Five observations from Calgary vs Edmonton:
1. The Battle of Alberta is back That might have been the most anticipated game of the season. Somehow, it lived up to the hype and then some.
There were two big points on the line between bitter rivals that, for once, entered play in the same boat in terms of the standings. Both teams have aspirations to not only make the playoffs, but win the division. And it showed.
The intensity in the game was unmatched by almost any you’ll see this season – and not just because of the Matthew Tkachuk/Zack Kassian stuff, although that was fun too.
Everybody was finishing checks, mixing it up after whistles, sprawling to block shots, and doing anything necessary to try and spark their teams.
I mean, Sean Monahan and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins got into a spirited bout – that still feels wrong to type – and there were other oddities only a rivalry game could bring out.
Sean Monahan vs. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins in a heated scrap pic.twitter.com/AwgTQOVeag
— Brady Trettenero (@BradyTrett) January 30, 2020
Mikael Backlund finished tied for the team-lead in checks, Johnny Gaudreau and Kailer Yamamoto got into it a little bit, Josh Archibald was playing a live version of NHL Hitz...you get it.
And, most importantly, the actual hockey was great too. Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl put together some jaw-dropping rushes. Andrew Mangiapane played like a man possessed. The Flames connected on some awesome tic-tac-toe players that resulted in Grade A chances. Simply put, the level of play was high and the end result was anything but obvious until the game finally concluded.
I love watching/covering the team but I’m not not a Flames fan. I’m not an Oilers fan either. Yet last night’s game had me completely wired as if I just downed a handful of Red Bulls. I can only imagine what die hard fans of the two teams felt like.
The Battle of Alberta is back and, luckily for us, we get to do it all over again Saturday night. I can’t wait.
2. Matthew Tkachuk did his thing I’ll start with what everybody’s talking about: Tkachuk vs Kassian. I personally didn’t think Tkachuk needed to fight Kassian. If the latter wanted revenge for Tkachuk’s hits, which I thought were completely fine (the NHL agreed), he got it when he gave Tkachuk six or seven good shots last time the two sides met. Tkachuk definitely didn’t owe Kassian anything. But if Kassian wanted him to drop the mitts and ‘answer’ the old school way, well, Tkachuk obliged.
Zack Kassian and Matthew Tkachuk drop the gloves off the faceoff pic.twitter.com/XXnKZO7U3j
— Brady Trettenero (@BradyTrett) January 30, 2020
Say what you want about Tkachuk but he deserves a lot of respect for what he did. Tkachuk turned 22 a month ago. Kassian is a 6’3’, 29-year-old man with quite the temper. He’s one of the last players in the league I’d want to mess with and Tkachuk did it anyway knowing full-well the end result probably wouldn’t be great. That takes a lot of guts.
Beyond the fight, Tkachuk still played a very eventful game. He drove the net on his first shift and an attempted pass to No. 19 ended up in the back of the net. That’s quite the start. He also picked up a beautiful assist on Andrew Mangiapane’s 2nd goal and, even after the fight, didn’t hesitate to play the way he always does. He was the same old shit disturber.
Tkachuk didn’t hide from contact with Kassian. He attempted a couple big hits in quick succession on James Neal. He got into it with Leon Draisaitl and RNH. Simply put, Tkachuk did a great job of pissing off seemingly everyone on the ice. What else is new?
The guy is the ultimate super villain and it’s fun as heck to watch.
3. Andrew Mangiapane stole the show Prior to the game, I noted Mangiapane’s chance generation numbers of late rivalled the best of the best and he was the only guy without anything to show for it on the scoreboard. I speculated that would change sooner than later. It certainly did.
Mangiapane netted a couple of beautiful goals – one an absolute bomb; the other a great hands play in tight – and, in my opinion, was one of the best players on the ice.
He was a relentless puck-hound, as always, and the only Flames player to be credited with multiple Grade A chances.
I thought the Oilers largely defended well but they didn’t really have an answer for Mangiapane.
4. Noah Hanifin was terrible I try not to be too harsh or blow things out of proportion but, wow, Hanifin was truly awful vs Edmonton. He looked bad by the eye – Connor McDavid blew past him multiple times, Matt Benning walked him for the game-tying goal, etc. – and somehow, someway, the numbers were even worse. How bad are we talking? Let me tell you!
With Hanifin on the ice at 5v5, the Oilers out-attempted the Flames 22-11. They held a 12-3 edge in terms of chances (Grade As were 7-1) and he finished with a 16.16 Expected Goals For%, which is almost impossible to believe.
I recently talked about how Hanifin’s performances often times don’t match the tools. This was just another example.
Geoff Ward needs to use last change to his advantage on Saturday and keep Hanifin away from McDavid.
5. BSD came up clutch Edmonton recorded seven more high-danger looks, and 1.46 more expected goals, than Calgary. They were the better offensive team for a lot of the night, which was understandable given a) the Flames were on the road in the latter half of a back-to-back and; b) the Oilers had several more opportunities to put their elite power play to work.
In the end it didn’t matter because David Rittich was really strong. Despite facing a much tougher workload than Mike Smith, Rittich garnered the same results through 65 minutes.
With some boldness, and the help of his trusty posts, he was perfect in the shootout and clinched the Flames an extra point they might not have deserved.
Given how tight the standings are, an extra point here and there could make a world of difference come April.
numbers via NaturalStatTrick.com Recent posts: