It took almost the whole game, but the Calgary Flames finally found enough goals to beat Jacob Markstrom and the New Jersey Devils by a 3-0 score on Friday night.

It’s a Team Game – That was one of the most boring first 40 minutes of hockey anybody has ever witnessed in the history of the world. The power play – specifically the first two – were not the best. After Ryan Huska sat down Andrei Kuzmenko some momentum started coming to the power play. More sustained zone time and certainly more shots on net. Markstrom stopped them all though, he was really wanting that win from the way he played. Then, on a night Mikael Backlund received his silver stick for 1,000 games played, he makes the casual play on Blake Coleman’s 1-0 goal to keep possession alive along the boards. You do not always see the beauty that Backlund brings to the game, and yet, it is undeniable. Huberdeau would cash in on an immediate 2-on-1 right after, we were still high-fiving our neighbours, to seal the game for Calgary. New Jersey got a late power play and tried like crazy to end the shutout bid, but Dan Vladar stood tall and earned the hard-fought win.

Corsi King – I am going to discuss Andrei Kuzmenko (73.84 CF%) here because I have some other players to highlight below. He was benched around the 33–34-minute mark in this game – and I was not surprised. The one thing Kuzmenko needs to bring to the table is tangible and at least semi-consistent production. Two assists in his last seven games (both in the same game too) is not going to fly. Ryan Huska has a track record of giving his players a real opportunity the next game after a sit down – they are professionals and get the message. Also, If you continue to sit them after a benching, how are they going to redeem themselves? Pospisil (70.30 per cent) holds the real crown with a 20-8 chance ratio vs Kuzmenko’s 6-2. I did miss Connor Zary’s (62.06 per cent) dangles as he hardly got to showcase them playing next to the grind down low game that Nazem Kadri (62.06%) leads with. It was not the most polished game those guys have ever played together, but it was good to knock off some rust against a sleeping Devils team.

Taken By Chance – I am so freakin’ happy Rasmus Andersson (73.14 SCF% // 39.69%) has found the perfect defence partner. One of the first pieces I ever wrote was about how – in the Travis Hamonic days – Andersson and Noah Hanifin should be paired together based on results and chemistry, supplemented with analytics to make the argument. It worked, but the consistent issue that arose was the partner – Hanifin – would also sometimes jump into the rush leaving sizeable gaps in the defensive coverage. If there was a turnover the best result was for Flames fans to close their eyes. Flash forward four years later and here they have acquired this massive human being who is fast and tall enough to break up a Jack Hughes breakaway while chasing him from behind. Kevin Bahl (74.68 percent // 30.50 percent) is certainly the addition of the off-season for the Flames, but he may be one of the best new additions in the entire National. 20+ minutes of amazing hockey comes from Bahl nightly – something the Flames blueline was desperate for.

xGF% – It has been decades since I’ve seen a guy get a hand loose and just feed the other guy about 5-6 knuckle sandwiches, but Ryan Lomberg (81.34 percent) did just that to poor Nathan Bastian. The hit on Cotter prior certainly was not okay, but he commits to the hit the same time as his teammate and Lomberg gets Cotter after he’s already stumbling. The most snake-bitten Flame – in my opinion – was Yegor Sharangovich (44.55 percent). He got free and let some wicked shots off but could not put one past Markstrom. He’s still working his way back from injury, but it was looking quite good in this game. With 40 minutes of “bleh” to start I can confidently say I never felt Sharangovich was contributing to the “bleh.”

In The Crease – We have a shutout, Houston – we have a shutout. Dan Vladar did not have to be busy, but he did have to make more high danger saves than the other guy. The best save of his came off the stick of Rasmus Andersson too – so he had to stay sharp and vigilant all night long. To start the second period the Devils were really trying some stretch passes to beat the defence, and it worked. Markstrom did some great work on the breakaway AND during all the shorthanded 2-on-1’s the Devils got. Full credits to Vladar with 1.18 expected goals against at 5v5 with nothing getting past him.

Player Spotlight – Tyson Barrie/Joel Hanley/Jake Bean – The rotation continues and if I’m being honest I had no issues with Tyson Barrie’s game tonight. The opposite actually, I felt he was able to get some pucks to the net – hard – when the Flames weren’t generating much of anything. That’s not why I’m randomly highlighting three players though. No, the Flames best options for defence number one through five have emerged and solidified themselves. Andersson and Weegar are clear top pair options, Bahl is a surefire top 4 while Miromanov and Pachal are more than capable third pairing guys. Based on how he’s played so far one could advocate Pachal has shown enough to get a better shot. That leaves one functional spot on the blueline and three veteran spares. I think Jake Bean currently has the edge, but not one of these guys has really risen to the top and staked the claim for a long-term position in the lineup.

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