New, prevailing strategy for both clubs going forward: avoid scoring the first goal of the game. Seriously.
Apparently both teams play better trying to catch-up than in the lead. Everything the Flames did well from the middle of the first period of game 3 to the middle of the first period in game 4 evaporated once they got themselves a lead. The opposite was true of the Sharks.
Playing real hockey when behind the proverbial 8-ball has been a bit of theme for the Flames this year. They staged a number of improbable comebacks, starting with that one against Minnesota earlier in the year (eerily similar to game 3 - go down by 3 in the first, look completely out of it, and then storm back), as well as another 3 goal reversal against the Coyotes. It seems extreme adversity is Calgary's X factor - the catalyst to ignite the mysterious alchemy that is "team chemistry".
Course, this could all be selection bias on my part. There were a number of games this year that the Flames fell behind early and just continued to suck until the game was over. Still, to me, the best hockey that Calgary has played this year has seemingly ALWAYS been while playing catch-up. If there was some way to convert that kind of urgency and passion into an 'all the time' thing, we'd be in business.
Alas.
Bitching points:
- The difference makers up front almost completely disappeared last night. That includes Iginla, and at both ends of the ice. Tanguay, Huselius, Langkow - the few chances they did manage to generate, they flubbed. When 2 separate 3on1's yield a single shot on net, there's something wrong.
The PP was always weak and ineffectual as a result.
- Why did Keenan break up the Iginla-Tanguay-Conroy unit that was so effective against Thornton in the 3rd game in favor of the Conroy-Nolan-Tanguay trio?
- Dion Phaneuf needs to get his head out of his ass - at least when it comes his defensive zone play. Not all the goals that the Sharks have scored with on him can be attributed to his failings, but a fair number of them can. He's still losing coverage and seems to have trouble making decisions with the puck in traffic down low.
- Here's my obligatory officiating rant: the Sharks get away with entirely too much "subtle" interference. They are one of the most proficient teams I've seen this year at setting up picks in both ends of the rink. Sometimes it's a guy who's "skating lane" happens to cut in front of the opposition just enough to get in the way, and sometimes it's out-right stopping right in front of pursuing Flames players. There was one egregious example from last night that leaps to mind: the Sharks shot it into the Flames end. Marleau, Thornton and (I believe) Phaneuf chase it down. Marleau gets ahead of Phaneuf, and, several feet from the puck, stops up completely and leans backwards into him, completely impeding Phaneuf's progress. Thornton then collects the puck without incident. This occurred directly in front of the ref.
Im certainly not holding this issue up as the primary reason the Flames lost. It isn't. But it sure is damn well annoying to watch all night.
- Stephane Yelle drove me NUTS from the second period onwards. He failed at everything he did, repeatedly. He was useless on the forecheck and he lost every board battle or puck race I saw him engage in. There were several instances where he couldn't even shoot the puck in properly. Unless Lombardi had the puck on his stick last night, that unit (including Primuea) was an absolute lost cause. Yelle epitomized the "sit back and contain" mind-set that seemed to effect the whole team once they were in the lead (to me at least).
- Eric Godard has played about 12 minutes over the course of 4 games, including 1:22 last night. He's managed to get one roughing minor. He makes the 4th line a huge liability whenever he steps foot on the ice. Why not dress Moss, who is a vastly superior hockey player, or even Boyd, who could at least add something to the powerplay now and then? Are we really so certain the Sharks would suddenly start beating up on Kipper or Iginla if Godard watched a game from the pressbox?
I just dont get it.
Anyways, I should conclude by giving San Jose some credit for their victory: they played a nearly flawless road game (aside from a couple of odd-man rushes) and their penalty killing was outstanding. That the Flames ended the game with a franchise low 10 shots on goal had as much to do with the Sharks clogging the shooting lanes and deflecting passes as it did with Calgary scorers flubbing chances and playing passively.
Kudos. Now we're down to a best of 3. Score the first goal of game 5 at your own peril...
