Five observations from Calgary vs Los Angeles:
1. The top line was buzzing The Johnny Gaudreau - Sean Monahan - Micheal Ferland trio put forth the best effort we've seen from them in a couple weeks. They spent the majority of their time skating circles around the Kings in the offensive zone – literally, in Gaudreau's case – and were able to generate quality looks on a shift-to-shift basis.
The top unit found Monahan open in the slot what felt like 500 times – NaturalStatTrick credited him with 11(!!) scoring chances – and also combined to score one of the nicer goals you'll see all season.
The following video may increase the chance of your jaw hitting the floor.
— NHL (@NHL) January 25, 2018
You've been warned. pic.twitter.com/weYB7GXHNw
In the preview, I mentioned how the Kings' 2nd line is prone to giving up more than its fair share of chances. That was the case vs the top line last night and, quite honestly, they was unlucky not to score more than they did.
2. The Flames wasted a golden opportunity The Kings were playing their second game in as many nights, third in four nights, fourth in six nights, and fifth in seven nights. They were also on the road against a rested team in need of points. If that wasn't enough, backup Darcy Kuemper was given the nod between the pipes for just the second time since the middle of December.
Everything, and I mean everything, was working in Calgary's favor heading into the game. It was as much of a schedule loss for the Kings as they'll be in all season.
What do they do? Go into Calgary and win, of course.
It's not like they were going to roll over due to some fatigue – they're professional athletes for a reason – but the Flames were in as favorable of a situation as they could have hoped for and they didn't take advantage of it.
Now they have to try and get back on track against an Edmonton team coming off an embarrassing effort – one they'll no doubt be anxious to put behind them.
3. Mike Smith was solid again In other news, water is wet. The Kings didn't pepper him with chances by any means but he was usually there to clean up the mess when needed.
After allowing just two vs Los Angeles, Smith has given up two or less in seven consecutive starts and no more than three in 17 straight games. He's on a truly incredible run. The Flames need to make sure they monitor his workload and don't burn him out, though.
4. The power play showed signs of life There were a couple disastrous power plays where the Flames couldn't generate *anything*, however, they did show a pulse on the man advantage as the game progressed.
In particular, the Flames found some success by spoon-feeding Monahan pucks in the slot and letting him hammer away at them. It didn't result in a goal but it certainly led to some quality chances, which is a step in the right direction for a power play that often times does more harm than good.
5. The Flames slowed down Anze Kopitar Despite playing well over 25 minutes, Kopitar registered just two scoring chances and his lone point came on a 3rd period power play.
He leads the Kings in scoring by 16 points, and is unquestionably their biggest offensive threat, so I think the Flames have to be pretty happy with the job they did defending him in all situations.
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