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Goaltending sinks Flames as they fall to Jets in overtime

September 25, 2018, 11:51 AM ET [107 Comments]
Todd Cordell
Calgary Flames Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Follow me on Twitter @ToddCordell

Five thoughts from yet another overtime loss for the Calgary Flames:

1) The top line was excellent as a whole but Dillon Dube may have been the best of the bunch. His decision making was good, he looked dangerous as a puck distributor, and he led all forwards with a +13 on-ice shot attempt differential at 5v5. He sure is making it tough to cut him.

2) I feel like Dube's strong preseason is taking away a lot of deserved attention from Andrew Mangiapane, who continues to be absolutely fantastic. He made a nice play setting up Juuso Valimaki on the team's opening goal and, at 5v5, the Flames out-chanced the Jets 8-0 with him on the ice. 8-0!

Through five games he has a 36-7(!) on-ice chance differential, which is absolutely absurd. He also has three points and 16 scoring chances to go with it so it's not like he isn't producing. I don't know what more he could do to earn a spot.

3) Mike Smith is off to the worst start imaginable. He has allowed seven goals on 44 shots and looks a step slow on a lot of plays. I haven't much cared for his puckhandling either. He is still shaking off the rust – clearly! – but it's hard not to be a little concerned with his play thus far considering the Flames don't have an established backup behind him. Those vying for the job have sub .900 save percentages of their own, which doesn't help matters.

4) Mark Giordano looks like he is in line for another fantastic season. His defensive play has been steady, as always, and he's made a habit of jumping into the play and putting his excellent shot to use. It's really nice to see him involved and I think he needs to be with Dougie Hamilton no longer part of the mix. I wouldn't be surprised if he puts together a 15 goal, 45+ point season.

5) New rule: if you don't play 10 minutes in a preseason game that went to overtime and didn't feature a lot of special teams play, you get cut.

That means goodbye to Anthony Peluso and Ryan Lomberg.

Recent posts:

On Mangiapane, Andersson, Backlund, and more

On Elias Lindholm, Sean Monahan, and prioritizing skill in the bottom-6

Three reasons to be optimistic about the Flames heading into 2018-19

Three Flames question marks heading into 2018-19
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