Calgary Flames scored zero goals, collecting one point – Flamesnation

In the second period, the Buffalo Sabers got some dangerous quality chances – the only reason the Calgary Flames were able to get the point was Jacob Markstrom. Unfortunately, he was the victim of a jumping puck in overtime, but since no one else came on board, it was the winning goal of the match in the end. We can be happy that there was no playoff match with implications and move on – preferably with more emphasis on the attack. They jumped back – this game is more of an outlier than normal.

CF% – 53.25%, SCF% – 54.01%, HDCF% – 38.05%, xGF% – 54.09%

It’s a team game – The Sabers were able to get 7 high chances in the second period. They made it a priority all night to shoot the puck right in front of the net and nowhere else. You can see down on the heat map. Calgary may have made more attempts, but the Sabers played a strong defense themselves, keeping Calgary close to chances. The flashback was present but not enough – that will happen from time to time.

Corsi King – Oliver Kylington (68.70 CF%) and Chris Tanev (66.39%) lead with over 20 Corsi events for. No one is insanely overwhelmed in general attempts, just in the quality of them. Milan Lucic (65.30%) leads the forwards tonight with Linemates Sean Monahan (59.65%) and Dillon Dubé (56.40%) just behind him. The usual suspects like the Flames Top Line were also there. Events happened tonight with Kylington-Tanev on the ice, not so much for the other defenders.

Corsi Clown – Noah Hanifin (41.37%) had the lowest ratio of events, Blake Coleman (44.64%) had a bit of a starting ratio, but when the line on the ice was the number of chances against the smallest number by everyone on the team. The problem is that they did not produce much in terms of offensive chances. They did their job really well defensively; the goals were what never came.

Taken by chance – As usual, the Flames Top Line was led by Johnny Gaudreau (75.16 SCF% // 81.44 HDCF%), Elias Lindholm (75.16% // 81.44%), and Matthew Tkachuk (75.16% / / 81.44%) all 5 collect. of Calgary overall 7 high risk opportunities. These guys continue to do this every game (almost) – some games do not give them and others you get 4 points games – it happens!

xGF% – It should really come as no surprise at this point that in a game without 5v5 goals Chris Tanev (77.47 xGF%) is at the top of the leaderboard in the quality section. When the Flames top line and the Tanev pair were on the ice, Calgary was able to push the most. The depth also fell short tonight – even though Calle Jarnkrok (43.84%) made his first appearance in Flaming C. Not everyone fits as seamlessly into the grooves as Toffoli.

Play Flow –

Buffalo killed himself from an early penalty in the first before Calgary was able to regain some momentum. The second period saw the Sabers get some massive chances – all of which long lines were significant attempts that saved Markstrom. The Flames regained momentum with a strong third but lost it in the randomness of the 3v3 OT.

Play Score – Jacob Markstrom (1.08 games // 0.34 average) was the third ranked flame and fourth overall for the entire game. I will not rise to the arms over a mistake. Chris Tanev (1.62 // 0.87) was the highest ranked flame. Of the Flames deep players Milan Lucic (0.19 // 0.27) has the highest score.

Shot Heatmap –

The sabers who won the battle to get into the net were not something I would have bet on before the game – so color impressed me. However, they should really consider using the left side of the offensive zone – they might be able to do so while playing other teams that Chris Tanev did not have defending that side of the ice.

Am Krees – Hey, everyone has made mistakes at work before, there is no need to criticize this more than just acknowledging that it was a weird bone. 1.64 expected goals against (at 5v5) with nothing past him. A mistake away from Kippers record stings, but he is a solid goalkeeper and he will work himself to get more crack at it.

Today’s specials – Another night with a perfect penalty kill is all one can ask for at this time of season. The number of qualified guns out there applying puck pressure when possible is fun to watch. It’s not often that teams are able to get even significant chances on any Powerplay when they play Calgary. Again an early powerplay. I wish they would get one soon in the second period.

Flashalytic’s 3 Stars –

1) Chris Tanev

2) Elias Lindholm

3) Jacob Markstrom

The Flames play the Vancouver Canucks Saturday night in the late game on Hockey Night in Canada (CBC, SN).

(Statistics compiled by Naturalstickt.com // Game score by Hockeystatcards.com)

Looking to build your fantasy hockey game? DailyFaceoff has the tools you need for everyday and season-long fantasy leagues, including a lineup optimizer, daily projections, and much more. Sign up for the DailyFaceoff Tools here.