Slump busters were out in full force as the Calgary Flames cruised to a 5-2 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday night.

It’s a Team Game – Calgary did well not to let the first shot goal by the Canucks to get to them in any way. Instead, they went about their business and exploited the Canucks defensive mishaps all night long. The Flames worked harder, they created better chances, and they were rewarded for their efforts. Vancouver left gaps in their defensive coverage the Flames were able to easily expose. At the other end of the ice Wolf didn’t have as tough a workload as Lankinen but did what he needed to. Calgary maintained an excellent defensive structure once again but has seen an increase in activity in the offensive zone. Active efforts to get the puck to the middle of the ice and to make sure the shots being taken come from in tight. Not every team will play as bad as the Canucks played for stretches in this one, but that shouldn’t be a discredit to the Flames who played very well themselves

Corsi King – One of the slump busters was Yegor Sharangovich (64.86 CF%) who got his goal on the doorstep of the crease. Exactly the same place the other one – Connor Zary (61.57 per cent) – was when he got his goal. Early in the season the offence was heavily concentrated on shots generated from the point. Calgary is still using those, but there’s a very specific effort to get more shots in tight. It’s everything I was asking for from them when they were slumping and it’s paying off with plenty of offence. Playing like this going into the sunshine state should make for some competitive hockey games in the coming weeks. I have zero doubts in Calgary’s ability to defend – they will play those teams hard – it’s just going to be a matter of being able to produce offence every single night.

Taken By Chance – I’m probably going to continue to praise Rasmus Andersson (54.41 SCF% // 75.91 HDCF%) if he continues to do amazing things. He was a central driver of offence in this game with three assists. He made a tremendous play to slap pass one to Morgan Frost (58.25 per cent // 62.31 per cent) who tucked one in, he was the one who found the shooting lane which led to Sharangovich’s goal, and he is constantly getting involved in the creation of high danger chances. Rasmus Andersson has a case – with 2 goals and 7 assists in 4 games – to be the player of the week for the entire NHL. There may be a forward who has more points, I’m not checking for that right now, but the point remains Andersson is playing out of his mind right now. Some of, if not the best, I’ve ever seen him play in a Flames sweater.

xGF% – Yan Kuznetsov (37.11 per cent) continued to be relied on in critical situations. You hardly notice him out there and I mean that as an extreme compliment. Matt Coronato (39.12 per cent) had his goal streak come to an end, but still managed to produce an assist. The three game win streak isn’t surprising when you realize the Flames have two players – Coronato and Andersson (67.74 per cent) – in a high-level offensive groove. Coronato continues to generate chances and create scoring opportunities for the Flames nightly. Finally, a shoutout for Kevin Bahl (68.64 per cent) who got a goal and displayed some good stick handling for some dangerous chances. He was very noticeable in a positive way all night. He and Andersson are just dominating their minutes this season – it really gives the Flames a chance every night.

In The Crease – No weak goals, complete control of his puck tracking and angles, and a result that reflected his play – Dustin Wolf was back after getting some well-deserved rest the last two games. His defence played a solid game and gave him a night free from having to scramble too much. Quinn Hughes did some superstar stuff to beat him later in the game, but Wolf was his usual excellent self. He’s going to be tested the next three games in Florida, Tampa Bay, and Carolina, let’s see what he’s got in store for them.

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