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Calgary Flames

Calgary Flames Dominate the Montreal Canadiens, Win 8th Straight

However, it is not all great news, as they lost 2 of their top 4 defensemen to injury.

Published

7 years ago

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The Calgary Flames won their 8th game in a row, ending the 6 game win streak of the Montreal Canadiens. Brian Elliott stopped all 24 shots for his first shutout as a Flame and Johnny Gaudreau had a 4 point game. It was not all good news though, as Dougie Hamilton and Michael Stone both left the game with injuries and did not return.

First Period

Things had changed dramatically for the Calgary Flames since their 5-1 defeat to the Montreal Canadiens back in January. The team came into tonight on a current run of 12-2-1 since that game, the hottest team in the NHL. On a 7 game winning streak, they were facing a team who was riding a 6 game winning streak. The Flames had a lucky break going into the game, when it was announced a couple of hours before game time that Carey Price was not going to be fulfilling his scheduled start due to the flu, so backup Alvaro Montoya was in net.

Just like in recent games, the Flames had a solid first period. They generated a lot of shots and got on the board just over 7 minutes in. A nice breakout by the 3M/Gio-Ham quintet led to a beautiful set up from Matthew Tkachuk to Mark Giordano who wired one over Montoya’s glove to put the Flames up 1-0.

It was 1-0 Flames after the first and they dominated the shot clock 16-5.

Second Period

The Flames continued their strong play in the second. Early in the frame, T.J. Brodie got around Jeff Petry and was alone against Montoya but lost the puck trying to deposit it into the open net. Then an unlikely scrap occurred. Former Flame Paul Byron and current Flame Kris Versteeg dropped the gloves, in a spirited effort. Thankfully, Versteeg’s jersey was tied down this time.

The Flames continued pressing and got their second goal. Strong work in the offensive zone led to the puck coming to Michael Stone at the point, who got the puck past a screen and by Montoya to make it 2-0 Flames. The goal was Stone’s first as a Flame.

The Canadiens started to push back after that goal, but then Steve Ott went after Matt Bartkowski, leading to scrap in what was likely an attempt to spark his team. It really did not work.

Sean Monahan’s 22nd of the season put the Flames up 3-0, picking up Michael Stone’s rebound and putting it in the open net. Just 26 seconds later, Johnny Gaudreau set up Micheal Ferland who sniped it high glove past Montoya to make it 4-0. Ferland is red hot, with 6 goals in the past 8 games.

Johnny Gaudreau picked up assists on all 3 goals in the period. The Flames were up 4-0 after 2 and were outshooting the Canadiens 27-16.

Third Period

With a game that had so much good in it, two very bad things happened. Dougie Hamilton did not come out to start the third, as he was tangled up along the boards late in the second and injured his leg (possibly cut by a skate) and did not return. A major loss for the Flames would become even more dire, because early in the third, Michael Stone was hit up high and left the game with an upper-body injury and did not return either. Thus, the Brodano pairing was reunited for the third period, having to take heavy minutes along with the Bartkowski-Engelland pairing. Thankfully, they had a 4-0 lead to work with.

The Flames played simple hockey in the third, preserving their significant lead and not taking any risks while down two defensemen. They did an excellent job of locking the Canadiens down. The Flames would get goal #5 late, with Johnny Gaudreau getting his 4th point of the game, putting in Deryk Engelland’s rebound.

Brian Elliott shut the door all the way and the Flames dominated the Canadiens to a 5-0 victory. They were the significantly better team all night, outshooting Montreal 37-24.

Flames 3 Stars

Other Thoughts

Next Up

The Flames go for their 9th straight win on Saturday night in Winnipeg. How far can they push this streak?

by samwell9

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