It was nice to see the Habs play like they did during their run to the 2021 Stanley Cup Finals. They hung in there while the Flames put up a dominant second period and stole momentum with a greasy goal.
Unfortunately, they had to prove they could still play that way in a game against the Calgary Flames. And while the Canadiens brought their “A game… to the Bell Center on Thursday night, the Flames’ effort was more of a B-.
A loose first, a great second and a stagnant third period (aside from the final four minutes) cost the Flames two points last night. Here are a few thoughts:
Bad refs Mangiapane got tugged off balance by Ben Chiarot and the Montreal defenseman tripped over the stumbling Flames winger. The Habs scored the game winning goal with Mangiapane in the box for interference. Absolutely horrible call. Reffing is a hard job, but Quebec natives Pierre Lambert and Justin St. Pierre put the Flames at a hard disadvantage in the third. Montreal deserved their share of minor penalties that game — yet Pierre and Justin felt a two 4-on-4’s and one powerplay was the most they could do for the visiting team. The Montreal Canadiens got six powerplays. They scored the game tying goal as well as the game winner at 5-on-4 play.
Here’s what Head Coach Darryl Sutter had to say about the officiating:
Sutter: “Really solid first period. I think it was a little disjointed in the second with the way that called- officiating was..Francis: “Pretty tough officiating in the third?…
Sutter: “Well.. my only take on it, Eric, is, you know, their team leads the league in minor penalties, so you’d think it’d be.. (gestures uneven scales with hands) just a little more.…
You had to laugh at the TSN broadcast starting to focus on the refs as the third period went on.
On the third goal Pierre and Justin weren’t solely to blame for Nick Suzuki’s powerplay tally. A horrible change by Coleman after he ended up on the wrong side of the puck on a 5-on-4. The puck took a few bounces over Flames sticks prior to the Canadiens getting possession in the neutral zone. Gudbranson almost recovered the puck on the half boards. Markstrom knew Suzuki was trying for a backdoor goal as he made a save on a similar shot from Suzuki a minute before that.
Kyl or be killed Tough game for Kylington. Lots of giveaway passes. He had some mental gaffes at the end of some of his shifts. I’m not sure why the NHL even bothers putting a takeaways/giveaways stat up. It’s never accurate. I counted three by Kylington including one in the third where he passed the puck right on to the tape of a Canadien forward’s stick, but the official stat at the end of the night was 0 giveaways for Oliver.
All in all it was an exciting, but frustrating game to watch. I’m happy for Habs fans that their team played to their potential, but Pierre and Justin casted a dark shadow on this game for fans of the visiting team.
The Leafs That said, let’s look at today’s matchup against the 8-5-1 Toronto Maple Leafs. After starting the season 2-4-1; the Leafs have surged back into contention with a 6-1-0 record in their last seven games. Their only loss was last Monday against the Kings. Tonight is the start of a back-to-back for them and tonight is the tail end of a back-to-back for the 7-3-3 Calgary Flames.
No morning skate, so here is the projected lineup. Given that it was a back-to-back and a few Flames didn’t have their strongest game yesterday — there will surely be changes. The lineup will be adjusted after warmups.
Gaudreau-Lindholm-Tkachuk Coleman-Monahan-Mangiapane Dube-Backlund-Lewis Lucic-Richardson-Pitlick
Hanifin-Andersson Kylington-Tanev Zadorov-Gudbranson
Vladar
C’mon It’s the tail end of a back-to-back. People are tired. Put Walker Duehr in. The team’s record is 1-2-1 since Brad Richardson’s return to the lineup. Duehr at least wouldn’t have fallen on his butt trying to throw a hit like Richardson did in the third last night.
Stopping the top line 24 year old right winger Mitch Marner has ten points in his last five games. Auston Matthews has four goals in that same time frame. The Calgary Flames are going to have their hands full shutting down that line. Let’s hope there is some gas left in the tank to stop those two.
Physicality is key The 20-22 Calgary Flames season had a low point where Leafs defenseman Jake Muzzin flipped a puck at Tkachuk after the final buzzer and the rest of the team didn’t respond. Tkachuk went berserk and Leafs media played that highlight every Sports Center for weeks. If you’ve watched Calgary play this season, you’re likely to agree that things have changed. Making the opposition sacrifice to make plays will be an important factor in slowing down the talented Leafs.
Systems Head Coach Darryl Sutter pointed out after a loss to the Leafs last season that the Flames don’t have the talent to go shot for shot with teams like the Leafs or the Oilers. The Flames will sink or swim tonight based on how well they can manage the neutral zone, keep shots to the outside and maintain pressure on the forecheck.
Enjoy the game,
Trevor Neufeld
Follow me on Twitter @Trevor_Neufeld