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It wasn’t the desired finish to their 6 game road trip for the Calgary Flames, yet I think a lot of people will still be thinking positive coming off a 2-1 loss in Los Angeles on Monday night. It ends a great trip for the Flames as they finished 4-2.
There’s a lot to like for the Flames coming out of this game, and clearly coming out of this road trip. In this game particular, Calgary played a pretty solid game. They controlled most of the 1st period and were hard to contain in the final frame, running into a very good Jonathan Quick in net. They were generating scoring opportunities, and were doing some really good work down low. Defensively, they held Los Angeles without any sustained possession for some good spans in this game.
But I felt that Calgary could have done those things a little more, in terms of quantity. The 2nd period turned into too much or a loosey-goosey type game, and there were some spans where Calgary got away from their hard working, physical forecheck. This hasn’t really happened since those 2 games at the Dome, where the Flames lost to Colorado and Chicago. The Flames are hard to beat when they’re doing those things consistently…but when they don’t do it for 60 minutes, teams will be able to jump up and bite them.
The other thing would be the powerplay…0 for 4 on this night, and 9 for their last 70 overall spanning 19 games. That’s not good, and I think we’ve all said what needs to be said on this. I still think it’s going to turn around, I really do…it’s just happening a little slower than I thought it might.
The Flames finish their road trip 4-2, and there are a TON of positives coming out of thier season long trip. Overall, Calgary is 18-8-3, and 11-3-3 on the road; they’re back at home Wednesday against Atlanta. Follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Steinberg960.
Obviously this game was won by special teams. 5 on 5 Calgary was dominant except I was impressed with L.A.’s ability to take away shooting lanes. A lot of shots came from the perimeter and a lot were blocked or delfected far from net.
But overall, I was impressed that the Flames did not let up too much and took it to the Kings for the most part. Despite the powerplay suffering I’m not going ot panic yet. I’ve noticed a change in how the players get positioned during the PP recently. It was fairly potent at the beginning of the season and has been falling off even before this road trip. But the past few games the set-up and movements have been changing and I think it will start to click if given time.
For Hitmen fans the PP should look familiar. Watch the movement of the players and their positioning and it should remind you of a lethal Hitmen Powerplay from one year ago. Give it time, it should work.
PS: A few games later, the Flames PP is still struggling but showing signs of getting better. So maybe patience is a virtue, Bob.
- Bob in the AbbeyThere’s not too much wrong with power play. Miles better than last year and the skill level and passing is superb. The one thing I believe they need to address with the extra man, is to shoot more from in the circle at approx 45 dgrees. Many times this year I have seen great shooting opportunities ignored with a free player in the circle with a perfect screen set up in front of goalie.Most players would kill for that position 5 on 5. I love the big shot fron the point, but I think the lower down down shot with a screen is every bit as effective .
PS: Hey Jeff, now following Calgary’s win over the Kings, the Flames have scored PP goals in 3 consecutive games…so it’s showing signs of improvement.
- Jeff Reimer