Elliott hopes for chance at rebound
Flames not tipping hand on who will start in Game 4
At about 5 p.m. on Tuesday, either Brian Elliott or Chad Johnson received the news from the Calgary Flames coaching staff that he would be the starting netminder for Wednesday’s Game 4 against the Anaheim Ducks.
Earlier in the afternoon when he addressed the media, however, Glen Gulutzan was not tipping his hand at which way his decision was going to go.
“We haven’t decided what we’re going to do,” the head coach said.
Fair enough; it’s that time of the season. Ducks head coach Randy Carlyle wouldn’t reveal if he was going back to John Gibson after Jonathan Bernier bailed them out when the Flames took a 4-1 lead in the second period.
But the one thing that was clear after Tuesday’s optional skate at the Saddledome was Elliott’s determination to move on from Monday’s 5-4 overtime loss in Game 3.
Elliott, of course, allowed five goals on 27 shots in the end but it was the epic collapse that had Flames fans cringing — a three-goal lead which saw the Ducks score four unanswered goals to erase it.
In his post-game media address, the 32-year-old Flames netminder shouldered the blame. He went over video and chatted with goalie coach Jordan Sigalet during the team’s skate on Tuesday.
“If you keep thinking about it, you just dig yourself a hole,” Elliott said.
“I wanted to go out and feel a couple of pucks. When all else fails, do what you’re good at and what you know you can do. You are never as good as you think and you’re never as bad as you think. You just have to move on and we’ve gotta focus on this next game coming up. “It’s a big one for us.” Through the first three games of this Western Conference quarterfinal series, Elliott has allowed 11 goals for a goals-against average of 3.67 and a .887 save percentage.
While Gulutzan hinted at a lineup change — “You’ll see (Wednesday) what we decide,” he said. “We have a couple guys in our lockerroom that are great players, young hungry guys that aren’t down 3-0,” — it could mean he also decides to go with Johnson in net to try and change their fortunes.
But, should they stick with Elliott, Gulutzan knows he’s a battler.
“I think he’s done what he’s done all year in a smaller time frame,” he said.
“After the first and second goal in Anaheim, he battled back and played fantastic for two periods and kept us in there when we had some weak moments.”
A veteran of 40 playoff games, 18 of them last spring with the St. Louis Blues, including the Western Conference Final, Elliott knows the momentum swings that happen during the post-season and how important a goaltender’s role can change that.
“It’s just kind of living in the moment,” Elliott said.
“Don’t think about yesterday or tomorrow. Just live for today and any mentor I’ve had has said that. You can’t control everything so do the things you can and do it with a smile on your face.”
Elliott indicated that he wants to help the Flames stave off elimination in Wednesday’s Game 4.
“It’s not set in stone yet,” he said. “But I definitely want that opportunity.”