A few notes from Calgary vs Montreal:
1) The Flames have lost a lot of games this season where they played well and deserved to win. Last night was not one of those games. They were pretty sloppy from the word go and spent a lot more time chasing the puck in their own zone than the Canadiens did. There were a couple solid stretches – like when they were pushing to tie late in the game – but they didn't generate chances with near enough consistency to beat a team with Carey Price between the pipes.
Glen Gulutzan recently praised the Flames' ability to finish strong before breaks, be it a bye week, holiday, etc. They didn't do that last night – they looked like a team that checked out and was looking ahead to a few days off. That's natural, of course, but the Flames aren't really in a position where they can afford to leave points on the table.
2) In the preview, I mentioned the Montreal 3rd line could cause the Flames problems. They certainly did that. Led by Brendan Gallagher, who finished with a game-high of seven shots and five scoring chances, that line dominated from start to finish. At 5v5, the Canadiens out-attempted the Flames 16-2 and out-chanced them 11-0 with Gallagher and his linemates on the ice. They only managed one goal but they deserved more. The Flames had no answers for them.
3) The Sam Bennett - Mark Jankowski - Garnet Hathaway trio was quietly solid once again. They didn't get on the scoresheet, obviously, but ranked 1st, 2nd, and tied for 3rd on the team in 5v5 chances and accounted for nine of the team's 22 in that game state. With them playing as well as they are, and the top-6 set, I still think the Flames have what it takes to go on a good run in the 2nd half.
4) I thought Mike Smith was solid once again. His worst moment came on the Max Pacioretty goal that didn't even count so no harm, no foul. Overall, he stopped 32 of 35 shots he faced and made some nice flurries of saves to keep the Flames in the game and end up giving them a chance. He now owns a .931 save percentage over his last seven starts despite winning just twice during that stretch. He's doing his part.
5) Next time a defenseman misses time with an injury, be it Travis Hamonic or someone down the road, can Rasmus Andersson please get a legitimate shot? We know what Matt Bartkowski is and it isn't good. I mean, if he was a solid rotational player he wouldn't have sat 500 straight games before Hamonic went down. Last night wasn't even a disastrous game by his standards and the Flames were still out-chanced 10-2 with him on the ice. Andersson's been killing it in Stockton and is going to be a really solid NHL player sooner than later. Why not give him a look?
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