Flames falter in Windy City
Calgary power play absent again as Chicago triumphs in rematch
It was an odd time for a standing ovation, but the situation warranted it.
No, Chicago’s United Center definitely wasn’t cheering on the Calgary Flames power play (no one back home in Calgary was cheering for it either, in fact).
In reality, during the first period of Tuesday’s second biggest clash of the night and a Flames’ man advantage, Chicago Cubs infielder Addison Russell had just hit a grand slam in Game 6 of the World Series which was heartily celebrated by rowdy fans during the National Hockey League action.
Back home in Calgary, there was certainly nothing to celebrate. It was the second time the teams faced in a nine-day span, following last week’s 3-2 shootout Calgary win, so you knew Chicago was out for revenge. They got it in the form of a 5-1 win over the Flames.
Sparked by Patrick Kane, the Blackhawks scored four straight goals en route to their third straight win. Meanwhile the Flames dropped to 4-6-1.
But, also, the Flames’ struggling power play — which went 0-forfour — was also a gift to No. 88 and his friends. The Flames are now 0-for-eight and haven’t scored a man advantage marker since Oct. 25 at St. Louis.
A scary moment also happened when Flames rookie Matthew Tkachuk was accidentally clipped by Duncan Keith. He left the bench. The frustrations seemed to start when Duncan Keith denied a Sam Bennett wrap around with his skate and, pretty soon, the frustrated Flames pivot took a tripping penalty on Dennis Rasmussen.
It took 31 seconds for Kane to work his magic — again — when he faked a slap shot and fed Artem Anismov who chipped it past Brian Elliott to go up 2-1.
The bad vibes continued when Tyler Motte out-battled Brodie coming into Calgary’s zone and made it 3-1 at the 12:34 mark. That’s when the wheels fell off and Panarin and Niklas Hjalmarsson continued the party.
If you were busy watching the World Series game, the final score wasn’t indicative of the effort. Really, it wasn’t that bad and the Flames were going toe-to-toe with the former Stanley Cup champions for two and a half periods, at least.
Michael Frolik netted his second short-handed goal of the year and knotted the score 1-1 as Calgary tried to kill off a too many men penalty in the second period.
It was a pleasant surprise, especially after Kane completely embarrassed their blue-liners with 1:02 left in the first period.
After picking up the puck in the neutral zone, the slick winger dangled around TJ Brodie (who lost his footing trying to switch directions) and, before Deryk Engelland could decide what to do to defend him, Kane ripped low glove-side shot on Elliott. Third goal of the season — 19th career goal against the Flames.
It was a cruel start, especially considering Calgary was outshooting the somewhat disjointed Blackhawks 13-6.
And netminder Brian Elliott looked sharp early, settling in after a great stop on Marian Hossa with just 4:33 gone in the first period.
On the Flames’ lone penalty kill of the first period, he also made a right elbow save on Brian Campbell to finish it off.
They had two power plays in the first period — Hossa for hooking and Marcus Kruger for a trip on Dennis Wideman that borderlined slewfoot territory — but couldn’t make hay on either of them.
By the way, the Chicago Blackhawks still have the league’s worst penalty kill (53.1 per cent heading into Tuesday’s clash) but have cleaned it up as of late.
An antsy Blackhawks crowd were up in arms with 20.4 seconds when Hossa attempted a shot and Anisimov tried to bang away at it. Elliott looked to have smothered the puck but it slipped out just as the referee blew his whistle.
The Flames have three more games on this four-game trip, starting with Thursday’s clash against the San Jose Sharks.