.510 |
| Hanifin | 46.7 | 77.8 | -0.320 |
| Giordano | 36.4 | 27.3 | -1.830 |
| Gaudreau | 33.3 | 33.3 | -2.260 |
| Andersson | 31.8 | 33.3 | -1.910 |
| Markstrom | — | — | 0.630 |
| Rittich | — | — | — |
This and that
The Flames are 1-14-1 when trailing after two periods and 4-14-1 when their opponent scores first.
Up next
The Flames (15-17-3) are back in action on Saturday night in a rematch against the Jets.
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