In a game full of storylines, the Calgary Flames earned a 4-2 victory over the San Jose Sharks last night in the last meeting between the two teams. With the win Darryl Sutter’s squad avoided a regular season sweep by the 23rd place Sharks.
Defenseman Derby 30 minutes before puck drop it was announced that the bottom pairing of Zadorov-Gudbranson would be getting a maintenance night. The match became a tryout game and a pretty fun storyline.
Former first round selection Jusso Valimaki vs. undrafted college free agent Connor Mackey for a potential lineup spot on a pairing with Chris Tanev. Micheal Stone was also getting into the mix.
Here’s the impression each defender made:
Stone Got a bit lost on the first goal against. Eventually found his way over to Bonino, but certainly could have made life harder for him. Seconds before that, Rudolfs Balcers blew past Stone in the neutral zone forcing Valimaki to cross sides to take the 1-on-1. This led to a chaotic sequence and a Bonino tip-in goal.
On the second goal against, Micheal Stone once again could have shut down the play by putting more pressure on the net-front forward. This time Logan Couture managed to get a tip-in goal off his own body.
Only two goals against in the game and they’re both off players Stone was covering. The 6’3… 210lb defender needs to play a meaner game particularly in front of the net if he wants to stay in the lineup.
Valimaki Timing, decision making, and coverage were all issues. Stone had trouble figuring out who to cover on Balcers’ goal due to Valimaki running around too much.
Jusso’s play with the puck seemed tentative. Very similar to how he was playing during the preseason. That, to me, doesn’t speak much to his development in the AHL.
Earlier in the season, it was suggested that he rebuild his confidence in his hometown of Tampere playing for Ilves. The team finished in third place this season and are set to start a second round series against TPS Turku tomorrow night.
Mackey Connor Mackey easily had the best game of the three. To be fair, he also had the best defence partner.
The 6’2… 190lbs 25 year old showed much more poise and composure with the puck compared the other two. Mackey made a great case for himself to be the first into the lineup should any further injuries arise.
Third period penalties Three straight wins on this California road trip. Seven third period penalties in those three games. Each game has included a Flames penalty kill while defending a 3-2 lead.
Great that they won all three in California, but that habit will cost them games in the playoffs against better teams.
Authentic Fourth Line Experience It’s been said before, but how much of a treat is having a competent fourth line with an established identity? The line of Lucic-Carpenter-Ritchie had a fantastic outing. Out-chanced the opposition 20-7 at 5v5 to the tune of a 74.07CF%
20 chances for. Zero high danger chances among them. Now that is a fourth line. Ten hits total to go with those impressive fancy stats.
Record Broken for +/- Johnny Gaudreau is now a +53 on the season. No longer tied with Mullen at +51. They say all good things must come to an end. Flames fans should be taking a moment to truly appreciate what they have in that first line this campaign.
The Flames are in Seattle tomorrow for a 5pm MST game. Strangely enough, the Kraken look like a much better team after selling off several veterans at the deadline. Their record .500 record since that day supports that observation. Stop in tomorrow to read more about it.
Trevor Neufeld @Trevor_Neufeld
Statistics courtesy of naturalstattrick.com and nhl.com.