Quips and Quotes: Flames lose to Kings 3-0

The Calgary Flames lost to the Los Angeles Kings by a 3-0 score on Monday night. Here are selected reactions from players and coaches following the game.

The Flames went down 57 seconds into the game and from there the Kings were content to clutter up the middle lane of the ice, give the Flames the outside lanes, and just ride things out. The Flames out-shot the Kings 42-20, but their high-danger scoring chances were just 8-3.

Following the game, Flames head coach Bill Peters conceded that his club chased the game. He praised the special teams group for their clutch five-on-three kill that spanned the end of the first period and beginning of the second, but noted that overall the team didn’t execute well offensively.

“I don’t think we were overly impressed with our own execution,” said Peters. “If you look back at it, I thought we could’ve executed better with the puck, allowing us to play faster, [it’s] what we have to focus on for our next game.”

Flames captain Mark Giordano added that they didn’t generate enough secondary scoring chances in front of Kings netminder Jack Campbell – he made 17 stops that led to whistles and did a good job of sapping momentum from the Flames with big glove saves.

After the hubbub about Drew Doughty’s pre-game comments about Matthew Tkachuk, it probably says something that Tkachuk was made available to the media following the game but Doughty wasn’t.

Tkachuk shared his thoughts, or lack thereof, with Doughty’s objections to him.

“No reaction, it doesn’t bother me at all,” said Tkachuk. “In one ear and out the other with that stuff. Doesn’t really surprise me or not surprise me, it’s just another day. I’ll sleep like a baby tonight, I’m not worried about that type of stuff, I’ll tell you that.”

All-in-all, neither player had a particularly impressive performance. The Flames probably just wish they could’ve turned Doughty’s undisciplined slashing call on Tkachuk in the third period into a goal. They had four power plays but couldn’t turn the goal light on behind Campbell.