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The Calgary Flames opened their regular season last night against the Washington Capitals, despite some serious commotion going on at the White House which some felt might cause the game to be postponed.
The large distraction for those near the White House would not cause any distractions for the game between the Flames and the Caps, although I would argue that Washington came into the game a little unprepared as Calgary took a nice three goal lead.
One of the lines that most fans were paying attention to last night opened up the scoring as Sean Monahan misplayed the puck which David Jones picked up and took it upstairs on Braden Holtby. Not but a few minutes later would Lee Stempniak extend the Flames lead to 2-0 during a 4-4 play. Prior to the second goal of the night, Flames Lance Bouma would leave Caps defenseman Jack Hillen injured on the ice after completing his check.
As a result of the check, he would have to answer to Tom Wilson as the two exchanged a few punches. Hillen was helped off the ice and taken to the hospital as a result of the hit. It would be later announced that the defenseman is likely to miss a few games with a lower body injury.
While the hit and fight further amplified both teams intensity, it would be the Flames who add a third unanswered goal on the power-play as a result of a slap shot taken just outside of the hash-marks by Jiri Hudler.
As noted, although the Capitals started off a little sloppy, they would rally back in the second period with goals from rookie Connor Carrick, Alex Ovechkin(2),Nick Backstrom to tie the game with at 4-4 with roughly five minutes left in the game. Despite having a three goal lead at two points during the game, the Flames appeared to try and sit back and defend their lead which led to a few sloppy plays of their own.
Unable to clear the puck and not covering their assignments properly (Ovechkin), the Flames would give up their lead with three unanswered goals and take the game to OT. Expect games like this all year from this group – close, frustrating, but entertaining just the same.
The points that I liked from the game was the physicality displayed by the Flames. They were able to effectively finish their checks on most plays, got a little dirty when needed to, cleared the net meritoriously, and played a rather well executed offense despite many critics who feel that this team won’t score. Don’t confuse this last part in saying that this team will not be focusing on their defensive systems, because if last night was an indication of anything, it’s that they still have a lot of work to do in that regard.
For me, one of the strongest lines for the Flames was Street’s line. The younger 4th liners played quite well together finishing their checks. There was no questioning that once again, the strongest line for the Capitals was that of Ovechkin’s group, despite coming off to a slower start. With Mikhail Grabovski added to their power-play, they likely won’t have too many difficulties finding the back of the net during their specialty teams.
The Flames will take on the Columbus Blue Jackets tonight for their second road game in as many days. The Blue Jackets are one of four teams remaining who have yet to open their season so far, and will do so in front of a home crowd. With not a lot of time to practice or go over the results of last night’s game, the Flames will have a slight disadvantage coming into the game and will need to work at their defensive game if they are going to walk away with more than one point.
That’s all for today folks, thanks for reading!
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