Five takeaways from Calgary vs Vancouver:
1) Earlier in the season, the Calgary Flames won a couple games where they were clearly outplayed and probably deserved to lose.
Last night they found themselves on the other side of it as, despite the multi-goal loss, I thought they were in complete control for the majority of the game and deserved two points.
It felt like the Flames could generate Grade A chances at will, and every other shift there was a net-front scramble, but the Flames found ways to not bury their chances while the Canucks capitalized on every single opportunity they had.
I know the points are what matters, but the Flames should feel very good about how they played. If a game plays out like that 10 times, they win nine. It was just one of those nights.
2) Micheal Ferland looked really good once again and, despite a goal being called back due to offsides, still found the scoresheet as he pickpocketed Chris Tanev and put it in the back of the net to give the Flames a lead for the better part of a minute.
He has really rebounded nicely following a slow start and continues to prove he belongs on the top unit.
Micheal Ferland started the season slowly but has been fantastic of late. pic.twitter.com/g3wuwdHNC4
— Todd Cordell (@ToddCordell) November 8, 2017
3) Smith has been a little shaky the last couple games allowing nine goals on 51 shots. He has coughed up some big rebounds and lost some of his sharpness so perhaps he'd benefit from a night off and a couple extra practices to get back to where he wants to be.
4) The Flames did a fantastic job of shutting down Brock Boeser and limiting his ability to generate any kind of offense. In his first 11 games, he tallied 34 shots, 35 chances, and registered at least one chance in each. Last night, he didn't record a shot on goal and was held chanceless for the first time. The 3M line and Mark Giordano - Dougie Hamilton pairing continue to do a standup job of limiting opposing team's top players.
5) I thought Jaromir Jagr looked good in his return to the lineup. He made a couple really nice touch passes that led to quality chances and finished with a 74.68 Corsi For%, which ranked him 5th in the game. Injury game aside, I think he's played really well over the last two or three.