Calgary Flames: What Went Wrong in the Series Opener

2 of 4

Apr 13, 2017; Anaheim, CA, USA; Anaheim Ducks right wing Patrick Eaves (18) celebrates the goal scored by left wing Jakob Silfverberg (33) in front of Calgary Flames defenseman T.J. Brodie (7) during the second period in game one of the first round of the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Honda Center. Eaves provided an assist on the goal. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports /

No Discipline

All season long, the Calgary Flames have been known for their inability to stay out of the penalty box. In the regular season, the Flames led the league in PIM, penalties, and minor penalties. The Flames were shorthanded seven times in game 1 against the Ducks. One was a 5-on-3 powerplay for the Ducks.

And the Ducks had two powerplay goals. If the Flames had learned to keep their discipline slightly more in check, they could have walked away from this game with a win and with a broken curse.

Via Calgaryflames.com:

Calgary Flames /

Calgary Flames

"“First thing, we’ve got to keep him off the powerplay because he does a lot of good work on that. That would be the first step … he hangs onto the puck and makes plays in the offensive zone so make him play in the d-zone.” – Michael Stone on Ryan Getzlaf. “Penalties kinda deflated us. It’s tough to get guys on the ice when you have that many penalties. Trying to get everyone out, it gets difficult. Your game gets out of sorts when you don’t know when you’re getting out there next.” – Johnny Gaudreau. “It was an even match, five-on-five. Both teams were playing well. The big difference is the amount of time we spent killing penalties. Take that away and we’ve got ourselves a pretty good hockey game.”- Stone."

As a fan of a team, you of course think that every call against your team is biased and shouldn’t have been a penalty. I’ll be honest, I’m guilty of this too. But after watching the replays, every penalty the Flames took was the right call, in my opinion, by the officials. And trust me, we’ve all had a lot to say about the officiating this past season.

But the calls were right. And the Flames even got away with some no-calls as well. So we really can’t blame this one on unfair officiating. It was the team’s inability to stay disciplined. Of course I get it, emotions run high and you’re bound to take some penalties. But if the Flames want to get out of this series alive, they’re going to have to learn to control their emotions.

Home/Editorials