Following an underwhelming performance on Wednesday night, the Calgary Flames responded nicely with a 3-1 win over the Dallas Stars.
A few thoughts on the game:
1) Chad Johnson didn't help the Flames' cause against Boston but he was far from the only one at fault. The team simply did not play well and you could tell they wanted to make up for it last night.
The Flames were the better team for much of the first 40 minutes -- they out-chanced the Stars, 21-13, at 5v5 in that span -- and had a three-goal lead to show for their efforts.
Dallas did have some strong sequences but the Flames were always in control and ultimately got the result they deserved. They are now just one point back of Anaheim for 2nd in the Pacific.
2) Brian Elliott looked good in his return, once again providing the Flames with stable goaltending. He wasn't exactly peppered with chances but he made the saves he had to and kept the Stars off the board for the first 53 minutes of the game. I thought the extra couple days off may have hurt Elliott's rhythm but that clearly wasn't the case.
Elliott has now won 10 consecutive starts and allowed just 12 goals over his last nine. I can't help but wonder if the Flames' winning streak would still stand had Elliott not been forced out of the net due to an illness.
3) The Matthew Tkachuk - Mikael Backlund - Michael Frolik line has been one of the NHL's best lines this year but they were fed lunch by the Patrice Bergeron line the other night.
I thought they did an excellent job of bouncing back and leading the charge against the Stars. They were dominant in possession and were in on all three goals the team mustered up.
Tkachuk, in particular, was really strong. He made a smart play not touching the puck following a high-stick on Giordano's goal and scored one of his own on a nice deflection play (how nice is this pass from Giordano?!?).
WHOSE HOUSE?
— FlamesNation (@FlamesNation) March 18, 2017
TKACHUK'S HOUSE
2-0 #FLAMES pic.twitter.com/VQnrjHzVHF
4) I didn't love the Michael Stone trade -- I thought there were better options available -- but I'll be the first to admit he was pretty good in his first few games as a Flame. He was not good last night (nor was T.J. Brodie). At 5v5 the Flames were out-attempted 28-11 and out-chanced 11-6 with Stone on the ice. Everyone has off nights, and it was his first game back from injury, but he needs to be better than that.
5) Troy Brouwer has zero points over the last nine games and the Flames have been out-attempted, 24-3, at 5v5 with Brouwer on the ice over the last two. He is really struggling right now but at least he's providing us with moments like these.
Troy Brouwer's season in a nut-shell. pic.twitter.com/UiiULfKqoA
— AOL KEYWORD: Mike (@mikeFAIL) March 18, 2017