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The Calgary Flames faced the Phoenix Coyotes last night after a strong game against the LA Kings the night before. With one game remaining, the Flames will look to finish their five game road trip Thursday night in Dallas.
As mentioned, after playing a physical game which was a good test for the Flames, the team came off to a rather slow start last night against the Coyotes. It appeared the team was still a little tired and banged up from playing back to back games as they had much difficulty moving the puck and getting strong scoring chances.
“The first period, we didn’t skate very well, I felt our energy level was not very good, we were not throwing enough pucks at the net,” Flames coach Bob Hartley said. “The second period, we got going. I really liked our last 40 minutes. We gave ourselves a chance to win the game.”
After their first 20 minutes of play, the team came out with what appeared to be a second wind as their scoring chances would improve and so would their skating. As a result of a near goal by Kris Russell, Lee Stempniak would jump on a rebound in front and open the scoring for the Flames and bring the game to 2-1.
There would be no other goals until the 3rd period when newly acquired Joe Colborne who was sprung on a breakaway would undress Coyotes netminder Mike Smith and tie the game at two goals apiece. It would also be none other than Jiri Hudler who assisted on the goal making him the only player left to have recorded at least one point in each game played so far. Hudler now sits with 12pts in nine games played and is having one heck of a start to his season.
Unfortunately, the game would not last tied for too long as Mike Ribeiro would notch his second goal for the night and take the lead once again. Despite some strong effort from Calgary, the Flames could not get the equalizer with an extra man as the home team would add an empty netter and secure the 4-2 win.
With respect to the play from both sides, I was impressed with the Coyotes offense and Calgary’s defense, surprisingly. Since blogging weekly that their defense needs to improve if they are to win more games, Calgary appears to be making some positive strides in terms of keeping shot totals down and keeping the play to the corners. While not always successful, I felt that the Flames defensive systems appeared to show signs of improvements last night as there was not much they could do about two of the four goals scored against them.
Conversely, a team known for their defensive play, the Coyotes displayed some strong offensive presence last night as they moved the puck and cycled in the Flames zone quite well. While Joey MacDonald didn’t have his strongest game of the year, I felt that he played “okay” and not “bad” as many others felt. Given the offensive pressure and the goals scored by the Coyotes, I wouldn’t fault MacDonald for the loss. The Flames unfortunately got their game going a little too late and couldn’t ultimately convert on enough scoring chances.
As mentioned, outside of the first period the Flames kept the shot totals close in the final 40 minutes of the game. As a result of some shot blocking and better systematic defensive play, they appeared to keep Phoenix to the outside parameters of their own end throughout most of the game. There is still much work to do in this regard, but I for one noticed an improvement here.
With another loss for Joey MacDonald, expect Karri Ramo to start tomorrow night against the Dallas Stars who had a solid performance against the Kings last night. Allowing Ramo time to ready himself might end up paying dividends for the Flames as they continue to hope that they have found their new starting tender.
Now, the part we’ve all been waiting for – Sean Monahan. It has been noted by Eric Francis today that the Flames have decided to (not) send Sean down to the OHL for further development as the young star has played beyond expectations despite his age and experience. Currently tied for 2nd in scoring on the Flames roster, Monahan’s presence has been felt just about every game he has played so far and there is no doubt, at this point in time, that he should stay and develop his game further at the NHL level.
Though some are against burning a year in his entry level contract, the fact of the matter is that the Flames brass appear to feel that there is nothing left for the young rookie at the OHL level. His play, size, and strength is currently at an NHL level and while he has much learning and developing to do, it would serve Monahan better to learn at the reigns of NHL coaches/instructors.
While a lot of criticism regarding Monahan’s game in the NHL was by and large focused around his defensive play, the rookie has made strides in improving his defensive stats on a game by game basis…not something typical for a young player to adapt to so quickly. Monahan is currently one of the Flames top players (3rd) in terms of puck possession. In fact, with Monahan on the ice the Flames have managed to take 72 unblocked shots versus the opponents 69.
Furthermore, Monahan currently holds a shooting percentage of 31.4% and has improved in the faceoff dot with a current 40.9% effectiveness, only behind Mikael Backlund who sits at 43%. If that isn’t impressive enough for you, so far this year Monahan has earned a point on every goal scored while he was on the ice.
Though the official decision is expected by noon today, there appears to be no doubt that #23 will play beyond his 10th game with the Flames tomorrow night. A concern for others with respect to keeping Monahan up at the NHL level will be his WJC eligibility. While keeping Sean on the roster for the year will not only improve the team play but also his development, it is equally important for the youngster to get his chance to succeed at the World level as well.
That said, it would not surprise me the least if the Flames decide to loan Monahan to team Canada as he will get a chance to be an integral part of that team as they battle for the gold.
The only other concern with keeping Monahan around beyond nine games this year will be his free agency status in upcoming years. If Sean plays less than 40 games this year he will be eligible to become an RFA in 2016 as opposed to becoming a UFA in 2020 if he plays more than 40 games. The former scenario means more $$ for the Flames to have to dish out, though at this point in time that’s not really a concern for the team.
That said, I could envision the Flames entertaining sending Monahan down before the 40 game mark as an attempt to extend his RFA eligibility, but that’s another topic for another day.
That’s all for today folks, thanks for reading!
Calgary Flames Blogger • 
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