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A few observations from Calgary vs Chicago:
1. Cam Talbot was excellent
I was a little surprised the Flames didn’t go back to David Rittich but, with the way Talbot is trending, I guess I shouldn’t have been.
He turned out to be a key factor in Calgary’s win. Perhaps *the* key factor. Corey Crawford was very good at one end, which left Talbot little margin for error in his own. He didn’t need it.
It’s not that the Blackhawks tested him with high-end chance after high-end chance. But Talbot was equal to the task when they did get a quality look and he rarely left any loose change for them to collect another.
In all, he stopped 31-32 (.969 save percentage) with seven of those stops coming on Patrick Kane shots. He was great.
2. Right down main street
The Flames should tip their cap to Crawford. He’s the only reason they didn’t double their goal output. They probably should have. While they didn’t generate much in the way of volume (28 shots on goal), almost every time they shot the puck it was from a dangerous location. The Flames essentially abandoned point shots entirely and only pulled the trigger if they were at the top of the circles or closer. That really shines through when looking at the heat map.
If they can continue to get those kinds of looks on a consistent basis, the goals will come in bunches.
3. Wasted opportunities don't prove costly
As good as Crawford was last night, I’m not going to let the Flames off the hook for their power play, uh, play. They had two extended 5-on-3s – one in the 2nd, one in the 3rd – vs one of the worst defensive teams you’ll find. They didn’t score. Were there a couple good chances? Sure. In particular, Johnny Gaudreau had an awesome look on a one-timer early in the 3rd and Crawford made a great effort getting to it. Otherwise, I don’t think their puck movement and rotations were sharp enough and they didn’t get a ton of quality looks as a result. The power play simply has to come through when presented with those opportunities. By not doing so, they put the pressure back on Talbot to be borderline perfect. Luckily, he was.
4. Elias Lindholm came through
Remember when the Flames made the trade for Lindholm? The consensus: they were getting a plus-playmaker who can provide solid two-way play and pot the occasional goal. Not too many, though, because he wasn’t deemed a natural finisher. Honestly, that really looked to be the case.
I don’t know if the Flames are just the perfect fit, or his shot has improved a lot, but he’s turned into quite the goal scorer in Calgary.
With another two snipes banked last night, Lindholm is up to 45 since the beginning of 2018-19. That’s tied for 38th most in the NHL, besting names like Dylan Larkin, Logan Couture, Max Pacioretty, Brock Boeser, Phil Kessel and Jamie Benn. Not bad. Not bad at all.
Numbers via NaturalStatTrick.com
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