Surrendering late goals a disturbing Flames trait
This is not a story of Christmas cheer.
And the statistics? They’ll leave a Calgary Flames fan feeling like the Grinch.
But it’s hard to ignore the team’s penchant for allowing late goals in the late stages of periods. In fact, it’s happened in 24 of 34 games played this season. That computes to more than 70 per cent of the time that the Flames allow a doozy late in a period. Conversely, 33 of their 99 goals allowed in regulation have been scored in the final five minutes.
Their record when giving up those crucial, often-decisive markers is 10-12-2, which is predictable in many ways. To put it into seasonal context: a late goal allowed is like getting coal in your stocking. It’s deflating, disappointing and can ruin Christmas. Or, in hockey at any level, it can simply change the outcome of a game.
On home ice, the Flames’ statistics are just as telling. They’ve allowed at least one late goal in a period 11 times on home ice. That’s 11 out of 18 games at the Scotiabank Saddledome where their overall record is 8-10-0.
“Those are important critical times of the game,” said Flames head coach Glen Gulutzan. “I think we’ve addressed our record when we’re leading after two. I think we’re the best team in the National Hockey League when we’re leading after two over the last 100 games. Giving up goals late in periods and late in games, when you’re tied, it’s something we have to work through.”
STARTED IN OCTOBER
The trend started in October with Connor McDavid’s hat-trick marker — albeit, an empty-netter — with 59 seconds left in the third period of a 3-0 loss to the Oilers. It continued from there.
They allowed two late goals on Oct. 13 at home versus the Senators, one with 45 seconds left in the first period and another with 1:17 remaining in the second. That eventually led to a 6-0 loss (with another late goal, Ottawa’s sixth, coming with 3:37 left).
On Oct. 25, a 5-2 loss at St. Louis, they allowed three late tallies, including a crucial one with 2:33 left in the first period to tie the score 1-1 and, with Calgary down only 3-2 in the third period, Paul Stastny’s marker with 3:32 left the third basically sealed the deal. Joel Edmundson had the empty netter.
Then, earlier this month, a 7-5 loss to the Oilers on Dec. 2 saw the visitors strike in the final five minutes in all three periods — Ryan Nugent-Hopkins’s third period goal with 1:01 remaining came, disappointingly, after the Flames had rallied with four straight goals to nearly complete the comeback.
But, prior to Sunday’s dominant 6-1 win over the Vancouver Canucks (which did not feature any late goals given up by the Flames), the Flames were able to bounce back against the Canucks in a 4-2 win after allowing Vancouver’s powerplay to score with less than a minute left in the second period.
“They do shift the momentum sometimes,” Flames’ captain Mark Giordano pointed out. “I think we’ve actually done a good job lately of coming back. Last time we played Van, they got a late one in the third and we came back and stuck with it.”
But often times, they’re mood killers.
“You don’t want to give those up,” Giordano added. “We’ve gotta tighten up that area. Overall, the last five or six games, we’ve played well but we haven’t been getting as many points as we’d like, obviously.
“But we’ve been pretty solid lately.”
If you’re looking for some type of pattern, there really isn’t any.