Flames Penalty Kill Shines after Quality Month of March

With nine regular-season games remaining in the books, the Calgary Flames close off March with a 7-4-4 record for the month, and sit five points shy for the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference.

While a lot of the headlines were dominated by Nazem Kadri compiling a 30-goal season for the third time in his 16-year career, alongside the outstanding plays of Jonathan Huberdeau, the Flames offense is no such thing to boast. In the month of March, Calgary is 8-for-41 (19.5%) on the power play and ranked 23rd in the league. (source: NHL.com)

On the contrary, their penalty kill has been a different story.

The Flames were third in penalty kill percentage for March, and during the PK, they had the third-most missed shots against them (after the Islanders and Ducks). That goes to show Actual Goals Against were lower than Expected Goals Against, and furthermore highlight the plays made by the Calgary blue liners and goalies to keep the puck away from the net.

Speaking of goalies, the Flames’ save percentage during the PK was the highest in the league at 90.74. Dan Vladar was a perfect 16 saves against 16 shots in six games. And what more can be said about Dustin Wolf that hasn’t already been said, who is currently in the running for the Calder Trophy. (source: naturalstattrick)

While Calgary may not have had been the best at shot-blocking in the PK (eight teams have more blocked shots in the PK in March), MacKenzie Weegar has been the top shot-blocker in the league with 45 blocked shots at all strengths. Calgary needs all the help it can get to sneak into the playoff conversation and Weegar is giving them just that. He is also not just your “stay-at-home” defenseman, as he has the registered the top assists on the team for the season with 35.

Point to be noted, its amazing how the Flames organization can get seventh-round picks like Wolf and Weegar, and churn them into solid contributors.

The next nine games will speak volumes about the Flames’ talents and how to go about with them in the off-season.

Tonight, the Flames face-off against the Utah Hockey Club from the Delta Center.