After being unharmed from injury injury all season, the Flames lined up on Saturday minus three regular starts. By the end of the night they had lost a quarter. And the game.
Injuries are not the only thing growing in Calgary these days – so are casualties. These are three in a row for a team that has won only four of its last ten. Not in the way the coach or one of his players wants to get into the playoffs.
On Saturday the effort was there, the finish was not.
Many of these had to do with the brilliance of the revelation of St. Louis Blues, Ville Husso, who made 39 saves in a 6-4 Blues victory.
The other determinant revolved around a night of inadequate coverage of the defensive zone by a Flames team that generally knows best.
“It’s probably a good time for a road trip here,” said Milan Luτσιiτς, whose club starts for three games in California on Sunday that ends in Seattle next Saturday. “It seems we have not had one for two months. “We have to approach this as we did the first one in Detroit.”
That’s probably a good idea, given that Monday’s move is against a rising Los Angeles club three points behind Flames Saturday.
“Big games, all the games in the division, especially on Monday,” said Luchic, whose club has three games with the Kings. “She is now three points behind us. “A good time to get away and meet again as a team and as a team on the road.”
An off-day Tuesday in Anaheim, with temperatures expected to be 25 degrees, should work wonders for a bunch that has not played enough with its identity or capabilities lately.
There were many good signs on Saturday for a club that went down 1-0 in the first minute. Again.
The fourth line, which learned earlier in the day that he would be without Sean Monahan due to hip surgery at the end of the season, equalized the score with a goal by Brett Ritchie that brought the crowd back to it. Led by Lucic, they were fantastic all night.
With Ryan Carpenter now the de facto center-forward, the line-up also played a key role in Noah Hanifin’s equalizer with nine minutes left in the 3-3 game.
In the game, Lucic brought it to the belt and Carpenter and Ritchie fought hard in front of the net before Hannifins shoveled a backhand. Ritchie had his right knee awkwardly nailed under Robert Bortuzo in the game and left for the night.
The connection with Monahan and Ritchie on the shelf was Calle Jarnkrok’s surprise scratch, pushing Trevor Lewis to the center of the third line.
Not ideal.
Nor does he play without Oliver Kylington, whom the team also had to deal with after his first clash on the boards two nights earlier, leaving him daily and challenging Connor Mackey.
Michael Stone wonderfully stuffed Kylington’s shoes into the second pair, playing for almost 20 minutes next to Chris Tanev.
The Flames backstage came just two minutes away as Australian – yes, Australian – Nathan Walker got a great pass from Robert Thomas alone in the high slot and beat Jacob Markstrom to take the visitors 4-3.
It was the third goal of the night in which the Flames allowed a Blues striker to find open space in the reception for an easy conversion.
“It’s something we can not allow them to do – that is not the identity of our team,” Hanifin said. “It’s not going to be successful in the long run. “I’m not trying to win a game 6-5.”
The Blues went 5-3 with an empty net before Dillon Dube’s goal made a slight interest in 37 seconds. Another empty net sent the crowd of 16,422 unhappy, despite the fact that the Flames beat the Blues 43-25.
“It’s not how we want to end up before we go on a road trip, but, if nothing else, it is the understanding we need to deepen and it is not going to be easier on the road,” said co-coach Kirk Muller.
“Everyone is playing for something. We need to feel comfortable playing in these games and maintaining our identity, which is to play away from the bar. Do not be disappointed and be the team that thinks, “it’s okay and that’s how we want to play”. “We can not crack – we have to make other teams crack.”
