Recap: William Karlsson Nets A Hat Trick, Flames Stink In 4-0 Loss To Vegas

Calgary Flames 0 Vegas Golden Knights 4

All of these games are must wins and the Flames aren’t doing any must winning. Calgary dropped their 3rd game of the season to Vegas today by the score of 4-0. The Flames once again pounded the opposing goaltender with shots, but as usual they came up empty. The playoffs are all but a pipe dream at this point and large decisions are looming for the Flames.

1st Period: Calgary 0 Vegas 0

The Flames had good jump in the period, but they weren’t able to gain any traction goal-wise as the first period ended with no goals on the board. Calgary looked like a different team than the team that finished Friday night’s game against San Jose, but then again, they played well against Vegas early on the last time these two met.

Proof of how much more jump the Flames had? Calgary ended the period with 20 shots on goal compared to the Golden Knights 6. The only problem is Marc-Andre Fleury was more than up for the task as he stopped every shot that came his way.

The Flames had the only PP opportunity of the period and per usual they came away with nothing.

2nd Period: Calgary 0 Vegas 4

Well, whatever jump the Flames had went out the window in the period and it went quickly. Vegas pumped in four goals in the period, 3 by William Karlsson and this one was over after 40. The only life the Flames showed were 2 scrums that almost lead to fights between Garnet Hathaway and Ryan Reeves. Outside of that, the Flames had a brutal effort in the second frame. T.J. Brodie was involved in 2 plays that lead directly to Vegas goals and Vegas really pushed the tempo the rest of the way and had the Flames on their heels for the entire period. Calgary got another PP in the second period and just like the first, it did nothing.

Marc-Andre Fleury stopped all 11 shots the Flames sent his way. Mike Smith? He stopped 8 of the 12 shots he faced. Not good enough.

3rd Period: Calgary 0 Vegas 4

Well, the good news is Karlsson didn’t get another hat trick. The bad news is Marc-Andre Fleury didn’t allow anything either. The final period was much less eventful than the first 2 periods and at least the score didn’t change. How’s that for a 3rd period wrap?

Final Thoughts

The Flames lost their 3rd game to the Vegas Golden Knights tonight and you might as well take the playoff dreams and put them in the trash. The Flames put 41 shots on net, yet somehow came away with nothing.

Mike Smith had another rough game in net for the Flames, giving up 4 goals on 31 shots. Whether Smith is still injured or not is a mystery only he knows, but he is not the same goalie that was between the pipes before he was injured.

Flame Of The Game

Garnet Hathaway (F). Honestly, picking a Flame Of The Game was next to impossible, but Hathaway might be one of the only Flames that showed up and looked engaged. Hathaway attempted to take on Ryan Reeves twice and the second time he was looking for action with Reeves AND Deryk Engelland. Not smart choices, but at least he was looking out for his teammates. That’s more than you can say about the rest of the team tonight.

What’s Next?

3/19: Calgary Flames @ Arizona Coyotes

by Mark Parkinson