Update: Both Oliver Kylington and Sean Monahan weren’t on the ice at practice today.
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The Calgary Flames and their faithful got a good look at the resurgent LA Kings last night in what was a closer game than many expected. A 3-2 shootout loss is obviously not the ideal result, but given the lack of jump showed by most of the Flames roster; perhaps the organization should be happy to end the night with a point. Here are a few observations from the game that was.
Overtime Statement Flames head coach Darryl Sutter showed some disdain with his player usage during the five minute overtime period. Matt Tkachuk, Blake Coleman, Dillon Dube, and Andrew Mangiapane didn’t get a chance among notable choices. Sutter even put out two defensemen (Andersson and Hanifin to go with Elias Lindholm) for the last meaningful shift of the game.
Seeing that, the final shifts of these guys had to be reviewed. Tkachuk looked quiet, but in position. Dube, Coleman, and Mangiapane all brought respectable competitiveness.
One theory could be that Sutter was sending a message about the overall intensity of their game across three periods. Personally, I think at least Mangiapane should have gotten the tap after an excellent back check late in the third.
If Sutter really is sending a message with his usage, it appeared rather watered down after Lindholm took a holding the stick penalty. Now Mikael Backlund, who blew his coverage on the late Kings goal to tie the game up, is the only penalty killing center available and stays out for the entirety of the 4-on-3.
Kyl’d in Action Breakout defenseman Oliver Kylington played his last shift of the game in the early third. 44:59-45:54 was a rough shift for the Stockholm native.
He got beat to the outside by Kings winger Lias Andersson. Lias now has a step on Kylington after outracing him to the puck. Andersson’s one-handed pass gets intercepted by a diving Chris Tanev.
Mangiapane chops the puck out, Flames regroup, Kylington is the only one who hesitates in getting to the bench for a change. Kings carry it back in.
22 year old Finnish center Rasmus Kupari goes into the corner with Kylington and the Flames defenseman falls awkwardly into the boards.
Slow to get up. Doesn’t return.
Maybe he sustained an injury and couldn’t continue. Maybe Darryl told him to take the period off for his poor decision making or poor overall play. It will be interesting to see how he looks on Saturday if he plays.
The 24 year old defenseman has 27 points in 64 games this season, but only three points in his last 17 outings.
Gud Game That had to be Erik Gudbranson’s best game as a Calgary Flame. Two big hits, one of them clearly turning momentum, a goal from the point, concise passing all night. Good to see Erik Gudbranson playing up to the hype he once carried as a third overall pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.
Fixing a Hole The Flames bucked a trend by killing off that overtime LA Kings powerplay. They had gone 5/8 on the penalty kill in their last two games.
That kind of deficiency in special teams play will cost you points in the regular season and a series in the post-season. Going 2/2 on the PK is a sign of improvement — even if LA ranks 28th with a 16.6% conversion rate.
Should the Flames match up against the Kings in the second round, special teams will surely decide a game or two.
This may be more of note in regards to a potential Kings-Oilers first round series. While the Oilers are no longer a freakish +30% on the powerplay like they were in the first 40 games, they still rank 4th in the league at scoring with a man advantage. (26.1%)
Next game is Saturday against the St. Louis Blues. Broadcast starts 8:00 PM mst.
Trevor Neufeld
Statistics courtesy of nhl.com.