Another ten bell game against the Leafs.
Say what you will about the fanbase, players or organizational decisions of what some Leafs fans refer to as “Canada’s team…, they have played two seriously entertaining games against the Calgary Flames this season.
Given that we’ve had some time to digest the game that was— let’s point out a few less apparent thoughts.
The third pairing Can you remember a season where the Flames had this impactful of a third defensive pairing? Erik Gudbranson and Nikita Zadorov— two guys who seemingly had no respect going into the season from fans— completely turned the game on it’s head last night. First with a massive hit by Zadorov on Ondrej Kase, then in countless scrums after.
The two asserted complete dominance over an extremely talented Leafs team. Six million in cap well spent. These two will only get better as games become more important and whistles get put away.
Speaking of…
Flawed structure Leafs GM Kyle Dubas’ lack of commitment towards the tougher side of hockey was fully apparent last night. Leafs fans can be found sharing these sentiments whenever the machine that is Wayne Simmonds breaks down. Muzzin is too valuable and injury prone to be fighting often and Clifford rarely draws into the lineup. He’s played 12 games this season.
Given the 31 year old’s history playing under Sutter, it may have been a good decision to slot him in last night.
X’s and O’s It was fun to see some set plays by the Flames last night. Noah Hanifin got involved in two. An interesting double pinch involving him and Andersson as well as a sublime and simple powerplay set-up to Oliver Kylington.
The Leafs had a few of their own as well. It was a fun game to take in. Too bad these two teams likely won’t meet in the playoffs as it is impossible for the Flames to play an Eastern team in the first round.
48 hours of statement How many points did you expect the Flames to earn in this back-to-back against two top 5 teams in the NHL? My guess was one. Four is incredible.
Who else is beyond pleasantly surprised by the on-ice product this season?
Next up are the Islanders, who will have finished a game against the Woodcroft-helmed Edmonton Oilers 22.5 hours prior. Expect this phenomenon to be a regular occurrence with both teams heading into a condensed home-heavy second half.
Following that is a back-to-back against the red hot Patrik Laine and the Columbus Blue Jackets followed by the slowing-down Anaheim Ducks. With an offence led by Troy Terry, the Ducks are 4-4-2 in their last ten.
Following those are games against the Kraken, Jets, and Canucks.
Things are good. Enjoy your Friday. Pop that Oilers game on tonight if you need something to watch.
Trevor Neufeld