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Five observations from Calgary vs Carolina:
1. David Rittich stole two points
The Flames had no business winning last night's game. They didn't even deserve a point. Though Oliver Kylington got them on the board early, the team as a whole came out completely flat. The Flames spent a ton of time on their heels. There was no pushback at all. It legitimately felt like the only way they could alleviate the pressure, even for a brief moment, is by icing the puck, which is probably why they did it so many times.
Though the opening period was their worst, the 2nd wasn't much better for the Flames. Once again they were on their heels a lot more than their toes. You'd think they'd have mustered up a better effort after no-showing in the 1st yet the Flames only mustered up three shots in the 2nd. It was another woeful period of hockey they were lucky to escape unscathed.
The Flames did find their footing in the 3rd period, out-shooting and out-chancing the Hurricanes while spending good chunks of time in the offensive zone. Naturally, that was the one period of the game the Hurricanes actually won on the scoreboard thanks to a late Sebastian Aho goal. It did not matter, though, as Mikael Backlund quickly ended things in overtime.
While the Flames did have their moments, they were out-shot 31-16 and out-chanced 26-13 (9-4 in terms of high-danger looks) at 5v5. If not for a strong performance from Rittich, which I speculated to be necessary in order to beat the Hurricanes, the Flames would have walked away empty-handed.
2. 2M + James Neal not a good recipe
If we're talking Matthew Tkachuk, Backlund, and Neal, maybe it's a different story. The Michael Frolik, Backlund, Neal combination isn't looking too hot, though.
They were at the forefront of the throttling the Hurricanes delivered at 5v5. In upwards of 13 minutes together, they posted a Corsi For% in the low 20s. In other words, for every attempt the Flames generated with that trio on the ice, they gave up four.
Even with last night's game, the sample size is still small. In saying that, the early returns (getting out-attempted 31-12 in 25 minutes) don't leave a ton of room for optimism.
3. The 4th line was strong
I don't think it's a stretch to say the Andrew Mangiapane - Derek Ryan - Garnet Hathaway line was Calgary's best at even-strength. The numbers suggest that to be the case as they were the lone Flames to finish with their heads above water in terms of Corsi For%. They were constantly able to tilt the ice and spend time working the Hurricanes down low as opposed to chasing play in the defensive zone. It was fitting they were out there for the only goal Calgary mustered up at 5v5.
4. Oliver Kylington and Rasmus Andersson stepped up
The numbers weren't overly kind to them – as was the case with most Flames – but I liked what I saw from this duo against the Hurricanes. It was nice to see Kylington activate and make a skill play around the net to convert on the opening goal of the game. It was nice to see Andersson putting his quality shot to use by tallying four shots on target, which was enough to lead the Flames. Simply put, they showed confidence and were more involved than they have been in games past. I like that. These guys have the talent to make plays. If they're more aggressive in doing so, it could give the Flames another edge. Most teams have defensive minded guys with essentially no puck skills on the 3rd pairing. That leads to really conservative, if not bad, play. The Flames can still be aggressive knowing these guys are capable of contributing.
5. Tidbit time
a) Though Neal's line was mostly caved in at full-strength, he still managed to generate a team-leading four chances. That's the good news. The bad news is he once again failed to convert on any, including a wide open net. Maybe next time!
b) The Flames took two penalties and recorded more shorthanded chances (1) than they allowed (0). They didn't have a ton of work to do but the Flames PK took care of business yet again.
c) Backlund's power move in overtime was beautiful and deserves to be shared in this space.
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