FLAMES FALTER VS. CANUCKS
OFFENCE FIRES BLANKS AS VANCOUVER BACKUP GOALIE RECORDS SHUTOUT
Obviously, two games at home with no goals, it’s pretty tough. At the same time, we’re wasting two great performances from Reto Berra
FLAMES COACH BOB HARTLEY
Your guess is as good as Bob Hartley’s as to why the Calgary Flames haven’t been able to score in the past two games.
“That’s a very good question,” said the team’s head coach following the latest setback, Sunday’s 2-0 decision to the visiting Vancouver Canucks at the Scotiabank Saddledome. “Obviously, we’re looking for answers and solutions but good scoring chances are tough to get right now. We still got a few (Sunday), missed the net, or hit a few posts. But we just have to keep working.
“Obviously, two games at home with no goals, it’s pretty tough. At the same time, we’re wasting two great performances from Reto Berra. That’s the sad part. ... but, hey, we’ll make a few adjustments and keep going.”
Again Berra, Calgary’s starter for a third straight game, did his part and delivered an athletic performance, turning aside 28 of 30 shots against the Canucks, who hadn’t played a game since a 2-1 win over Winnipeg on Dec. 22.
On the other end, however, was a different story.
With netminder Roberto Luongo injured, the Flames faced Eddie Lack, who didn’t give them any room to work with.
But that being said, the Calgarians only fired 18 attempts his way, the vast majority coming in the third period.
They also had a slow start which began with a five-minute penalty kill when Brian McGrattan was slapped with a five-minute major for elbowing and was ejected for his hit on Andrew Alberts, and also took a five-minute major for fighting Tom Sestito immediately after.
The Flames managed to burn off the extended Canucks’ advantage — also thanks to Lance Bouma who threw himself in front of Jason Garrison’s one-timer — but couldn’t rally.
“I think mentally, as a team, we need to realize that’s a huge kill for us,” pointed out Flames defenceman Chris Butler.
“I mean, that’s one of the best power plays in the league. To be able to come out of that 0-0 still and to be in the game, we need to make something happen after that. We need to show some more urgency.”
Instead, the Flames struggled to sustain pressure in the Canucks’ zone, a theme that lasted basically the entire game.
In the final minute of the opening frame, Mark Giordano and Ladislav Smid had been doing their part to keep the puck in Vancouver’s end. Exhausted and ready for a change, they left Berra out to dry on the lone goal of the period.
Henrik Sedin fed Jannik Hansen a stretch pass at centre ice and he fired a shot past Berra stick-side to put them on the board with 39.7 seconds to go.
So, after one period, the Flames had two shots on net (their first of which took 13:02 of playing time to generate).
And, after two periods, they had been outshot 24-8. No surprise either that their power play was shut down in the second period by Vancouver’s league-leading penalty kill unit when Zac Dalpe went in the box for impeding T.J. Galiardi almost the entire length of the ice.
Then, after the Flames were snake-bitten in the third, the Canucks scored an insurance marker on a turnover — Mike Santorelli capitalized with 2:16 left, depositing a feed from Ryan Kesler.
Including Friday’s 2-0 loss to the Edmonton Oilers, the Flames (14-19-6) have been goalless in two straight.
“We have a few guys that are squeezing the stick but they’re trying,” Hartley said. “We had a few pucks in the blue paint and we couldn’t get our sticks on them. But at the same time, we have to keep going. We have some youngsters that are facing adversity — we have a few veterans that are facing adversity. The No. 1 priority we have is to stick together right now. We knew we’d have some bumps on the road.
“Right now, we’re there. Coming back from the break, it seems we can’t buy a goal. We can’t score a goal.”
ICE CHIPS: There had been talk prior to the game of Mikael Backlund’s availability. The Swedish centre suffered an undisclosed injury Friday against the Oilers and was deemed a game-time decision. As such, the Flames called up Markus Granlund from the Abbotsford Heat in case of Backlund’s absence (as the team would have had only 11 healthy forwards). But as it turned out, Backlund played and logged 17:37 of ice time ... C Matt Stajan lost a few teeth and had to be sewn up after absorbing a high stick from Vancouver RW Brad Richardson.