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Flames 4, Jets 1: Special teams prove pivotal in Game 1 victory |
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Follow me on Twitter @ToddCordell
A few takeaways from G1 of Calgary vs Winnipeg:
1) I don’t think the game was as one-sided as the scoreline would make you think. In particular, the Flames struggled at times during 5v5 play. They did outshoot the Jets by four, however, that was also misleading. Winnipeg controlled nearly 60% of the expected goals, won the high-danger chance battle 8-2, and beat the Flames 1-0 on the scoreboard. One game is one game but that has to be a little concerning considering the Jets were a bad 5v5 team all year – it’s not a good look if the Flames can’t out-play them there – and played much of the game without Mark Scheifele. Calgary’s top line fared well, and the 2nd line produced (especially on special teams), but the bottom-6’s inability to control the run of play remains a big weakness.
2) Speaking of Scheifele, his injury is obviously a devastating blow for the Jets. They’re in real trouble if he misses time. His defensive numbers, like most players on the team, have been nothing to write home about this season. In saying that, he is still an impact player at arguably the game’s most important position – where the Jets were already thin to begin with. Blake Wheeler shifted to the middle without Scheifele and Patrik Laine moved up from L2 to L1, leaving essentially no firepower (outside of Nik Ehlers) inside the bottom-9.
3) Special teams proved to be decisive in G1; and in Calgary’s favor. They absolutely butchered Winnipeg in the 20+ minutes of non-even-strength hockey; and not just on the scoreboard. Calgary recorded more scoring chances in ~6 minutes of power play time than Winnipeg mustered up in ~12. That in itself is remarkable. The Flames also allowed exactly zero (0) high quality chances on the PK and buried a goal of their own on a nice Tobias Rieder backhand. The loss of Scheifele was especially evident in those areas.
4) I thought Cam Talbot looked pretty good. It wasn’t an overly difficult workload but he made the saves he was supposed to and looked confident throughout. While the Jets aren’t the kind of team that is going to pepper their opponents with shots, they do have some elite talent taking them. If opposing goaltenders fall asleep at the wheel, the Jets’ stars will rip pucks past them. They have to stay dialled in, even through extended periods with limited work, and Talbot did a good job of that.
5) The Jets spent the majority of the game down a forward (at times two with Patrik Laine also getting banged up) and yet Nik Ehlers logged less than 10 minutes at 5v5. Yes, there was a lot of special teams play. But Ehlers is a highly skilled player who has blazing speed and can navigate tough neutral zone defenses. Paul Maurice is doing his team a disservice playing Ehlers that little. I mean, only Nick Shore, Mathieu Perreault, and Mason Appleton played less. The Flames will be hoping for more of the same in Game 2.
Numbers via NaturalStatTrick.com
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