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A few notes on Calgary vs Arizona:
1) The importance of last night’s win can’t be understated. Not only did the Calgary Flames pick up a much-needed two points of their own, but they prevented direct playoff competition from getting even one.
The Flames are now five points clear of the Arizona Coyotes and the two sides have played the same amount of games. The gap would’ve only been one point had the result been reversed. Suffice to say, it was a massive win.
Calgary now has a 84% chance of getting into the playoffs,
according to Dom Luszczyszyn of The Athletic. They still have a realistic shot of earning themselves home ice, too.
They’re only one point back of Edmonton for 2nd in the Pacific (they play again the last day of the regular season) and three points back of Vegas for top spot. They still face the Golden Knights twice, with the first meeting coming on Sunday.
If they can make some noise in these games, they could really be in business.
2) Johnny Gaudreau has looked a lot more like Johnny Gaudreau in recent months. That trend continued vs Arizona. Gaudreau lasered one by Darcy Kuemper on an early power play, marking the 13th time in 16 games he has recorded at least a point. He was fully deserving of finding the back of the net as he finished tied for the team lead in chances at 5v5 (3) and overall (5).
His on-ice metrics (63.33 CF%, 66.26 xGF%) were also fantastic, with the Flames largely controlling play with No. 13 on the ice. Geoff Ward was able to keep Gaudreau away from Arizona’s top players – Taylor Hall, for example – and he took full advantage of that.
3) If Ward ever breaks up the MMA line again I might riot. They’re that good. Hall and co. admittedly created some chances, and goals, against them. MMA earned it all back at the other end, though.
They accounted for both goals the Flames scored at even-strength, one of which came on a beautiful play where they dissected the defense with a handful of crisp passes in quick succession. Tkachuk also picked up a nice primary assist on the lone goal Calgary scored without his linemates on the ice.
They’re generally such a strong two-way line that if one aspect of their game is off, they can still make up for it at the other end. This was a prime example.
4) After a bit of a rut, Cam Talbot has found his game again and is starting to regain control of the net. He stopped 32 of 34 vs the Coyotes (.941 save percentage), marking the third consecutive game he’s allowed two or less in a win. Those came against Arizona, Columbus, and Florida – the latter being the only of the group not bottom-10 in goals – but Talbot still deserves credit for taking care of business.
Given David Rittich’s form – .887 SV% over his last 10 appearances – I would expect Talbot to get the net in the key Vegas game on Sunday.
Numbers via naturalstattrick.com
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