Calgary Flames Get Penalty Killed
Special teams are imperative in generating offence, especially in the crunch time of late games. A team’s (in this case, the Calgary Flames) ability to capitalize on the man advantage can change not only the score, but swing momentum in a huge way.
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The Calgary Flames have squandered their offensive chances only generating on less than 30 % in their last five games.
The top power-play unit has been quite efficient; a unit including the likes of Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan. They have provided some much needed punch on special teams.
Unfortunately, this is where the problems start. After that first unit, the Calgary Flames have no depth capable of matching anywhere near the production of the top line. This was the same issue last year; the team leaned heavily on their young studs and it carried them to the second round of the playoffs.
Teams have learned how to defend against the explosiveness of second year sniper Johnny Gaudreau. This, coupled with the lack of depth has caused a drastic drop-off in powerplay percentages.
The Calgary Flames rank in the bottom five in the league on the man advantage, those types of statistics aren’t going to win many games, let alone get them back in the play-off race.
Related Story: Calgary Flames Need Powerplay Improvement
When you take a look at the other side of the coin, a giant lump will begin forming in your stomach. Recent games show many reasons for concern; the penalty kill for the Calgary Flames has been dismal at best.
In the game against San Jose, two separate 5 on 3 opportunities allowed the Sharks to get back into the game and force overtime; the Flames would end up winning that game, but it took a shootout to roast the Sharks.
In Arizona, the trouble kept coming; early penalty trouble got the Calgary Flames into a hole they couldn’t climb out of with Shane Doan having a night to remember, finding twine twice. This game featured more undisciplined penalties that killed any momentum the Flames could muster.
The perfect example of how the penalty kill has hindered the production of the Calgary Flames can be examined in their latest tilt against the Anaheim Ducks. They greatly outplayed the opposition, but a flurry of undisciplined penalties killed the momentum and Anaheim answered by being a perfect 3 for 3 on the man advantage.
Next: Calgary Flames Need To Make Kris Russell Decision
If the Calgary Flames continue to struggle on the power-play and give up multiple goals when down a man, don’t be surprised if they are competing in the Auston Matthews sweepstakes instead returning to the play-offs for the second straight year.
What do you think of the Flames’ recent production on special teams? Sound off in the comments.