Five observations from Calgary vs Los Angeles:
1. Flames' lack of forward depth on full display Every team will struggle without it's top three scorers. The absence of Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan and Matthew Tkachuk really put the spot light on how little depth the Flames have up front, though.
Any time you're playing Curtis Lazar, Nick Shore, and Troy Brouwer in your top-6 there are clear problems. I don't mind Shore but those aren't even good bottom-6 players. Giving them meaningful minutes wouldn't be as bad if the Flames had their 1st round pick and were tanking. That's not the reality we live in. They were trying to win a hockey game and felt that gave the team the best chance which, again, says a lot about the team's depth up front.
The final few games will be really tough to watch.
2. Sam Bennett was a very mixed bag Bennett landed a couple big hits and the ice was surprisingly tilted in Calgary's favor when he was out there (5v5 attempts were 11-3, 5v5 chances were 7-1). That's the good news.
The bad news is he continues to show no improvement in terms of discipline. As usual, he was overly aggressive – particularly in the offensive zone – and that led to three minor penalties. The Kings converted on two of them.
With the Flames struggling to score, the last thing they need is their guys parading to the box and handing opponents goals.
3. Mike Smith's struggles continue I didn't think Smith was bad – the goals he allowed weren't necessarily weak – but when all was said and done it was another night of sub .900 goaltending in a game the Kings didn't even generate many chances.
Among 35 eligible goaltenders (600+ minutes), Smith continues to rank last in save percentage since January 31st.
The Flames have struggled in front of Smith at times but it's tough to make a good playoff push – let alone make noise if you get there – with below average goaltending.
4. What's up with Rasmus Andersson's usage? These final games are absolutely meaningless. The Flames aren't going to make the playoffs. Winning doesn't weaken their draft pick, nor does losing improve it. The sole purpose of these games is for guys to audition for next season.
With that in mind, you'd think the Flames would want to take a real close look at one of their top prospects in Rasmus Andersson. Apparently not. No defenseman on the Flames played less at 5v5, or overall, than Andersson.
We know what all these other guys are. We don't know what Andersson is, or can be. Why not give him legitimate minutes and find out?
5. Travis Hamonic looks pretty good without T.J. Brodie It's only been a few games but Hamonic looks a little better without T.J. Brodie, which is something I never envisioned myself saying last summer.
The numbers back that up, too, as Hamonic's Corsi For% is higher without Brodie while the latter's numbers suffer without Hamonic.
We're dealing with relatively small sample sizes so it's tough to really draw conclusions just yet. I'm interested to see if this trend continues down the stretch, though.
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