The Calgary Flames weren’t at their finest on Tuesday night time, and that’s not a recipe for fulfillment towards a workforce with as a lot firepower because the Toronto Maple Leafs. There have been far too many defensive breakdowns from the second interval on, which is why, regardless of holding a 1-0 lead after the primary interval, the Flames misplaced by a 6-3 remaining rating.
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With the loss, the Flames at the moment are tied with the Vancouver Canucks for the ultimate wild-card spot within the Western Convention. They’ve simply two video games remaining earlier than the 4 Nations Face-Off event and can want a much better effort in the event that they hope to come back away with 4 factors. With that stated, listed below are the three most important takeaways from final night time’s outing.
Barrie & Andersson Wrestle Immensely
The Flames’ backend had a tough night. Whereas MacKenzie Weegar and Joel Hanley had been strong, the identical can’t be stated about the remainder of the group. Rasmus Andersson, specifically, struggled and completed the sport a minus-3. He was immediately answerable for the Maple Leafs’ fourth objective, after he obtained caught low within the offensive zone, which resulted in an odd-man rush the opposite manner.
One other defenceman who actually struggled was Tyson Barrie. Regardless of solely taking part in 14:55 minutes, he was noticeable practically each shift, and never in a great way. His lack of foot velocity was obvious, and he gave the puck away far too usually. Don’t be shocked if he’s a wholesome scratch on Thursday night time.
Dustin Wolf Appears Human
This recreation can’t be pinned on goaltender Dustin Wolf, because the Flames had been a catastrophe defensively in entrance of him. That stated, he wasn’t the same old dominant Wolf we’ve grown accustomed to seeing, as he failed to offer his workforce the massive save they wanted on the proper alternative.
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To Wolf’s credit score, he battled till the top on an evening when it was clear he wasn’t at his finest. That was evident early within the third interval when he robbed Auston Matthews on a breakaway earlier than Matthew Knies put dwelling the unfastened change. Wolf allowed 5 objectives on 29 photographs and has now misplaced three of his final 4 begins.
Penalty Kill Has Tough Exhibiting
The Flames’ penalty kill has been their greatest weak spot this season, they usually struggled once more final night time. The Maple Leafs, regardless of being with out one among their finest energy play producers in Mitch Marner, transformed on two of 4 alternatives.
“I used to be [seeing it turn around] till tonight,” Flames head coach Ryan Huska stated afterward. “I assumed we made some poor performs on the kill tonight.”
The Flames have by some means been capable of put collectively a superb season regardless of their penalty-killing struggles, however you need to marvel if it could possibly proceed. They’re killing off simply 72.1 % of the opposition’s energy performs, which ranks twenty eighth within the NHL. Apart from the Minnesota Wild (70.8 %), each different workforce with a worse-ranked penalty kill is effectively outdoors the playoff image.
Wanting Forward for the Flames
The Flames have simply two video games remaining earlier than a prolonged break for the 4 Nations Face-Off starting on Feb. 12. The primary will come on Thursday night time versus the Colorado Avalanche, adopted up by a Saturday outing towards the Seattle Kraken. The Flames and Kraken final performed this previous Thursday when the Flames walked away with a 3-2 win in a tightly-contested bout.
