Follow me on Twitter @ToddCordell
Five observations from Calgary vs Dallas:
1. David Rittich was exceptional
I thought he was the best player on the ice from start to finish. It might not have been close. He was so locked in and made an abundance of ridiculously good stops look easy. Be it deflections, rebounds, broken plays that ended up in the slot, penalty shots etc., Rittich shut the door time and time again and gave the Flames every opportunity to come back and steal two points they probably didn’t deserve. He has looked really good since the start of camp but that might have been his best performance to date. The Flames gave up 43 chances (13 high-danger) and 3.95 expected goals. He conceded twice. You can’t ask for anything more.
2. Noah Hanifin looks ready to take another step
I love what I’m seeing from Hanifin on a nightly basis. The defensive game is pretty stable alongside Travis Hamonic, as usual, but he’s really making strides at the other end of the ice. He’s consistently jumping into the play at the right times to add another layer of offense and taking a lot more shots. That shows in the numbers – it’s early, of course – as Hanifin is averaging 11 shot attempts per 60, up from 8.77 a season ago. He’s really putting his skating ability to use and I simply haven’t seen this kind of confidence or involvement in the offensive zone. Hopefully it’s a sign of things to come.
3. The 3rd pairing was crushed
Michael Stone made his season debut. It did not go well. In a stunning turn of events, a pairing featuring Stone spent the vast majority of the time chasing play in the defensive zone. He played 12:25 with T.J. Brodie at 5v5. In that time, the Flames were out-attempted 16-4 (20 CF%) and out-chanced 8-2 (20 SCF%). They only played ~a minute against Tyler Seguin and co. so it’s not like they were caught out against the top dogs. I know Oliver Kylington has some defensive hiccups on a nightly basis but at least his speed and skill helps lead to strong transition play and some opportunities at the other end. Stone is simply a black hole at both ends of the ice. He should not be in the lineup next time out vs a lethal Vegas attack.
4. Milan Lucic continues to be a ghost offensively
I know the Flames made the trade with the idea that Lucic would bring more physicality to the table than anything. But they also expected *some* offense – he wouldn’t be on the 3rd line and 2nd PP if that wasn’t the case. So far, he’s not providing it. In the games I tracked, Lucic contributed to just 28.57% of Calgary’s attempts he was on the ice for. In other words, he attempted or assisted on the attempt a hair over 1 of every 4 times. That’s the lowest total amongst all Flames forwards. I didn’t track shot assists in last night’s game, however, Lucic didn’t register an attempt in any situation and he was only on for six attempts at 5v5 (compared to 12 against) so it’s fair to say his number was low, or nil, once again. If this keeps up, he’s going to have to drop down another spot.
5. A concerning trend
The Flames took another four minors – and gave up a penalty shot – last night, forcing them to spend 7:30 killing penalties. That’s been a common theme for the Flames in the early going. Only the New York Rangers (9:09) have spent more time short-handed than Calgary (8:47) on a per game basis, and their sample size is only two games. Comparatively, the Flames are spending 5:51 per game on the PP – 21st most in the NHL. Again, it’s a small sample but it’s going to be a lot harder for the Flames to pile up wins if other team’s best offensive players are getting ~3 extra minutes to go to work every night.
Numbers via NaturalStatTrick.com
Recent posts:
Five takeaways from Calgary vs LA, where the Tkachuk/Doughty rivalry lived up to the hype
Predicting the Stanley Cup Finals 2019-20
Predicting the Western Conference Finals 2019-20
Predicting the Pacific Division standings in 2019-20
Flames sign Matthew Tkachuk to three-year bridge
Bold Pacific Division predictions for 2019-20
Pacific Division breakout picks for 2019-20
Three reasons to be optimistic about the Flames in 2019-20
Three Flames question marks heading into 2019-20
Calgary Flames Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»