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Five observations from Calgary vs Winnipeg:
1. Flames' top line, 2nd pairing completely overmatched by Nik Ehlers and co.
Just days after writing about how well Calgary's top line has played this season, they put forth one of their worst performances of the year.
Matching up primarily against Ehlers' line, they were routinely hemmed in their own zone and gave up a ton of quality chances.
Ehlers, Bryan Little, and Mathieu Perreault did a nice job of picking the defense apart with good passing and Ehlers, in particular, caused fits. He was making people miss in one-on-one situations and skating circles around the Flames almost every time he touched the ice.
As good as Calgary's top line is, they do struggle defensively at times and the T.J. Brodie - Travis Hamonic pairing definitely didn't do their part to clean up behind them.
2. Mike Smith stays hot
Another game, another strong showing from Smith.
He was dialled in from the word go and looked as sharp as ever between the pipes. He made a few really impressive post-to-post stops and also flashed the leather on more than a couple occasions. The Flames were certainly not at their best and his strong showing ensured they earned at least a point, which is really important given how compact the Western Conference standings are.
Smith has been excellent this season – as evident by his .925 save percentage – but he's found a way to take it up a couple notches of late.
He has somehow posted a .940 save percentage over his last 15 starts and given up no more than three goals in any of them, meaning the Flames have had a legitimate chance to win every single night.
It's not hard to see why the Flames have won so many games of late.
3. It's clear Glen Gulutzan doesn't trust the 3rd pairing
It feels like any time the Flames are in a close game, the 3rd pairing gets glued to the bench and that was the case again yesterday afternoon.
In a contest where there were 65 minutes of ice to go around, $3.5 million man Michael Stone logged just 13:56 while Brett Kulak played 10:17.
There have been some rumblings the Flames are looking for another blue liner which, as crazy as it sounds on the surface, isn't all that surprising given how Gulutzan utilizes his blue line (in general, he rides the heck out of his top-4).
I would hope the Flames give Rasmus Andersson a legitimate shot to prove himself before looking for help league-wide but, for whatever reason, they seem hesitant to do so.
4. The power play was powerless again
Stop me if you've heard this before: the Flames' power play was not good. They were given four opportunities on the man advantage and couldn't convert on any of them. Not only that, but they generated just three chances – and gave up one! – with an extra skater on the ice.
They now have seven power play markers over the last 18 games, which doesn't seem good for a team that would like to contend.
Maybe it's time to change things up again – perhaps even give Dougie Hamilton a shot on the top unit?!?
5. Mikael Backlund and Matthew Tkachuk continue to dominate
No Michael Frolik, no problem – at least not yesterday.
In 12:33 together at 5v5, most of which came against the Kyle Connor - Blake Wheeler - Patrik Laine line, the Flames out-attempted the Jets 16-3 and out-chanced them 7-1.
The one chance the Jets did generate vs the Backlund line didn't even come in the ~8:30 the top unit was on the ice.
I know Wheeler is playing out of position but it's still impressive to completely shutdown a line with so much talent and firepower.
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Calgary Flames Blogger • 
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