Calgary Flames Defense In Some Scoring Slumps
By Ramina Shlah
The Calgary Flames have only 13 goals in their nine games in November. It doesn’t help that they’re not getting too much offensive help from the blue line.
The Calgary Flames are averaging 1.44 gf/gp in the month of November. Which, you know, is not good. They’re 27th in goals for in the month and now with Johnny Gaudreau injured, it might be even harder. Yes, the offense is struggling right now, but the team isn’t getting a whole lot of offensive help from their defense either. The help they got from their defense was a big reason in why they were successful in the 2014-2015 season.
Of course, not every season is going to be the same. However, if your highest scoring D ranks 9th in scoring on your team and only has six points, something needs to change.
The Flames have also now gone 10 games with no goal from the blue line. It also doesn’t help that the Flames have only gotten more than one goal in a game four times in their last 10. And only one game had more than two goals in those last ten as well. As well as a third of their goals in November have come from Gaudreau before he got injured.
Related Story: What Gaudreau Getting Injured Means For The Team
I will say, though. The Flames looked excellent in the game against the Chicago Blackhawks on November 18th, even though they lost 3-2. They also looked incredible in the game against the Arizona Coyotes on November 16th where they won in OT. Unfortunately for some reason, they can’t find the back of the net that easily. It’s not for lack of trying or lack of scoring chances. I don’t know what it is, but for some reason, every goalie is the World’s Best Goalie whenever they play against the Calgary Flames.
Pushing the D’s will push the F’s
In the game against the Blackhawks, Mark Giordano and Dennis Wideman were excellent. They generated tons of scoring chances and they each had plenty of shots too. Again, for some reason, they just couldn’t find the back of the net that easily. Now, I’m a huge supporter of the Brodano pairing (Gio and TJ Brodie). I’ve mentioned in multiple articles how much I love this pairing and how much it works and I was upset about them being split up. As were many other fans. But the Calgary Flames needed a change. Any sort of change in momentum.
And right now Gio and Wideman have been generating lots of chances. As well as Dougie Hamilton and Brodie. The scoring may not be coming right now, but it will eventually get there if they keep this up.
And once the defense start generating some offense, that’ll push the forwards to be the best they can be.
Of course, it doesn’t help that some of the Flames top scorers aren’t exactly helping too much either. But last game against the Blackhawks like we saw, Sean Monahan and Sam Bennett broke out of some scoring slumps. Actually, that line in general was on fire all game (Get it, cause they’re Flames? I need to stop making this joke it’s getting old. It’s been old the first time I made it. Moving on).
Bennett was all over the net and he generated plenty of scoring chances. I think him getting out of that scoring slump was what he needed, especially with the Flames now going on a ten-day road trip. They’ll need all the help they can get.
Next: Tough Breaks Continue For The Flames
Hopefully now with Monahan and Bennett out of their scoring slumps, that’s all the defense needed to get out of theirs. And they can continue to push and help get this team of this funk.