Some thoughts on Calgary's 2-1 loss to the Arizona Coyotes:
1) That was a very disappointing loss for the Flames. They were at home with a chance to move into 2nd place in the pacific with a win over a Coyotes team that entered the night two points ahead of them. Now, rather than tying the Coyotes in points they are four back.
Obviously that's not a substantial gap, and there is plenty of season left. but the Flames had a good opportunity in front of them and they didn't take it.
2) A couple of months ago I didn't envision myself saying this but the Flames would have been obliterated by the Coyotes if it wasn't for Karri Ramo's stellar performance.
The Coyotes had 33 shots and 30 scoring chances - 16(!) of which were high-danger - yet managed to beat Ramo just twice.
Ramo posted a .939SV% on the night and did an excellent job of keeping the Flames in a game they had no business being in.
#GrandTheftRamo pic.twitter.com/QdSNQzjSrj
— Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) January 8, 20163) At 5 v 5 the Coyotes out attempted the Flames 50-42, out chanced them 25-16 and won the high-danger scoring chance battle 13-6. That's not a good look for the Flames considering the Coyotes have generated ~47% of the shot attempts and scoring chances over the last few weeks.
4) I recently wrote that Sam Bennett's been playing well despite his dry spell offensively. That continued to be the case against the Coyotes as he had three shots, a couple solid hits and was the Flames' best possession player at full-strength. It's only a matter of time before he's rewarded for his efforts.
5) Sean Monahan came out a little below even in possession but he played a good game for the Flames. After failing to record a point in five straight he picked up an assist, had four shots and tied Brad Richardson(!) for a game-high with five scoring chances at full-strength.
Recent posts: Sam Bennett is playing better than you think