Trap game gets best of Flames as they return home from impressive road trip in 6-3 loss to Sharks
Nothing like a return from a road trip to remind people just how mushy middle the Calgary Flames can be. If not worse when the inevitable happens and top defencemen Chris Tanev and Noah Hanifin are gone after the NHL trade deadline.
It was an obvious trap game. The Flames went 3-1 on a stellar road trip after the all-star break with new blood in Andrei Kuzmenko, Jakob Pelletier and Kevin Rooney making their season debuts for the club. They looked offensively dangerous, at even strength and the powerplay. Their defence was committed and by committee. The goaltending was stellar.
They looked like world beaters claiming wins in Boston and New Jersey and picking up another against the New York Islanders before falling short against the Rangers.
Home to host the bottom-feeding San Jose Sharks on Thursday, none of that rang true. The powerplay was feeble, high-percentage offensive opportunities fleeting, and goaltending completely flat. The defence served up some pizzas, too.
Pancake flat might be generous. This performance was a crepe.
The Calgary Flames made a star of Filip Zadina — who scored back-to-back goals in the third period to polish off a 6-3 Sharks victory with four points.
The loss dropped them to five points behind in the Western Conference wildcard race.
“We thought it was going to be an easy game,” Flames defenceman MacKenzie Weegar told media after the game.
He had no answers as to why the Flames seem to take teams below them in the standings for granted despite having so many poor head-to-head performances against them.
It’s one of the only things they’re consistent with.
That and a lack of self-propelled energy more nights than not.
Rookie goalie Dustin Wolf had a stinker. The players in front of him didn’t help much. But Wolf's best save on a night he lost track of the puck multiple times as the rubber frequently flew past him came on friendly fire — stopping Rasmus Andersson’s redirection toward the empty side by flicking his left pad out at the last second.
He looked emotional and crushed after the game, no doubt shouldering more blame than a 22-year-old should carry.
“I wasn’t super pleased with the goals in the third and those are the times you need the saves to help your team,” were Wolf’s final words after taking accountability with an appearance in front of the media.
It was a team effort, though. Things were not clicking. After a disastrous second period, there was still a glimmer of hope when Mikael Backlund scored to make it 3-2 with less than 20 seconds left in the middle frame. A coach’s challenge was overruled and the Sharks went down a man for two minutes as a result, but the Flames powerplay fizzled and Zadina’s pair put things out of reach.
The Flames couldn’t even get a shot off on a two-on-none with Backlund and Andrew Mangiapane in the third period.
Kuzmenko’s first goal in front of the home crowd and his third in five games with the Flames was a highlight but the lack of celebration was an indication of how meaningless it really was.
And the lack of energy in it was a microcosm of the night. Maybe the entire season so far.