Well that game can go straight into the garbage. No Makar, yet no problem for the Avs I guess. The guy plays like half the game and somehow the Avs dont miss a beat. The Flames really blew quite the advantage there by stinking the place up.
I think this game was just another prime example of the Flames not being in the same league as other teams when it comes to star power. In a long 82 game season, during the dog days of the season, sometimes you just need your superstars to win you some mundane games once in a while and that’s exactly what Rantanen (3 points) and Mackinnon (2 points) did for the Avs tonight.
The Flames on the other hand do not have these kinds of superstars. They have to work hard every game to order to win and that’s a difficult way to win in this league because other teams get paid to play too. I looked at some stats and I’ve come to the conclusion that 3+ point games seems to be key to victory. Now I haven’t looked into it in depth, but looking at a few Flames’ skaters over the last couple seasons, there does seem to be some correlation.
2021-22 (3+ point games)
Tkachuk: 15 = 15 wins - 0 losses
Gaudreau: 14 = 14 wins - 0 losses
2022-23 (3+ point games)
Lindholm: 4 = 4 wins - 0 losses
Toffoli: 2 = 2 wins - 0 losses
Kadri: 2 = 2 wins - 0 losses
Huberdeau: 1 = 1 win - 0 losses
Probably a small sample size, but it does show how vital 3+ point games can be to winning hockey games.
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