Post-Game: Just how they drew it up

The Calgary Flames haven’t been at their best since the All-Star Break. They weren’t perfect on Saturday afternoon in Pittsburgh, but they were closer to their usual selves. They had a productive time at even strength and held on for a 5-4 victory over the Penguins.

The Flames were energetic from the start and were rewarded halfway through the opening frame with a fourth line goal. Oliver Kylington’s point shot ricocheted off a Penguins’ stick, off Andrew Mangiapane’s skate and past Matt Murray to give Calgary a 1-0 lead.

But the Penguins tied things up, as Jake Guentzel got a stick on a point shot just five seconds after a Flames penalty expired to make it a 1-1 game. (Sam Bennett was in the box for a penalty related to a fight with Marcus Pettersson, which itself was related to a scary hit on Austin Czarnik.)

Shots were 13-9 Penguins in first and chances 11-9 Penguins.

The Flames went to work in the second period. 99 seconds in, Rasmus Andersson pinched to keep a puck in Calgary’s possession. A few cycling passes later Matthew Tkachuk’s shot was stopped, but the rebound went right to Michael Frolik for a tap-in that gave the Flames a 2-1 lead.

Just over a minute later, Czarnik made it 3-1 Flames with a wrist shot (off a nice feed from Derek Ryan) that handcuffed Murray on a two-on-two rush.

The Penguins got one back, as Sidney Crosby scored a dandy from a bad angle on a power play with a rising wrist shot that would’ve been tough for a brick wall to stop. That cut Calgary’s lead to 3-2.

But the Flames answered back with a couple late goals. Travis Hamonic beat Murray over the shoulder with a shot from the top of the circle that careened off a defender’s stick. That made it 4-2.

The second power play unit made it 5-2 Flames, as a dump-in was recovered and cycled. A few slick passes later – including a set-up from Ryan – and Bennett was patient and held onto the puck and slid it past a sprawling Murray to extend the lead.

Shots were 15-14 Flames, chances 14-11 Flames in the second.

The Penguins’ power play tried their darnedest to tie the game in the third period. Evgeni Malkin scored two man advantage goals:

But that’s as close as the home side got and the Flames held on for the victory.

Shots were 11-7 Penguins, chances 5-5 in the final period.

The Flames were really good at even strength. They avoided making bad decisions with the puck, for the most part, and they got contributions from basically every line at even strength aside from their top line. They had three good lines and three good pairings, and they managed to keep momentum on their side for much of the game.

The game was close because they had no answer for the Penguins power play – three Pittsburgh goals were a man up, and their other goal was five seconds after a PP expired – but the Flames were able to spot themselves four even strength goals. When you’re that much better than the other team five-on-five, you tend to win.

Ryan had three assists, setting up Calgary’s first, third and fifth goals. He’s been very effective lately and it’s made the bottom six pretty dangerous.

Bennett’s PP goal late in the second period gave the Flames a 5-2 lead. It ended up standing as the game-winner, and came in the wake of a few games where their special teams haven’t given the Flames quite enough to win. This afternoon, their special teams managed to do that.

The Flames are now 20-1-0 when leading after two periods and a combined 28-1-4 when leading or tied after two periods.

The Flames (35-16-7) fly home later today. They host the Arizona Coyotes in an afternoon game on Family Day Monday.