Fansided

Calgary Flames: Three Stars of the Week February 13-19

By Ramina Shlah |
Feb 18, 2017; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Calgary Flames defenseman Mark Giordano (5) celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal against Vancouver Canucks goaltender Ryan Miller (not pictured) during the third period at Rogers Arena. The Vancouver Canucks won 2-1 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 18, 2017; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Calgary Flames defenseman Mark Giordano (5) celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal against Vancouver Canucks goaltender Ryan Miller (not pictured) during the third period at Rogers Arena. The Vancouver Canucks won 2-1 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports
2 of 4
Next

The Calgary Flames, who have surprisingly remained in a playoff spot this week, went 1-1-1 this week. Some players still stood out.

The Calgary Flames didn’t exactly have the week they were hoping for going 1-1-1. Not exactly the record you want to have when you’re pushing for a playoff spot. Fortunately though, the teams they needed to lose were losing as well and they’re still in the second wildcard spot.

But you can’t always depend on other teams to lose to make sure you’re in a good spot. That’s not the mindset to have going into games and that’s definitely not good playoff-mentality.

Nonetheless, the Flames played two good games this week, but unfortunately came up short still. And they got shutout 5-0 against one of the worst teams in the league and whom they have beaten all season long, the Arizona Coyotes.

Nonetheless, some players still performed well over others.

Let’s take a look at those guys.

THIRD STAR

Feb 7, 2017; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Calgary Flames defenseman TJ Brodie (7) takes the ice for warm-ups against the Pittsburgh Penguins at the PPG PAINTS Arena. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 7, 2017; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Calgary Flames defenseman TJ Brodie (7) takes the ice for warm-ups against the Pittsburgh Penguins at the PPG PAINTS Arena. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports /

TJ Brodie

If you’re looking at the score-sheet, you might be scratching your head wondering why TJ Brodie made the list. He only had one goal in the game against the Philadelphia Flyers this week.

More from Editorials

However.

This was his first goal in 23 games. And this was his first game in months that he wasn’t paired with Dennis Wideman and this is what happens. Everyone agrees that Wideman is somewhat of an anchor and has been bring Brodie down. And a big factor in Brodie’s horrendous -25 +/- is Wideman as well.

But even with being paired with him, Brodie saves the day all the time. He’s one of the Flames’ best skaters and will race back and many times stop some breakaway chances. What shows on the score-sheet definitely doesn’t reflect how good this guy is and how valuable he is to this team.

That goal he also had that came against the Flyers ended up being the game-winning goal. So thanks Brods. We owe you one. That’s why management is trying to find Wideman replacements.

SECOND STAR

Feb 18, 2017; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Calgary Flames goaltender Brian Elliott (1) makes a save against the Vancouver Canucks during the first period at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 18, 2017; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Calgary Flames goaltender Brian Elliott (1) makes a save against the Vancouver Canucks during the first period at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports /

Brian Elliott

Brian Elliott has had fantastic games ever since before the All-Star break. Since that game right before the break, he is 4-1-1, has a 0.922 sv% and 2.19 GAA. In the game against the Flyers, he’s the reason the Flames didn’t have four goals scored on them. He completely bailed out the team when they needed him.

And with the game against the Vancouver Canucks, he let in a bad goal on the first shot he faced. And it came from center ice. I know, I cried too. But he definitely redeemed himself throughout the rest of the game and stepped up. He didn’t let that bad goal phase him and affect the rest of the game. He had some key saves that came on the powerplay against the Canucks, making them go 0/5 on the PP.

This week, he went 1-0-1, had an sv% of 0.935 and GAA of 1.72.

Related Story: Brian Elliott vs Chad Johnson Debate

Safe to say that we’re starting to see the old Brian Elliott again. He’s really taking this “win-and-start” method to heart because ever since that (the game before the all-star break), he’s been excellent. He’s only had two losses (one against the Canucks which was an OT loss) and one against the New York Rangers where the Calgary Flames still battled hard and played an all around good game. Unfortunately, they couldn’t tie up the score and thus, resulted in a loss.

It’ll be interesting to see who the Flames will go with for goaltending next game. We know about this win-and-start method, however Elliott’s been much better than Chad Johnson and still had a great game against the Canucks. Will the Flames stick to their method and go with Johnson next game, or stick with what’s safe and go with Elliott? I guess we’ll find out shortly.

FIRST STAR

Jan 21, 2017; Calgary, Alberta, CAN; Calgary Flames left wing Matthew Tkachuk (19) controls the puck during warm ups prior to the game against the Edmonton Oilers at Scotiabank Saddledome. Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 21, 2017; Calgary, Alberta, CAN; Calgary Flames left wing Matthew Tkachuk (19) controls the puck during warm ups prior to the game against the Edmonton Oilers at Scotiabank Saddledome. Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports /

Matthew Tkachuk

Matthew Tkachuk has been quite the story this season. This week, he has managed to bring himself up to second on the team in points, with 37 of them. The only player who has more than him is Mikael Backlund, who has 39 points, but also has played four games more than Matthew. He is also tied for the team lead in assists, with 26.

He’s fifth in rookies for points and is third for assists among rookies this season.

Related Story: Flames Rookie Matthew Tkachuk Is Settling Right In

The 3M line this season has been effective ever since Tkachuk joined it. Who would have thought that he’d be second on the team in scoring this far down the road?

This week, he had one goal and two assists. In both assists, he had primary assists on the goals and in the assist on Mark Giordano‘s goal against the Canucks, he was a big factor why Gio was even able to score with just six seconds left of the game to make this game go to OT.

He’s been a big factor this season and he’s had a big impact on this team. The Flames got lucky with this kid and he’ll definitely be a fan-favourite. I mean, he already is.

Next: Probability of a Marc-Andre Fleury Trade Unlikely

Well that’s it for now! Our three stars of last week. Let’s hope that the Flames busy four-game week this upcoming week will put them back in their groove they had before the bye-week.

Next
Home / Editorials