The floodgates found their way open and the Calgary Flames made it count, taking down the Philadelphia Flyers by a score of 6-3.
CF% – 61.68%|| SCF% – 62.53%|| HDCF% – 56.73%|| xGF% – 64.15%
It’s a Team Game – Connor Zary got the party started and the rest of the team decided to come for a ride. Ryan Huska had put Zary on the fourth line in this match, but it was not a long time before he showed he understood the assignment. Two goals in the first period and a willingness to shoot the puck when they got a look in the middle of the ice led to some success. The Flyers goaltenders didn’t have a banner day, but the Flames had not been putting pucks on net like they should have been this road trip. A reset game was needed, and the Flyers gave it to them. The pressure stayed on right till the end for Calgary too – just a well-played 60-minute effort.
Corsi King – The former Flyers came to play back in their old city. Morgan Frost (66.69 CF%) ended up with two assists and Joel Farabee (76.24 per cent) had a twenty-five to eight advantage in shot attempts. To be fair Andrei Kuzmenko returned the offensive favour from the Flyers perspective, but the win had to feel good for those two. Back in the lineup after his first scratch since coming to the Flames organization, Brayden Pachal (76.32 per cent) was his usual, solid, third-pair self. My theory was his sitting was a good excuse to showcase Daniil Miromanov before the deadline –
it was reported on the 32 Thoughts podcast that the Flames were looking to find him a new home.
Under Pressure –
Taken By Chance – Connor Zary (56.23 SCF% || 79.28 HDCF%) simply found himself some space and started shooting the puck. He’s not been his usual, dangle-filled self since returning to the lineup. He was playing quite passively so I’m hoping this whole demotion/instant success arc he just found himself on triggers a hot streak. The Flames haven’t had anyone go on a good streak since the first 10 games after Nazem Kadri (51.73 per cent || 65.68 per cent) and Jonathan Huberdeau (50.86 per cent || 55.81 per cent) got together. Nobody on this squad has taken an offensive role and ran with it – if they want to push for the playoffs having someone get hot will help poor Wolf drag them in.
xG Breakdown –
xGF% – Second straight game on the positive side of chances and quality for Mikael Backlund (71.39 per cent) and Blake Coleman (74.36 per cent), however they were dinged for two 5v5 goals against. This has been the longest rough patch of Mikael Backlund’s time as a Flame – at least in the six years I’ve been doing these. I want to see the captain rebound here, but his performance down the stretch should be very important for how the Flames approach their future plans. Last skater note – Yegor Sharangovich (69.05 per cent) – glad he shot the puck in the net. He’s probably more thrilled than I was, but it’s still not the snipes from distance we saw last season. His swagger needs to return.
Game Flow –
Game Score –
Shot Heatmap –
In The Crease – Dustin Wolf winning on an off-night is so deserved. How many games did he bend and stretch himself into oblivion for a victory only to have the team give him no run support. Them having his back after a three-goal night is foreign territory, but that’s only because he hardly lets in three goals. Kuzmenko had his number in this one though – not too many players can say that this year. 1.42 expected goals against at 5v5 with three goals getting behind Wolf.
The Goals –
Flash’s 3 Stars –
1) Connor Zary
2) Morgan Frost
3) Brayden Pachal
(Stats compiled from Naturalstattrick.com // Game Score from Hockeystatcards.com // xG and Under Pressure charts from HockeyViz.com // Game Flow and Shot Heatmap from NaturalStatTrick.com)
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