Post-Game Wrap-Up: A pointless trip to Vegas

The Calgary Flames visited T-Mobile Arena for the sixth time ever on Sunday night. For the sixth time in a row, they lost. The Flames dropped a 6-0 hockey game to the Vegas Golden Knights to crash back down to the .500 mark.

The Flames were decent early on, but a back-and-forth sequence came back to haunt them. Sean Monahan had a couple whacks at a loose puck with Marc-Andre Fleury swimming around the crease searching for it. The Flames couldn’t grab it and were caught up ice. Travis Hamonic was caught back defending a two-on-one and William Karlsson beat Cam Talbot with a high stick-side wrist shot to give the home team a 1-0 edge.

Shots were 13-11 Flames and scoring chances 12-11 Flames in the first period.

Midway through the second, Vegas extended their lead on a great individual play by Paul Stastny. Playing four on four, Stastny came down the right side of the ice and approached Mark Giordano. He cut to the slot – he’s a left shot guy, which gives him his whole body width to protect the puck – and uncorked a wrister that beat Talbot to make it 2-0 Vegas.

Shots were 13-12 Golden Knights and scoring chances 9-3 Golden Knights.

Max Pacioretty added to Vegas’ lead in the third period on a very similar play to the first Vegas goal. Rasmus Andersson missed the net on a scoring chance and then had to rush back to defend a two-on-one/two-on-two rush with Oliver Kylington. The duo defended the pass, so Pacioretty had tons of time to uncork a wrister that beat Talbot glove-side to make it 3-0 Vegas.

Cody Eakin made it 4-0 late in the third on a two-on-zero rush after Sean Monahan was the last man back on an offensive zone play and then fell over, leaving the two Vegas forwards all alone. The Flames challenged the goal for a missed off-sides call. The goal stood and on the ensuing Vegas power play Mark Stone scored to make it 5-0 Vegas.

Karlsson made it 6-0 late in the period off a nice back-hander. He tried to split the D, got caught by Andersson, then beat Talbot anyway inside the far post.

Same old, same old.

They got scored on first. They took early penalties. They couldn’t quite win puck battles. They couldn’t stay out of the box. They couldn’t establish their forecheck, for the most part. They didn’t do a ton to dictate the game in any area and, so, they lost.

Talbot gave his team a fighting chance. He made a ton of good saves and kept them in it when they really needed him to. It’s hard to fault him on either Vegas goal.

Stone’s opening goal. The Flames seem to slump a bit when they get down in games early. They whiffed on a great chance to get an early goal past Fleury, then were caught up ice when Stone scored to give Vegas an early lead.

It was an uphill battle from there.

Data via Natural Stat Trick. Percentage stats are 5v5.

Travis Hamonic left the game midway through the second period with a lower body injury. Oliver Kylington left the game in the third period after getting walloped by an open ice hit from Ryan Reaves and did not return.

The Flames (10-10-3) are headed home. They’re back in action on Tuesday night when they host the Colorado Avalanche.

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