FLAMES LAMENT BOUNCES THAT DIDN'T GO THEIR WAY
Maple Leafs make going to the net count as they record road victory at Saddledome
Sometimes, the puck just doesn't bounce your way.
All things considered, there really wasn't all that much that separated the Calgary Flames (2-1-1) and Toronto Maple Leafs (5-2-0) on Sunday afternoon at the Scotiabank Saddledome.
The Leafs won 3-2, with all three goals involving a little good fortune with the way the puck bounced. That happens sometimes, and the loss likely isn't one that is going to cause too much heartache in the Flames dressing room.
As Sean Monahan pointed out, though, there was a common denominator with all three Leafs goals. They might not have been pretty, but they involved Toronto players getting in front of the net.
That's something the Flames need to be doing more of themselves.
“That's hockey, bounces go each way … throughout a game, so I think we've got to clean up a few areas,” Monahan said. “We've got to be around their net a little bit more to get those bounces ourselves.
“We had our looks, we had our chances but, yeah, we've got to be in front of the goalie a bit more and have that second guy in there off rebounds.”
None of the Leafs goals are going to end up on any end-of-season highlight reels, but that's hardly the point. They went in, and that was the difference between getting two points in the standings and going home with zero.
On Jake Muzzin's opener, the Leafs defenceman lofted a shot from the blue line that found its way through traffic and then bounced off Flames forward Dominik Simon on the way in.
On their second, Wayne Simmonds attempted a pass that bounced off his own skate and in past Jacob Markstrom after Monahan had tied things at 1-1 for the Flames.
Early in the third period, the Leafs extended their lead to 3-1 when the puck deflected off Auston Matthews' skate and into the net just 2:42 into the final frame.
None of the three goals were Markstrom's fault. They weren't anybody's fault, really, but the Flames were adamant that there wasn't really any luck involved, either. The Leafs got bodies to the net and good things happen when you do that.
“It was a tight game,” said Elias Lindholm, who brought the Flames to within one of the Leafs when he scored in the third period. “A couple bounces, and obviously they deserved the bounces, but they had the bounces and I didn't think we got to their net enough. We've got to fix that on Tuesday.”
Points are points, and the Flames won't be happy they lost. It's probably best not to draw too many conclusions from Sunday's game about the respective quality of either the Leafs or Flames, though.
The puck really just didn't seem to bounce the Flames' way. True, that wouldn't have mattered if they scored a couple more goals themselves, but, by and large, the Flames hung tight with a good Leafs team. The Flames outshot their opponents 33-32, after all. The bounces didn't go their way, and sometimes that happens. They'll have the chance to reverse the outcome on Tuesday night (7 p.m.) when the two teams meet again.
“Pretty tight game, I think the biggest difference is they were able to find one more than we did, to be honest with you,” said Flames head coach Geoff Ward.
“I thought we had plenty of chances, their goalie made some saves when he needed to, a couple of bounces for them that ended up going in the net, but that's what happens when you shoot the puck to the front of the net. Good things, happen, normally. They got the bounce tonight and that was the difference.”
ICE CHIPS
To the surprise of absolutely no one, the Flames played a lengthy video tribute to TJ Brodie about nine minutes into the first period. Brodie was with the Flames for a decade before signing with the Leafs in free agency this past off-season. Given that Brodie was popular in the locker-room and the community, it would have been extremely strange if the Flames hadn't paid him a tribute … Nice work by Sam Bennett to draw a penalty and give the Flames the man advantage for the first time in the game about one minute into the second period … Jacob Markstrom did well to stop Mitch Marner on a second-period breakaway. Markstrom wasn't necessarily asked to do a tonne, but came up with key saves to keep the Flames within striking distance. He did great work stopping Zach Hyman from right out front of the net, too … Prior to the start of the game, the Flames played a tribute to former Leafs captain George Armstrong, whose death was announced on Sunday morning. It was a nice touch … Matthews had scored at least one goal against every single NHL team except for the Flames. He played against the Flames seven times before Sunday, but only had one assist before he scored in the third period.