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Five observations from Calgary vs Vancouver:
1. The Flames’ defense was stingy
I thought they played an excellent defensive game from start to finish. Much like Colorado opening night, the Flames did a nice job of getting on top of breakouts and smothering the attack before it could really get started. They made it tough for Vancouver to get out of their own zone with possession, which obviously made getting shop set up at the other end a very difficult task. Even when the Canucks did get zone time, opportunities were difficult to come by – especially for their top players. At 5v5, the Flames gave up just four chances (one high-danger) to the quartet of Brock Boeser, Elias Pettersson, Bo Horvat, and Micheal Ferland. They essentially took away Vancouver’s core and forced supporting players to beat them. Obviously, that didn’t happen. I loved what I saw from the Flames defensively.
2. Big Save Dave came through
Why did he need to be awesome if the Flames defended so well? Great question, I’m glad you asked. Special teams played a big part. The Canucks had an abundance of power plays and generated 10 chances (nine shots on target) on said PPs. Rittich stopped them all and looked sharp in the process. He did have a little help in terms of Flames winning battles when there was a rebound, or the Canucks hitting iron, but he mostly looked in control. Even when scrambling, he was able to make some second effort stops. It was just one of those nights where it felt like nothing was going to beat him. Long live Big Save Dave.
3. Special teams will be imperative this season
The Flames made a habit of taking, and drawing, a lot of penalties a season ago. With essentially the same roster returning, it should be no surprise that appears to be the case once again. Opening night there were 10 combined power plays. Last night? Another 10 power plays. Special teams play seems destined to determine a ton of Flames games this season – perhaps more than any other team.
4. Johnny Gaudreau was surgical
He didn’t have the puck on a string like opening night but he was very good once again. He got the party started early on by quickly closing on Tyler Myers and steering a breakout attempt right to the stick of Elias Lindholm for a goal. A few shifts later he put the puck on a platter for Sean Monahan in the money zone and he made no mistake. Just like that Gaudreau had a pair of assists. He didn’t create a ton at even-strength after that but, honestly, he didn’t really need to. He just took his regular shift and ensured the Canucks didn’t have the puck much, or generate any real opportunities, during that time.
5. Andrew Mangiapane showed well
I don’t know if it was because Mangiapane doesn’t play special teams, or Bill Peters didn’t love what he saw from Michael Frolik, but he started out strong and was rewarded with a regular shift on L2 down the stretch. I thought he made the most of it. The Flames sustained good offensive zone time on a few shifts and he was around the puck a lot. He ended up with five shot contributions in eight minutes at 5v5. Only Monahan (6) recorded more, and he saw ~5 minutes of extra ice in that game state.
Numbers via NaturalStatTrick.com
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