Flames Stumble to Disappointing OTL vs Buffalo

This was not a fun recap to write nor was it a fun game to watch. Here is the recap of tonight’s loss against Buffalo.

1st Period: Calgary Flames 1, Buffalo Sabres 1

Early on we’d get a fight between Curtis Lazar and Nathan Beaulieu to get the energy flowing in the game.

The Flames would be sent to their first powerplay of the game when Matthew Tkachuk was tripped entering the Sabres zone and Calgary would take advantage.

It would be Tkachuk that would score the powerplay goal on a nice deflection of a Johnny Gaudreau shot/pass. Other assist on the goal went to Mark Giordano. The goal was Tkachuk’s 14th of the year which was a new career high and Gaudreau’s 40th assist of the season.

The Sabres would strike right back after a bit of bad luck for the Flames which involved the puck deflecting off the ref on a pass behind the net by T.J. Brodie. Eventually Calgary would get the puck back but a breakout pass from Mark Jankowski would be deflected and Scott Wilson of the Sabres would bury the loose puck. The goal was one Mike Smith would also like to have back and it’s 1-1.

Calgary would get another pair of powerplays during the rest of the period but wouldn’t convert and be unable to generate much on them. A pretty meh period all around for the Flames.

2nd Period: Calgary Flames 1, Buffalo Sabres 1

Mike Smith made some tremendous saves in the period. Calgary had the shot advantage but Buffalo had just as many dangerous chances as the Flames did. Pretty uneventful period as the Flames looked to be playing Buffalo’s level.

3rd Period: Calgary Flames 1, Buffalo Sabres 1

Again this was an uneventful period, Smith with some good saves and the Flames really didn’t test Chad Johnson much from dangerous areas. A late penalty by Mikael Backlund would carry over to overtime.

*PP carries over

Overtime: Buffalo Sabres 2, Calgary Flames 1

After a minute and a half of rather good penalty killing, the Sabres would score with Jack Eichel blasting a slapshot through Mike Smith’s five hole. Sabres win.

Final Thoughts

• I had a headache before this game started and watching it did not help at all
• This seem like a case study for playing down to the level of your opponent as the Flames casually skated all night like they just assumed they would win
• Especially in the third period I saw almost no push from the Flames aside from a couple decent fourth line shifts
• Mike Smith continues to be strong but the team let him down in a game where he should’ve easily gotten the W
• In my opinion Calgary was lucky to get a point of this game
• The Flames didn’t test Chad Johnson nearly enough in this game
• I really hope they learn their lessons from tonight’s loss
• At least it’s a nine game point streak

Flame of the Game

Photo by Gerry Thomas/NHLI via Getty Images

Matthew Tkachuk (F): I thought he actually had a pretty decent game tonight on a night where no Flame was really all that good. Smith gets the runner up nod but I felt like it was time to give it to someone other than him. Tkachuk had a goal along with a team leading six shots and drew two penalties.

Next Up: LA comes to town on Wednesday in a game with huge divisional implications