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Alright, so that was embarrassing. The Calgary Flames fell for the “don’t take the Sabres seriously… trick and ultimately lost 4-3 in regulation.
The first period didn’t exactly start the way the Flames would have liked. The effort didn’t really seem to be there, they had chances but couldn’t cash in; it kind of seems like they took the night off to be honest.
And the stats would suggest just that. The Flames are top in the league in hits and blocked shots, two things that have really helped them win games and last night they offered a total of 12 hits and 9 blocked shots. Not exactly conducive to winning many hockey games – even against the Buffalo Sabres.
And while Calgary didn’t necessarily give it their all, they managed 45 shots to 19 against Buffalo’s Enroth who stood tall and kept his team in the game. The Flames doubled the shot output of their opponents during every period, so hats off to Enroth for allowing but three goals on 45 shots.
With respect to the Flames, well some guys had some uncharacteristic nights such as TJ Brodie who was on the ice for three of the four goals scored against. The first goal, which might be some of the worst hockey I’ve seen from Brodie (and this is an extremely rare comment), was when all 5’8 and 168lbs of Tyler Ennis managed to push him off the puck and fed it to Matt Moulson for the first goal of the night.
Just a “little… embarrassing…
“It’s definitely not the kind of game I want to play, but there’s going to be nights like that. It’s just a matter of getting back to the way I was playing.…
“(Brodie) has been so good to us,… Hartley offered. “We screwed up on a few goals. TJ knows he should have moved that puck on that first goal but, hey, it’s done and where would we be without TJ Brodie with us since the start of the season?
“I have too much respect for my players for one mistake and, suddenly, we forgot what they’ve done for us. It’s part of the learning process, and it’s too bad because we lost the game.
Sometimes, you get easy lessons or free lessons. Tonight, it’s a very expensive lesson.…
And this is when you know that you have a good coach. Rather than picking apart his team and coming down on them for their efforts, he reminds the media of how good this guy has been and how it was just an off night. And, with a three game losing streak on their hands, all I can hear are the analytic folk screaming “We told you so!!….
Tonight the Calgary Flames will take to the ice against the Pittsburgh Penguins for a much needed win. Four losses in a row could really start to mess with the heads of these younger/inexperienced guys who might not have the proper mindsets to battle through adversity.
The Penguins have experienced issues of their own of late with respect to goals scored. In their last six games played, the Pens have only managed 12 goals scored despite walking away with 7 points out of a possible 12. That said, frustrating Pittsburgh’s offense tonight should be priority number one if the Flames intend on walking away with a win and not a four game losing streak.
"We've got to cut it off now, though," Giordano said. "We've got to find a way to get points next game, get the win, and move on from there."
For those who enjoy reading the advanced stats conversations, regardless of whether or not you agree, the below link from NHL.com is a good read. It’s always good to have more information about your team than less, and this provides a picture of the team in terms of their “on paper… data.
http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=743560
Thanks for reading!