The Calgary Flames entered their four-game road trip to finish November on a four-game win streak. Battling for the top of a tightly contested Pacific Division means limiting mistakes and finding ways to win close games, which the Flames had been doing consistently at home.
On the road, it’s another story. Calgary’s first game of the road trip against the Ottawa Senators was a testament to the team’s resolve but not so much of a testament to their ability to limit mistakes.
Over the sixty minutes of hockey played, the Flames spent 20 minutes on the penalty kill and gave the Senators nine chances on the power play. They scored on two of the opportunities for a 22% conversion rate.
While the Flames did make the game interesting, and their five-on-five effort was still present, spending one-third of the game in the penalty box is not a recipe for winning, according to head coach Ryan Huska (via Flames TV).
“Well, we took eight minor penalties,” Huska said. “I don’t care what league you’re in; you’re not going to win a hockey game or give yourself a chance to win. Five-on-five, I thought we worked hard and did some things, and there was the fight right to the end, which I’m pretty proud of our group. But we didn’t really give ourselves a chance with the amount of penalties we were taking tonight.”
Spending 20 minutes killing penalties is a disadvantage in many ways. First and foremost, offensive zone time is very limited, so chances to score are limited by nature. Of course, that doesn’t mean it can’t happen, but the Flames were not fortunate enough to score a shorthanded goal or two on the penalties they took. But along with the offensive zone time being few and far between, the players are put behind the eight ball. While the penalty killers are seeing their ice time hiked up, those who don’t play on the two units are on the bench for extended periods.
“It’s not just the penalty killers… it’s the other guys who don’t kill penalties,” Huska said. “They’re sitting on the bench for long periods of time, so they’re out of rhythm in a game. You’re overplaying certain guys; you’re underplaying other guys, and then you’re expecting them to pickup [where they left off].”
Rhythm, especially on the road, is a major contributor to a team’s success. Finding a groove with your linemates and shutting the crowd out of the game early by limiting mistakes and creating chances does wonders for overall team morale. But every opportunity the home team receives to add to their lead or climb out of a hole brings the hostile environment back in. And while the Flames found a certain rhythm at even strength, taking so many penalties limited them from finishing the job and finding the next gear offensively.
No matter how strong a team’s penalty kill is, taking that many penalties will not increase its chances of success. As Huska stated, whether the team is playing in the NHL, NCAA, or juniors and travel leagues, very few will win games if they keep going to the box. Not every call will be perfect or even correct on a second glance, but not giving the referee a reason to call anything in the first place is how you build a foundation to win games. Through the rest of this road trip, the Flames must stay out of the box and continue to build off their power play, which is on a heater right now.
