Five notes from Calgary vs Vancouver:
1) The Flames were absolutely fantastic against the Canucks and, for my money, it was one of their best performances of the season. Perhaps the best. The Canucks aren't exactly world beaters, but for the Flames to go on the road and dominate a division rival in the latter half of a back-to-back is impressive. The Flames out-chanced the Canucks 40-24(!!) and the game somehow felt even more one-sided than those numbers suggest. As has often been the case of late, the Flames were clearly the better team. It was nice to finally see them rewarded for their efforts.
2) The 3rd line was very good once again but Mark Jankowski was the stand out performer. He piled up a goal, two assists, four scoring chances, and five shots in a little more than 15 minutes of ice. While Jankowski hasn't been a huge point generator thus far, it certainly hasn't been for a lack of chances. At 5v5, he ranks 26th among 313 eligible forwards (250+ minutes) in scoring chances per 60 and ahead of notables like Nikita Kucherov, Nathan MacKinnon, John Tavares, Max Pacioretty and Joe Pavelski, among others. He's legit.
3) David Rittich wasn't exactly overwhelmed with shots but he did his job stopping 16 of 17 (.941 save percentage) with the lone goal coming on a Vancouver power play. In three starts since being recalled, Rittich is 3-0-0 with a .938 save percentage and he's looked really steady and confident. We're still dealing with really small samples, but it seems the Flames have found their backup.
4) Giordano played like a left back rather than a center back – meaning he was activating up and down the wing instead of sitting back and patrolling the middle – and it was a treat to watch. He routinely jumped into the play to add an extra layer of offense and the Flames took full advantage of that by feeding him pucks. Giordano finished with a game-high of six chances, 11 attempts, and was fully deserving of the two goals he scored. There's a time and a place for everything, but I'd like to see Giordano involved like that more often. Take advantage of his rare skill set.
5) The 4th line had a surprisingly dominant night in Vancouver. The Flames out-chanced the Canucks 9-1 with Matt Stajan on the ice – I like to use center numbers because they're generally the first to hop over the boards – and Stajan and Troy Brouwer also found the scoresheet picking up assists on Mark Giordano's second of the night. I don't think it's a coincidence they started playing better the second Jaromir Jagr found himself on that line.
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