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The Calgary Flames took to the ice last night against the LA Kings for what ended up to be a good, physical game, despite the interminable agreement by fans that the Flames will be easy to overcome this year.
With the return of Mike Cammalleri and Karri Ramo getting his 3rd start of the year, most fans would be uncertain with their predictions for the night given how the team has been playing. It would be without much surprise however, that Sean Monahan and Jiri Hudler both walk away with points for the night to extend their point streaks.
Hudler now currently holds the best NHL start of his career with 11pts in 8 games played. Monahan himself has record points in all but one game so far, and sits comfortably with 9pts of his own. In addition to his added point totals, Sean’s ice times have also risen as the rookie played over 21 minutes last night.
Given that he is only one game away from reaching his 9th which forces the team to make a decision on whether or not to keep him up, these point streaks are certainly helping steer that decision in his favor. The decision to keep Monahan or send him down is expected sometime tomorrow before the Flames take on the Dallas Stars on Thursday.
Cammalleri, who I have mentioned is looking to have a strong season this year, would open the scoring for the Flames in his first regular season game of the year. After allowing a goal while working against an LA power-play in the first period, the Flames would respond with a power-play goal of their own with a one-timer by Cammalleri which was set up by Hudler and Giordano. Not long after would the Flames add another power-play goal by none other than Sean Monahan who tipped in a loose puck in front of the net.
As I’ve previously expressed, specialty teams is very important when it comes to winning games and last night furthered that point. While the Flames improved upon their power-play percentages, their penalty-kill has been rather atrocious as they currently rank league worst with 69% effectiveness. This stat will need to improve drastically if the Flames are going to look to improve their odds each game carrying forward.
That said, Calgary would allow a short-handed goal by Jeff Carter during a power-play of their own and the game would be tied up at two’s going into the third. The final 20 minutes of the game would allow but one goal after a nice pass from behind the net by Jiri Hudler to set up TJ Brodie who would crank one past Jon Quick with just seconds remaining for the game winner.
With two points for the night, Hudler would be one of my stars last night followed by Karri Ramo who would keep his team in the game by making a few clutch saves. Although he appeared to be a little shaky at times, his overall performance was quite strong and it might be wise, in this writer’s opinion, for Hartley to give Ramo the next start after his hard work.
As mentioned, the overall game was a strong battle by both teams with perhaps a few too many hits by the Kings. It was a good test for Calgary to get the feel for a few strong offensive and physical teams as they work through this five game road trip. With only one win in three games so far, the Flames will get another chance to try and pull away with two more points against the Coyotes tonight before the finish their road trip against Dallas on Thursday.
Phoenix with a slightly better record than Calgary at 5-2-2 are also coming into tonight's game with a recent win. Despite the fact that both teams have recent wins, the Coyotes should be much more rested tonight as their last game was on Saturday night against the Detroit Red Wings who they beat up on for a final score of 5-2. Not typically known for their offense, Phoenix has a few players in their system who can really bury the puck which Calgary will need to keep a close eye on.
Of note, Martin Hanzel who leads the team with 8pts and walked away from the Detroit game with two goals will need to be shut down. Radim Vrbata and Antoine Vermette are the other two I would pay close attention to as they have shown their abilities to pot a goal or two themselves in recent games.
Although Hartley has given the nod to Joey MacDonald for tonight’s game during an interview, I wonder if he reconsiders his decision given how Ramo played last night. Even though these guys are professionals, you have to wonder how sitting after a strong performance must feel. While not likely to happen, I would like to see Hartley give the nod to Ramo tonight until he starts to falter – play the hot hand, it works!
For the Yotes, netminder Mike Smith has been quite strong so far this season. The Flames will need to pepper him with as many shots as possible and crash the net if they are going to squeeze enough by for a win. Although not mentioned as a player to keep an eye on tonight, Mike Ribeiro has a point streak of his own with 6pts in his last six games played.
Although he's certainly a noteworthy adversary, I feel that with enough physical play a guy like Ribeiro can be pressured off the puck. It will be a matter of getting in his way all night to keep him off the score sheet.
I wouldn’t expect any line changes for tonight’s matchup, but if there are I will update the blog and let you all know. That’s all for today folks, enjoy the game!
Thanks for reading!
Calgary Flames Blogger • 
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