There were just over seven minutes remaining in the second period when the Calgary Flames finally managed to get their fourth shot on goal. Read More
How can three-quarters of the players on the team not be fully engaged for more than 30 minutes?
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There were just over seven minutes remaining in the second period when the Calgary Flames finally managed to get their fourth shot on goal.
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If there’s one stat that tells the story of Friday night’s 4-2 loss to the Colorado Avalanche, it’s probably that one.
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Yes, the Flames (30-24-11) eventually found their footing and made a late push to make things interesting.
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But the first 33 minutes of the game against the Avs (40-24-3), they were completely flat.
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Frustratingly flat.
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“I didn’t like our first two periods,” Flames head coach Ryan Huska said afterwards. “I thought we had too many guys that weren’t fully into the game tonight – maybe three quarters, to start with. Halfway through the game, I thought we started to get more engaged.”
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There’s no real shame in losing to the Avalanche, even at this time of the year and when you’re in the middle of a playoff race. They’re a good team who beat most opponents.
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But what was legitimately frustrating to the Flames was their lack of engagement early on. This was a game they should have been up for. There aren’t that many left – 17, to be specific – in the regular season and they are deadlocked with the Vancouver Canucks in the race for the second wild card spot.
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How can three-quarters of the players on the team not be fully engaged for more than 30 minutes?
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In the third period, the Flames got goals from Blake Coleman and Jonathan Huberdeau and were pushing for an equalizer when Valeri Nichushkin scored an empty-netter to seal the deal for the Avs.
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But the Flames had shown that when they played their game, they could compete. So why didn’t they play that way in the first two periods?
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“We’ve got to figure out how to play 60 minutes and it starts with us in the leadership group, we’ve got to do a better job,” said Flames defenceman Rasmus Andersson. “You’ve got to look yourself in the mirror because you look somewhere else, so we’ve got to start getting better and lead by example.”
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There were good things on Friday night. Without Mikael Backlund, their captain and shutdown centre, they managed to keep both Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar off the scoresheet.
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Unfortunately, the Avs’ supporting cast picked up the slack, with Parker Kelly scoring twice and Ryan Lindgren adding one, too.
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“When you shut those guys down and still lose, it stings a little bit extra,” Andersson said.
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So now, the Flames head out on a four-game road-trip that kicks off against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday. There are some tough games in there, and they’ll need to do a lot more than they did early against the Avs if they’re going to return home still in the playoff race.