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On Tuesday night the Calgary Flames went into Dallas and took care of business against a struggling Stars team.
The Flames are now on a four-game winning streak and own an impressive 9-3-1 record over their last 13 games.
A few notes:
1) The Flames have been playing some pretty good hockey of late. Last night that wasn't really the case as a banged up Stars team, one with 10 wins in 27 games, controlled much of the game at 5v5.
The Stars out-attempted the Flames 58-40 and out-chanced them 25-17 in that game state. They probably deserved the win but, as has so often been the case, Chad Johnson was fantastic.
Johnson stopped 29 of the 30 shots he faced, including 11 in the final frame.
Even after a somewhat slow start -- he posted a sub .900SV% in three of his first five games -- Johnson is 11-4-1 with a 2.04 goals against average and .931 save percentage. He has been absolutely fantastic and will continue to carry the load until he slows down.
2) Sean Monahan still isn't shooting enough (he has eight shots in his last five games) but is starting to pile up the points after a horrific start to the season. Monahan is currently riding a five-game point streak and, despite the low shot totals, has three goals in that span. As good as his shot is, he's not scoring on 37.5% of his shots moving forward so he'll have to start throwing more rubber at the net if he wants this streak to continue.
3) Injuries have played a role, but it's not hard to see why the Stars have struggled so mightily this season. They were extremely leaky on the defensive side of the puck and Calgary's forwards had no problem getting behind the defense.
Take Johnny Gaudreau's goal, for example. How do you give up a 2-on-0 at 5v5?
4) Thomas James Brodie did make a mistake that led directly to Dallas' only goal but I thought he settled down and played pretty well after that. He had the best 5v5 shot attempt differential on the team and was on the ice for just four scoring chances against in 16 minutes at full-strength.
Only the Flames' 4th liners, all of whom played five fewer minutes at 5v5, were on the ice for less.
5) The Flames are two points out of 1st in the Pacific Division. Yes, you read that right. Have a nice day.
Recent posts:
Flames roll past Ducks in Gaudreau's return
On Johnson's dominant run, Monahan showing signs of life and more
Flames fall to Islanders but survive lengthy road trip
Predicting the Pacific Division standings
Pacific Division bold predictions
Pacific Division breakout players
Calgary Flames Blogger • 
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