After a couple of losses its nice to play a game where the bounces start going your way. The Calgary Flames took advantage of Buffalo&#8217;s bad rush defence and inability to defend in front of their net. The Sabres spent the first half of the game without the puck on their stick taking their high flying offence out of it. Most encouraging was the heavy push in the third to pile on the lead instead of playing it safe. The Sabres provided little resistance but you always hope a game like this can spark a bit of a run.

CF% &#8211; 66.8%, SCF% &#8211; 63.91%, HDCF% &#8211; 61.45%, xGF% &#8211; 71.05%
It&#8217;s a team game &#8211; There wasn&#8217;t a Flames player that took this game off and everyone was rolling. Early goaltending woes went away as fast as they arrived and Calgary stuck to their gameplan well. Only one player actually ended up finishing on the lower half of ratios I cover. Buffalo did not bring their best, but you can only play the game in front of you. The two points were needed to keep hope alive for the playoffs which is still this team&#8217;s goal.
Corsi King &#8211; MacKenzie Weegar (85.51%) and Nikita Zadorov (78.71%) had themselves a really dominant game. Much needed with Rasmus Andersson out. If the Flames D ever gets truly to full strength I like to keep this pair together and see the other guy (ideally Kylington) with Tanev. It would make 3 extremely formidable pairings you could play anywhere with very few worries. Brett Ritchie (75.35%) got back in the lineup and immediately brought the fourth line into positive shot attempts instead of turmoiling below 50%. 8 players finished above 70%
Corsi Clown &#8211; Dennis Gilbert (45.74%) and Michael Stone (48.05%) were the only guys under 50% and it was marginal. I could care less because the story surrounding Gilbert and his goal outweighs everything. Back in his hometown with family &#8211; including his grandmother &#8211; in the building? Core memories made. These two defencemen provide exactly what we expect in terms of play &#8211; also maybe the Flames should do something with Mackey if they aren&#8217;t going to use him.
Under Pressure &#8211; 
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-106108" src="https://publish.flamesnation.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/02/SP-CGY-BUF.png" alt="" width="1009" height="1827" srcset="https://publish.flamesnation.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/02/SP-CGY-BUF.png 1009w, https://publish.flamesnation.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/02/SP-CGY-BUF-166x300.png 166w, https://publish.flamesnation.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/02/SP-CGY-BUF-566x1024.png 566w, https://publish.flamesnation.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/02/SP-CGY-BUF-768x1391.png 768w, https://publish.flamesnation.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/02/SP-CGY-BUF-848x1536.png 848w" sizes="(max-width: 1009px) 100vw, 1009px" />
Taken By Chance &#8211; I&#8217;ll get the one negative out of the way &#8211; Michael Stone (36.40 SCF% // 19.86 HDCF%) saw 4 high danger chances against and only helped create 1. He&#8217;s not been a steady a presence as the Flames need him to be &#8211; hasn&#8217;t been for awhile now. The positive to follow is every single forward won their match-ups &#8211; Weegar (85.98% // 87.77%) and Kadri (67.73% // 70.91%) with over 6 high danger chances involved each. That whole line including Huberdeau (68.85% // 66.63%) was fantastic for the Flames this afternoon.
xG Breakdown &#8211; 
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-106109" src="https://publish.flamesnation.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/02/xG-CGY-BUF.png" alt="" width="897" height="1142" srcset="https://publish.flamesnation.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/02/xG-CGY-BUF.png 897w, https://publish.flamesnation.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/02/xG-CGY-BUF-236x300.png 236w, https://publish.flamesnation.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/02/xG-CGY-BUF-804x1024.png 804w, https://publish.flamesnation.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/02/xG-CGY-BUF-768x978.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 897px) 100vw, 897px" />
xGF% &#8211; Pelletier (94.08%) is not going anywhere anytime soon &#8211; more on him below. 5 players over 80% and tonight wasn&#8217;t spurred by heavy shot volume from low scoring areas. The Flames took their time &#8211; made dangerous passes on the rush &#8211; and created chaos around the crease frequently. When you have everybody except one player on your roster above 50% you controlled pretty much everything. The Sabres really played quite bad &#8211; but the Flames needed that badly.
Game Flow &#8211; 
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-106110" src="https://publish.flamesnation.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/02/GF-CGY-BUF.png" alt="" width="751" height="350" srcset="https://publish.flamesnation.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/02/GF-CGY-BUF.png 751w, https://publish.flamesnation.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/02/GF-CGY-BUF-300x140.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 751px) 100vw, 751px" />
Game Score &#8211; 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NHL?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NHL</a> GameScore Impact Card for Calgary Flames on 2023-02-11:
 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Flames?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Flames</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CofRed?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CofRed</a> <a href="https://t.co/uyJL6duJgf">pic.twitter.com/uyJL6duJgf</a>
&mdash; HockeyStatCards (@hockeystatcards) <a href="https://twitter.com/hockeystatcards/status/1624500166186221568?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 11, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Shot Heatmap &#8211; 
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-106111" src="https://publish.flamesnation.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/02/SH-CGY-BUF.png" alt="" width="803" height="422" srcset="https://publish.flamesnation.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/02/SH-CGY-BUF.png 803w, https://publish.flamesnation.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/02/SH-CGY-BUF-300x158.png 300w, https://publish.flamesnation.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/02/SH-CGY-BUF-768x404.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 803px) 100vw, 803px" />
(That&#8217;s what I like to see &#8211; good job, boys, getting to the net.)
In the Crease &#8211; It was a pretty shaky start with 2 goal on 3 shots. Luck for Markstrom the Sabres only managed to get 4 total in the first half of the game. Calgary really never gave Markstrom a chance to redeem himself because they decided to just keep the puck on their stick. 1.48 expected goals against at 5v5 with one medium danger chance getting behind him. It was enough for the win and that&#8217;s what you need.
Player Spotlight &#8211; Jakob Pelletier &#8211; The first of many I&#8217;m sure congratulations Jakob on your first NHL goal. It&#8217;s been coming ever since he played his first game and as he gets more familiar with his linemates more will come. The kicker on that goal was Pelletier gaining three stride lengths on the Sabres player as he raced to get into scoring position. Not many players have his level of speed on Calgary &#8211; if he can use it effectively there is no reason he should be sent back. He hardly saw any significant chances against while he was on the ice &#8211; constantly playing really good hockey.
The Goals &#8211; 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
Jakob Pelletier scores his first NHL goal! And it&#39;s a beauty! <a href="https://t.co/bijbAFo96k">pic.twitter.com/bijbAFo96k</a>
&mdash; Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) <a href="https://twitter.com/RingOfFireCGY/status/1624478745192202240?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 11, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
Now Mikael Backlund scores! Tie game! 
2-2 <a href="https://t.co/FVZZ9zgnNU">pic.twitter.com/FVZZ9zgnNU</a>
&mdash; Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) <a href="https://twitter.com/RingOfFireCGY/status/1624479267005530112?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 11, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
Dennis Gilbert scores his first goal as a Calgary Flame! 
He does it in his hometown in front of friends and family. Awesome moment!
3-2 Flames 🔥🔥🔥 <a href="https://t.co/BPxAhGyTLr">pic.twitter.com/BPxAhGyTLr</a>
&mdash; Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) <a href="https://twitter.com/RingOfFireCGY/status/1624479746821353473?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 11, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
What a start to the second period! 
Nazem Kadri scores the Flames fourth goal of the period!
4-2 Flames 🔥🔥🔥🔥 <a href="https://t.co/mWtdiQQE9J">pic.twitter.com/mWtdiQQE9J</a>
&mdash; Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) <a href="https://twitter.com/RingOfFireCGY/status/1624481581074358273?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 11, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
Tyler Toffoli scores his 20th goal of the season! 
Flames take a 5-2 lead! <a href="https://t.co/Kkjwsju1YE">pic.twitter.com/Kkjwsju1YE</a>
&mdash; Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) <a href="https://twitter.com/RingOfFireCGY/status/1624492872308514816?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 11, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
Tyler Toffoli scores his second goal of the game! 
6-2 Flames! <a href="https://t.co/M0eJYYnz2t">pic.twitter.com/M0eJYYnz2t</a>
&mdash; Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) <a href="https://twitter.com/RingOfFireCGY/status/1624497042285543425?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 11, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
The Flames are toying with the Sabres right now. 
Dillon Dube picks up his 4th point of the game. 
7-2 Flames! <a href="https://t.co/CJg2O3U15L">pic.twitter.com/CJg2O3U15L</a>
&mdash; Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) <a href="https://twitter.com/RingOfFireCGY/status/1624499353900687360?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 11, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Flashalytics 3 Stars
<ol>
<li>Dube</li>
<li>Pelletier</li>
<li>Toffoli</li>
</ol>

After a couple of losses its nice to play a game where the bounces start going your way. The Calgary Flames took advantage of Buffalo's bad rush defence and inability to defend in front of their net. The Sabres spent the first half of the game without the puck on their stick taking their high flying offence out of it. Most encouraging was the heavy push in the third to pile on the lead instead of playing it safe. The Sabres provided little resistance but you always hope a game like this can spark a bit of a run.



CF% - 66.8%, SCF% - 63.91%, HDCF% - 61.45%, xGF% - 71.05%

It's a team game - There wasn't a Flames player that took this game off and everyone was rolling. Early goaltending woes went away as fast as they arrived and Calgary stuck to their gameplan well. Only one player actually ended up finishing on the lower half of ratios I cover. Buffalo did not bring their best, but you can only play the game in front of you. The two points were needed to keep hope alive for the playoffs which is still this team's goal.

Corsi King - MacKenzie Weegar (85.51%) and Nikita Zadorov (78.71%) had themselves a really dominant game. Much needed with Rasmus Andersson out. If the Flames D ever gets truly to full strength I like to keep this pair together and see the other guy (ideally Kylington) with Tanev. It would make 3 extremely formidable pairings you could play anywhere with very few worries. Brett Ritchie (75.35%) got back in the lineup and immediately brought the fourth line into positive shot attempts instead of turmoiling below 50%. 8 players finished above 70%

Corsi Clown - Dennis Gilbert (45.74%) and Michael Stone (48.05%) were the only guys under 50% and it was marginal. I could care less because the story surrounding Gilbert and his goal outweighs everything. Back in his hometown with family - including his grandmother - in the building? Core memories made. These two defencemen provide exactly what we expect in terms of play - also maybe the Flames should do something with Mackey if they aren't going to use him.

Under Pressure - 

<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-106108" src="https://publish.flamesnation.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/02/SP-CGY-BUF.png" alt="" width="1009" height="1827" />

Taken By Chance - I'll get the one negative out of the way - Michael Stone (36.40 SCF% // 19.86 HDCF%) saw 4 high danger chances against and only helped create 1. He's not been a steady a presence as the Flames need him to be - hasn't been for awhile now. The positive to follow is every single forward won their match-ups - Weegar (85.98% // 87.77%) and Kadri (67.73% // 70.91%) with over 6 high danger chances involved each. That whole line including Huberdeau (68.85% // 66.63%) was fantastic for the Flames this afternoon.

xG Breakdown - 

<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-106109" src="https://publish.flamesnation.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/02/xG-CGY-BUF.png" alt="" width="897" height="1142" />

xGF% - Pelletier (94.08%) is not going anywhere anytime soon - more on him below. 5 players over 80% and tonight wasn't spurred by heavy shot volume from low scoring areas. The Flames took their time - made dangerous passes on the rush - and created chaos around the crease frequently. When you have everybody except one player on your roster above 50% you controlled pretty much everything. The Sabres really played quite bad - but the Flames needed that badly.

Game Flow - 

<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-106110" src="https://publish.flamesnation.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/02/GF-CGY-BUF.png" alt="" width="751" height="350" />

Game Score - 

https://twitter.com/hockeystatcards/status/1624500166186221568

Shot Heatmap - 

<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-106111" src="https://publish.flamesnation.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/02/SH-CGY-BUF.png" alt="" width="803" height="422" />

(That's what I like to see - good job, boys, getting to the net.)

In the Crease - It was a pretty shaky start with 2 goal on 3 shots. Luck for Markstrom the Sabres only managed to get 4 total in the first half of the game. Calgary really never gave Markstrom a chance to redeem himself because they decided to just keep the puck on their stick. 1.48 expected goals against at 5v5 with one medium danger chance getting behind him. It was enough for the win and that's what you need.

Player Spotlight - Jakob Pelletier - The first of many I'm sure congratulations Jakob on your first NHL goal. It's been coming ever since he played his first game and as he gets more familiar with his linemates more will come. The kicker on that goal was Pelletier gaining three stride lengths on the Sabres player as he raced to get into scoring position. Not many players have his level of speed on Calgary - if he can use it effectively there is no reason he should be sent back. He hardly saw any significant chances against while he was on the ice - constantly playing really good hockey.

The Goals - 

https://twitter.com/RingOfFireCGY/status/1624478745192202240

https://twitter.com/RingOfFireCGY/status/1624479267005530112

https://twitter.com/RingOfFireCGY/status/1624479746821353473

https://twitter.com/RingOfFireCGY/status/1624481581074358273

https://twitter.com/RingOfFireCGY/status/1624492872308514816

https://twitter.com/RingOfFireCGY/status/1624497042285543425

https://twitter.com/RingOfFireCGY/status/1624499353900687360

Flashalytics 3 Stars
<ol>
 	<li>Dube</li>
 	<li>Pelletier</li>
 	<li>Toffoli</li>
</ol>

Beyond the Boxscore: Calgary Flames get touchdown on bad Sabres defensive play

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