Well that wasn’t pretty. I wholeheartedly expected the game to be a tough one and frankly, a loss (given how strong a team the Blues are), but I didn’t expect the effort that was displayed by the boys.
Although I’m not necessarily trying to say that the Flames had a “bad game…, the effort that was required to go toe to toe with a team like the Blues ultimately wasn’t present, though the final tally wasn’t indicative of the team’s overall play. As mentioned, it wasn’t a “bad game…, but not at the same level of an elite team like the Blues.
Getting beat 4-0 is something that this team is used to, either, given that the majority of their losses are typically decided by one goal.
"That's probably the best team, the deepest team that we've played lately," said Hartley. "I'd rarely say after a 4-0 loss we played a decent game, but I felt that our guys battled hard."
But let’s call a spade a spade shall we? Brian Elliott stole the show last night as that shutout was certainly earned. The Flames managed to keep chances on either side quite close, however it would be a battle of the goalies were Elliott proved superior. The man has been playing some fantastic hockey of late, winning 4 of his last 5 starts and allowing just 6 even strength goals over said stretch.
"Our goaltending has really been the story for the last 10 days or so. These guys have given us a chance to win every night and it's a really good sign," said Ken Hitchcock. "Things are amping up. Our checking is back to the level where it was at previously and we've got some firepower to score goals. You saw the firepower today. When we're on top of things, it's hard to shut down three lines."
A few things I noticed last night was the overall defensive coverage against St. Louis which was lacking in certain regards. As the game progressed, I felt that the Flames started to allow more time and space in their own end which, ultimately, provides better scoring chances for the opposition. If Calgary is going to compete in the post-season, their defense will need to be tight.
Another aspect of the game that will need to improve is their numbers at the faceoff dot, as the Flames won just 16 draws last night compared to the Blues’ 37. This makes for a significant difference in control of the play and puck possession, which regardless of how you view advanced stats, matters in close games.
Not being able to influence the play and consequently having to chase the puck will more times than not lead to lost opportunities and goals scored against. We saw this last night.
How the team bounces back from last night’s game will be very important. Losing back to back games at this part of the year could influence the play of some of the rookies, and it will be up to the vets to keep them focused and put a 4-0 loss behind them as they get ready to take on the Flyers tomorrow night.
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