Post Game: They came, Nassau, were conquered

The Flames have played twice in New York on this road trip and have scored exactly 1 goal. That is not good. The Islanders beat the Flames 2-1 tonight and handed the Flames their second loss in three games on this exceedingly important road trip,

There have been quite a few heroic efforts from a number of Flames so far this road trip but it is starting to feel like the offensive just stayed home. The Flames were out-matched, out-gunned, and out-classed by a far superior Islanders club tonight and I think we all knew this was a possibility even before the Flames lost their best player and fearless leader.

Check out what happened after the jump!

Most importantly to the playoff future of the Flames is the fact that Mark Giordano took warmups for this game, possible indicating that his injury may not be as serious as was being tossed around earlier this morning. That was a huge plus for sure, but then the game had to start. And that game featured a pairing of Corey Potter and Derek Engelland at times.

The Islanders came out flying in the first and the Flames were fortunate that the game didn’t get out of hand quickly. The Islanders got a flurry of chances to start the game in the first few minutes. The Flames were able to weather the storm but the Isles broke through on the powerplay with a goal from Ryan Strome. Karri Ramo did everything he could, making two great saves before Strome whacked home a third rebound.  

The Flames were able to mount a few chances after the first Islanders goal, including a failed penalty shot from Michael Ferland which was pretty exciting. The Islanders lead the Flames 15-7 in shots and largely dominated the play. All in all, the Flames had to be pleased it was only 1-0. 

Throughout the second, the Islanders mounted numerous chances that Ramo was able to turn aside. Essentially, Ramo, and perhaps Kris Russell’s willingness to be hit with the puck were the only things keeping the Flames in this game through 40 minutes as neither team scored in the second/

The Islanders flew out of the gates again in the third and had a number of good chances and then the Flames got real lucky. The Isles looked like they had extended their lead to 2-0 but the goal was called off because of goaltender interference. That is a dubious claim. The Flames certainly caught a break and it stayed a one-goal game. 

The Flames were just unable to generate any good looks in the third period, with their best scoring chance being a missed penalty shot in the first period. The Islanders were the better club all night and deserved the win, the Flames looked frazzled in their own zone and largely helpless in the offensive zone. 

The Islanders scored an empty netter which sparked the Flames comeback somehow. Josh Jooris spoiled Halak’s shutout with half a minute left but it didn’t matter. Isles win 2-1 and outshoot the Flames 38-27. 

T.J Brodie played a very solid game in the absence of Giordano as did Kris Russell who blocked a million shots. Brodie was a one man army at times, spearheading rushes and creating offense from thin air. Dennis Wideman ended up taking the majority of Giordano’s minutes (finished with 30:24!) and didn’t look too bad, though the Islanders completely dominated the game so it was tough for anyone to really stand out. 

As far as the forwards were concerned, not a lot looked good. Josh Jooris scored a goal and finished the game with five shots so good job I suppose but the Flames got nothing from their top players tonight and looked disinterested in the offensive zone.

However, it is really a shame that the Flames offense dissolved completely because his first three starts on this trip have been fantastic. Ramo has given his team a chance to win in each of his last three starts and it wouldn’t surprise me if the Flames go back to him against Philly. 

Also of note, I thought Glencross had a particularly bad game. So, hopefully Washington or whoever wasn’t watching.

It was the third game in four nights for the Flames and they were playing without their captain, whom is the fulcrum of their back-end. Despite the injection of youth into the lineup, the offense has looked listless in all three of their games so far this trip which has to be concerning for Flames brass.  

The Flames now have three days off to nervously scoreboard watch and prepare themselves for the deadline. Who knows who just played their last game as a Flame.