From the moment the puck hit the ice the Calgary Flames were out-matched in every aspect of the game in a sure-fire 4-1 loss to the Montreal Canadiens.

It’s a Team Game – Once again the Flames offence sputtered, but this one was a bit different. It’s not like both teams were close in their high danger chances like the last two games. No, this time the Flames got destroyed across the board. This includes an unmotivated third which felt like the team itself had enough through the first 40 minutes. Montreal’s speed overwhelmed them at every turn, forced the defence into coughing up turnovers, and stifled any serious attempts at a counterattack. It was the polar opposite of what the Flames attempt to do on a nightly basis – and it worked. Montreal went to the cup final, realized where they were at after the fact, restocked with some fine young assets via trade and drafting, and are already back on the rise with a serious shot at some playoff success in the East. The Flames even gave them one of the high picks for taking on the Sean Monahan contract. If this – paired with the two previous losses – is not enough of a sign to ownership and upper management (aka not Conroy) of what is needed I’m not sure what is.

Corsi King – Let’s get some positives out of the way because the last two reviews were pretty down in the dumps. Joel Farabee (67.73 per cent) was his consistent north-south self, and he finally got a goal to show for it. Yes, Fowler will want that one back, but it was more than just the goal from him. He makes smart plays on the boards inside his own zone to make sure the puck gets out, gets the puck in deep if pressed, and takes space in the attacking zone if given it. Once he gets on the attack he lacks consistency, but seeing as the whole roster is in that boat I do have suspicions there’s more to him than what we see. Hunter Brzustewicz (55.26 per cent) got back in the lineup and earned his first NHL point on Farabee’s goal. He can’t be as sheltered on the road as he is at home, so it was good to see that despite everyone else faltering around him he had a positive outing.

Taken By Chance – So I’ve ranted about Jonathan Huberdeau (34.39 SCF% // 0 HDCF%) this week, as well as Yegor Sharangovich (29.17 per cent // 41.51 per cent). Now it’s time for Morgan Frost (15.26 per cent // 0 per cent) who has looked anything but suitable to consistently play as a top 6 centre in this league. He’s got 75 games in since coming over from the Flyers and has amassed 11 goals and 20 assists for 31 points in that time. It’s third line production at best and is simply not going to be someone to keep a spot from anyone. There’s not a lot pf physicality to his game and he can’t move the puck from defensive zone through the neutral zone – with possession – effectively at all. The change of scenery has not worked and at 26 years old I’m not thinking it’s going to. If management finally gets into sell mode he’s a piece someone could possibly want – but absolutely not one the Flames need. Yes, I know they are short on centres, but in a pinch you can end the season running both Connor Zary (30.70 per cent // 31.77 per cent) and Sharangovich up the middle of the ice. You could also give Rory Kerins the rightful shot he is due as well. If it goes that way the goal is no longer highly competitive – it’s learn to play at the speed and pace of the NHL while living with the growing pains that come with that choice.

xGF% – I understand not moving players because you are waiting for someone to call with a serious offer, but maybe there should be a bit more aggression in calling other teams and negotiating a deal. That opinion is a clear assumption based on what insiders are saying on the Rasmus Andersson (19.56 per cent) front. It makes zero sense for the team to assume the risk of him playing for Team Sweden and then getting nothing back in return for a bona fide top 4 point producing defenceman should he get injured. Despite having a brutal night, they still have MacKenzie Weegar (20.77 per cent) and are committed to growing his young partners game in Yan Kuznetsov (27.00 per cent). We have Brzustewicz (36.15 per cent) showing he can play up here and be just fine and also have Zayne Parekh to develop. Nights like this one are what they fear would happen if they got rid of their veterans and yet here it happened anyways.

If they do switch to development mode, I highly doubt that comes with a sudden outburst of offence. If it doesn’t they need to look beyond just the roster for the reason they can’t score – it’s certainly not entirely their fault.

In The Crease – To his credit I thought Dustin Wolf was okay. He can’t stop the turnovers from happening directly in front of him. They better quit fooling around before they waste this guy’s prime. They’ve started getting younger on the back-end, but outside of what Parekh could maybe become they are starving for some offensive play drivers up front. Wolf will be his crazy athletic self for as long as he can be, and will keep this team in more games than they ever deserve, but without some high end skill being truly competitive for consecutive seasons will always be out of reach. 3.64 expected goals against at 5v5 with 4 getting behind him.

Player Spotlight – William Stromgren – Lost in all of this was the debut of a new player up front. It was well deserved as Stromgren had seen his play improve year over year with the Wranglers. He drew two penalties in some limited action. Frequent readers know we don’t usually judge rookies on their first games – it’s quite a competitive jump coming to the NHL mid-season. I do believe Stromgren will continue to grow. If he can get some confidence to use some physicality he could establish himself as a baseline bottom 6 player with some upside. I’m excited to see where the former 2nd rounder grows next.