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The Calgary Flames may have shattered the NJ Devils’ chances at playoffs last night with a 1-0 win through three periods of play.
Neither team able to execute on their chances through the first two periods, the game would remain tied until 23 seconds into the third period as a result of a power play goal from Mark Giordano. The captain’s game winning goal would extend his point totals to 46 for the year in 61 games played. At a .75ppg pace, Giordano has been atop the league in terms of production for top 6 defenseman.
And while the point production which the Flames have been receiving from their captain has been nice, his overall commitment to the team’s systems has been quite impressive, bar none. Giordano is currently ranked 11th among all defensemen in points, 31st in +/- with a +12 rating, 12th in power play points, 9th in TOI/G, tied with Zdeno Chara at 89th for blocked shots, and 15th in game winning goals.
Needless to say, Giordano is among some very strong company this season with respect to his personal stats and is not only proving his value to the Flames organization as a captain, but to the NHL as a top defender as well.
That said, last night’s win could not have been accomplished had it not also been for the superb goaltending which the team received from 27 year old Karri Ramo. Playing in just his 85th NHL game of his career, Ramo recorded his 2nd NHL shutout last night against a Devils team who were desperately trying to sneak away with two points to improve their chances at playoffs.
Facing 31 shots for the night(Flames were outshot in every period), Ramo would not let anything get passed him other than a disallowed goal which was found to be kicked in by New Jersey’s Ryan Carter. Last night would register Karri’s 16th win for the year as he sports a respectable, and career best, .914SV% and 2.53GAA.
"I played with him in Omsk (in the KHL)," JaromirJagr said of Ramo. "I want to see one more night like that. It doesn't matter who would be on the ice, there was no way we were going to score today. That's what you love or hate about hockey, games like that. It was just a perfect game by him."
While the Flames power play goal would be the game winner, the team would end up 1/5 for the night as they were unable to execute on four of five extra man advantages through the first two periods. With Giordano’s lone goal of the game, the Flames would walk away with some extra confidence, two more points moving them ahead of the Islanders for 26th position, but most importantly demonstrated that they are able to compete with teams who are looking to make the playoffs this year.
In other news, Flames rookie Sven Baertschi from the Abbotsford Heat who was sent down for, well, a rather lackadaisical type effort, was recently named AHL player of the week.
For those who were tracking his progress with the Heat, Sven’s offensive numbers weren’t too high through most of his time spent playing in the AHL. That said, the reason he was sent down had more to do with his overall, 200ft game, than his offensive abilities.
Baertschi was asked to go down, work on his defensive game, try and become a stronger and more complete player, and he would be given his chance again. He did just that.
“Why did he get the award this week? He played hard. He played as a 200-foot player,” ssaid Heat coach Troy Ward. “He was committed to defence as much as he was committed to offence, and Corban Knight is a good passer.”
While I’m sure Knight’s strong passing certainly helped to achieve better numbers, I can only imagine that the NHL likely has a few “stronger” passers available to Sven upon his return. If he’s able to commit to working hard and playing a smart game which Hartley has been asking of his players this year, he could certainly earn himself a spot for next year.
And with any other 21 year old players in this league, fans and coaches alike need to be patient with him. He’s still quite young and inexperienced and as such, has a lot to learn and improve upon.
“I might have been as guilty as anyone. Sven had such success early, and I expected so much — and maybe it was unrealistic,” Conroy said. “Moving forward, I don’t think we want to put all those expectations on him, because it is such a jump to play in the NHL. And then, to be a star in the NHL is even another step”
The Flames will take to the ice against the tomorrow night against the LA Kings. For those interested,
I will have an April Q&A which will likely be posted tomorrow. Submit any questions you have via PM or twitter, that way I can keep track and have your question posted in tomorrow’s blog!
Thanks as always for reading!
Calgary Flames Blogger • 
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