Fifteen to one in shots by the time Nazem Kadri scored off a mean behind-the-net pass from Andrew Mangiapane. Twenty to two by the time Kadri potted his second after picking the puck off of Sam Poulin’s stick at the Flames blue line and scoring off of a far side wrister.
It’s fair to say that the Calgary Flames hit the ground running against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday night.
As for Pittsburgh, their veterans looked gassed after playing in Edmonton the night prior. The Pennsylvania team has been out scored 9-1 since the second period momentum shift on Monday.
A few observations.
Kadri A three point night puts Nazem Kadri tied for 13th in NHL scoring. He has team lead in goals and points through six games. Despite his production, Kadri is currently playing the third most minutes among centers.
Average Time on Ice Elias Lindholm: 19:21 Mikael Backlund: 17:44 Nazem Kadri: 16:59 Kevin Rooney: 9:24
Oh, and his team is 5-1-0 to start the season. What a signing.
Markstrom The Penguins found their legs in the second. The period ended 21-4 in shots in favour of Pittsburgh.
Only one of which found it’s way past Jacob Markstrom. A rebound goal by Evgeni Malkin that almost no goalie could stop.
Finally, a solid 60 minute performance from the Flames starter. It’s great to see him back in form after fighting illness the last two weeks.
Yeah Well Life Isn’t Fair The Flames are now set to play the Oilers on Saturday. They get three full days off to prepare. Some time to custom cater a strategy designed towards containing the big two — or just flesh out a few offensive plays.
The Oilers, on the other hand, play tonight and tomorrow. Saturday’s game against the Flames will be their seventh game in eleven days and third game in four days. Odds are solid that tonight’s game against the Blues will be a war.
Not exactly the fairest of schedules in October. The Oilers play at least once every two days until November 12.
Stop in for an off day piece or two before we get going with Saturday’s Battle of Alberta.
Trevor Neufeld
@Trevor_Neufeld
Stats via naturalstattrick.com and nhl.com.