Caps/Flames Post-Game: Train Wreck

Corsi

Scoring Chances

H2H Ice

Faceoffs

The Other Side

There really isn't much that can be said about a game where your team loses by five goals after allowing six unanswered in the second period. 

The Flames came out ready to play again last night, and for the third consecutive game, found themselves with a 2-1 lead after twenty solid minutes of hockey, having outshot the Capitals 16-8. Things quickly spiraled out of control pretty much from the get-go in the middle frame. After the home side was penalized for too many men just two minutes in, Curtis Glencross was sent to the box for tripping, giving the Caps a two man advantage. Ovechkin’s two goals from the exact same spot on the ice in the span of twelve-seconds erased the Flames’ lead and it was all downhill from there, as Washington would add four more goals, including a penalty shot marker after Mark Giordano hauled down David Steckel on a shorthanded breakaway and an own goal by Cory Sarich in the middle frame to take a 7-2 lead into the third, outshooting Calgary 14-6.

The home side got things under control somewhat in the third, limiting the Caps to six shots on goal, but the damage was done. 

I rarely complain about officiating in this space, but the interference call on Tanguay’s disallowed goal was absolute garbage, especially when goals like this count by league standards. As far as I’m aware, a goal is disallowed due to goaltender interference if the puck crosses the line while the goalie is being interfered with, thus impeding his ability to make the save. After Iginla fell into Neuvirth, he got up and had every opportunity to make the save before the puck went into the net. Not that a Flames goal would have made much of a difference in the grand scheme of things at that point, but still. The missed high stick to the mouth of Alex Tanguay raised some eyebrows as well, especially since he was bleeding. The Flames were an undisciplined hockey team last night, but that’s no reason not to call the game fairly. The biggest issue fans have with NHL officiating is its lack of consistency, and that certainly proved justifiable last night.

Hagman, Jokinen, and Bourque went up against Ovechkin and Backstrom and Hagman was the only one of the three to emerge on the positive side of things in terms of Corsi, although the line finished a collective -12 in scoring chance differential; the rest of the team was in the black with the exception of Stefan Meyer, likely due to the cumulative results of a very good first period and a third that seemed fairly even with the ice possibly tilted slightly in the Flames’ favour.

After a game like this, it's easy to sit there and nit pick at every little thing that went wrong; the penalty kill wasn't nearly as good as it needed to be against a team that boasts so much skill with the extra man, defensive zone coverage was obviously lacking, and the team still accrued only 19 shots on goal at even strength, and couldn't capitalize on any shots they did get, excluding the disallowed goal, after the first period. It's worrying that this whole "have a great first period, get the lead, and show only brief spurts of interest in the remaining forty minutes" seems to have become a trend in the last seven periods of hockey the Flames have played, and with three days off between games, hopefully they can get a handle on it, especially since their next opponent is the Red Wings. The team held a lengthy meeting following the game last night, as per Pat Steinberg, which is to be expected after a beat-down of this calibre, but it's as good a place as any to start resolving whatever issues plague this team, as the vintage third jerseys clearly aren't the answer to invincibility anymore. 

by Hayley Mutch