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Cam Talbot, Calgary Flames steal two points in Anaheim |
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Follow me on Twitter @ToddCordell
A few thoughts on Calgary's bounce-back win over Anaheim:
1) The Flames were playing in a 2-in-2, 3-in-4, 4-in-6, 6-in-9 situation on the road against a rested team. It was as tough of a schedule spot as you could possibly draw up. They were never going to fill the net – especially against John Gibson – and they were never going to control a larger share of the shots and chances than they gave up. You don’t want to say the game was put on one player’s shoulders but, well, it was. Cam Talbot had to be really good. If he wasn’t, the Flames weren’t going to have a chance at a win. Simple as that. Luckily for Bill Peters and the Flames, Talbot most definitely brought his best game. The Ducks peppered him with Grade A looks. One-timers in the slot, mini-breakaways, rebound opportunities, you name it. He closed the door time and time again and looked completely in control throughout. There weren’t really saves where the puck would trickle through him or he’d look unsure of himself. They were no doubters. I thought he was absolutely outstanding and stole the Flames two points they didn’t necessarily deserve.
2) I thought Anaheim had too easy of a path to the paint all night long. Again, not entirely shocking given the circumstances but still concerning. The Ducks lived on top of the crease. Many of the chances generated in that area came off the sticks of their top offensive players, too. Rickard Rakell, Jakob Silfverberg and Ryan Getlzaf were credited with multiple high-danger looks. Nick Ritchie and Max Comtois had dangerous chances as well. All in all, the Ducks generated 17 of them (10 came in the final frame), which was four more than the previous high against the Flames this season – and we know they haven’t exactly played lock down defense thus far.
3) Tobias Rieder, Mark Jankowski and Alan Quine absolutely steamrolled at 5v5. No, seriously. They hemmed Anaheim into the defensive zone seemingly every time they were on the ice. In ~8 minutes together, Calgary won the shot attempt battle 20-6 and out-chanced the Ducks 10-1. Each forward generated three scoring chances at 5v5. The only other Flames who managed that were Mikael Backlund and Mark Giordano, both of whom played *at least* seven more minutes at 5v5. They weren’t rewarded on the scoreboard – not shocking given Rieder never is, it’s been that kind of start for Jankowski, and Quine is an NHL/AHL tweener – but they deserved to be. We’ll file the performance from that trio that under the ‘pleasant surprise’ category.
4) With Andrew Mangiapane and Sam Bennett out, and Michael Frolik (temporarily, surely) dropped into the bottom-6, Czarnik was given a chance to skate on the 2nd line. He took advantage. While the line didn’t dominate territorially the way we’re accustomed to seeing – again, not surprising given the scheduling – they did manage to find the scoresheet. Czarnik got on top of the puck carrier and forced a neutral zone turnover mid-way through the 3rd period, which just so happened to lead directly to the eventual game-winning-goal. Czarnik hasn't always been given a fair shake with the Flames so it was nice to see him get an opportunity and make the most of it.
Numbers via NaturalStatTrick.com
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