Post-Game: Johnny Comes Alive

The Flames got back over .500 and closed out their difficult six game road trip with a 4-1 win over the Winnipeg Jets. Like many of their other W’s this season, this one came despite a less than-60 minuet effort and required a large helping of outstanding goaltending and opportunistic scoring to get the two points.

Here’s how things went.

Calgary’s first period was reminiscent of their effort in Chicago. The Flames very much looked like a team at the end of a long road trip, chasing the puck around their own end and only surviving via desperate shot blocking (*cough* Lance Bouma *cough), otherworldly goaltending and a pair of goalposts. The third pairing of Smid and Diaz in particular struggled, with Diaz serving up not one but two egregious turn-overs in his own end that forced Hiller to make a pair of noteworthy saves.

The Jets managed to pepper Jonas Hiller with 10 shots through the first 10 minutes, culminating in a goal from Mark Scheifele on a pretty passing play half way through the frame. Calgary managed just a single shot on net over the same period. Shots ended up 13-6, and it looked like it was going to be a very long night for the visitors.

The second period saw a complete reversal in the flow of play, however. Jiri Hudler was sprung on a break-away in the opening minutes by Mark Giordano. The diminutive winger didn’t score, but Calgary proceeded to pour on the offensive pressure after that.

The Flames tied things up six minutes into the period after Kris Russell intercepted a clearing attempt by the Jets, drew coverage by skating into the slot, and then dished the puck off to a wide open Dennis Wideman who wristed it into the top corner.

The Flames took the lead on a PP just four minutes later when Johnny Gaudreau scored on a nifty wrap-around for his first of the season. 

The Gaudfather added his second point of the season on his very next shift by stopping up in the offensive zone and feeding Mason Raymond, who scored on the ensuing two-on-one. The Jets collapsed utterly in the face of the Flames onslaught in the second, yielding three goals and 18 shots.

The third period was more balanced, with the Flames sitting back to protect the lead. Nevertheless, they managed to put things away when TJ Brodie grabbed a loose puck in the slot and roofed it for his third goal and seventh point of the season. Brodie currently co-leads the Flames in scoring with Mason Raymond (7 points), who also tallied a goal and two assists on the evening.

Things got a bit rough by the end of the game after Blake Wheeler boarded Kris Russell and then lunged at Curtis Glencross in separate incidents. Nothing came of it aside from a few angry scrums and minor penalties though. Shots ended up 12-5 for Winnipeg, but they were much less dangerous than they were in the first.

Because their goalie kept them in it early and they managed to push back hard in the second. The Flames have made a bad habit of going to sleep for at least one period per game this season, but they’ve been saved from getting totally buried by their above average puck stopping so far.

Let’s go with Jonas Hiller because this game could have been over in the first period without him. He has stopped now 83 of the last 85 shots he’s faced and is the primary reason the Flames have managed two wins in his last two starts.