I was at the game tonight and that high danger split really did not match my eye test at all. Flames dominated in offensive zone time but in no way appeared dangerous to me.
Agree the Mangiapane post was a killer. Still they had a little momentum going into the third going against a tired and injured team and didn’t show much.
The highlights for me:
Backlund line was great. All of them played well especially Mangiapane.
I have never seen a crowd get quiet as fast as when Lucic clocked Macdermid.
Kadri was engaged although he wasn’t that effective.
The rage over Backlund in the third was over the top. On the ice and in the stands. I think it was fueled by seeing their heavyweight get walloped.
The lowlights
Huberdeau. I followed him a lot and it scares me how low of an impact he has on the game. The idea that it is coaching is absolute bunk. He needs to be way better.
Lindholm was rough.
I didn’t think much of Pelletier’s game tonight, there were times he looked very cautious and tentative. You have to expect some ups and downs so no big deal but in general, that line did nothing to help this team win.
Their goalie didn’t have to work very hard.
Markstrom did not look confident to me. But IMO the story tonight wasn’t goaltending and in fact he ended up with some tricky saves.
Flames should have been desperate and pressing hard in the third. They just don’t seem to have the game to do that.
As we were walking out, my son tells me that what the team needs is that one superstar who can make plays that results in the puck in the back of the net. That is exactly what Huberdeau was supposed to be. He better be that next year.
Some cool Flames fans in the building.
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