Three stats Calgary Flames can be proud of going into All-Star break

The Calgary Flames, heading into the All-Star break winning six of their last eight games, should take great pride in how they’ve acquitted themselves recently. 

There was concern in the Stampede City about the overall drop in performance level through December and the start of the new year. Much of the blame for Calgary’s malaise, either directly or indirectly, should be attributed to the implications associated with the club’s unprecedented Covid-19 outbreak.

Darryl Sutter’s side are back to their best, excited about the slew of upcoming home games. Twenty-one of Calgary’s forthcoming 26 games will take place at the friendly confines of the Saddledome, an incredibly promising prospect given the team’s recent drastic improvements on home ice. 

Here’s three stats the Flames can be proud of going into the All-Star break.

3. NHL’s second best goals against average

The Flames have the second best goals against average in the league, conceding just 2.48 goals per game. Only the Carolina Hurricanes (2.33 GAA) allow fewer, showcasing the stingy nature of Calgary’s defence. If you take away the games in which the Flames performed poorly and conceded in bunches, they’d certainly boast the NHL’s best overall defence.

Sutter’s teams are always defensively reliable. The experienced bench boss prides himself on being tough to score against, one of the key trademarks of any Sutter-led team. If the Flames continue their sound defensive play, they’ll pose a threat to even the NHL’s elite going into the business end of the season.

2. 9 shutouts, the NHL’s most

In correlation to the team’s outstanding defensive record, the Flames have an incredible nine shutouts to boast about, far and away the league’s most. The Washington Capitals are in second place with six goose eggs.

Jacob Markström leads the way with seven shutouts, already more than doubling his previous best total of three, which he achieved in 43 games during the 2020–21 campaign. While it’s unlikely Markström will be able to break the all-time mark held by Tony Esposito, who recorded 15 during the 1969-70 season, the Swede’s accumulation of shutouts thus far is truly something to marvel at.

Daniel Vladař has chipped in with two shutouts. Nine shutouts at the halfway mark of a season is a phenomenal stat the Flames will take great pride in. The stat is made even more impressive considering the upward trajectory in overall goals in recent seasons. The average goals-per-game output hasn’t been higher since the 2005-2006 season, when teams were scoring at a rate of 3.08 goals per game. So far in the current campaign, teams are scoring an average of 3.05 goals per game. 

1. If you haven’t heard the Flames shoot, a lot

The Flames trail only the high-flying Florida Panthers in the amount of rubber flung on net. Calgary averages a whopping 36.4 shots per game, just .2 shots per game less than the first-place Panthers.

Calgary is continually breaking records in that department, registering 26 shots in the first period in Glendale on Wednesday evening. That was a franchise record. The Flames beat their all-time shot record in a game the week prior, when they peppered Columbus Blue Jackets netminder Elvis Merzlikins with 62 shots. That beat Calgary’s previous record set back in 1991. 

Their was concern the Flames weren’t getting the secondary scoring required to threaten atop the Western Conference. That has changed in recent weeks, helped significantly by getting pucks on goal.

The Flames recent offensive prodigiousness combined with their incredibly stingy defence bodes well for Sutter and company as the prepare to put down roots on home ice. Perfectly positioned for the second half of the season, the Flames, for the most part, will be feeling good about what they’ve accomplished so far.