Not a great effort by the Flames. Looked disjointed and lacking energy all night. Think Hiller was the only one who can really be satisfied with his night. Not too fussed by the flat performance, we scored(no shut out for an opposition starter goalie in 61 games now) and Johnny and Hudler both got more points(well, one each).
Few minor issues for me though. Stajan on the face off that led to the 5-on-3. Idiotic. What was he thinking. If you can't win the draw, let them win it and go to work on the 5-on-4. Don't take a stupid penalty and go 5-on-3 down. Disappointed in him for that. Also annoyed with how many icings we took, most of them unforced and unnecessary.
But the main thing I took from this game was how good the Islanders were. Its still hard to get my head around them being decent and it will take a couple of years to fully come to terms with it, but my god they are an effective team. They could seriously be a contender in a few years. With Tavares leading the offence and the supporting cast, both veteran and prospect alike, they look like they could become a real force very soon. They shut us down tonight, Halak made an almost error free night and then they just let the one elite talent on the team win the game for them.
They skated hard, worked their asses off and fully deserved to win this game. It stings to see us produce a flat effort and see the opposition skate us off the rink, but they did. Take it on the chin, rest up now ahead of an important final 2 games in the home stand.
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