CALGARY — The Flames’ faithful were growing restless and the groans were audible and it was only the second period. The Flames, the same ones who held their own against three contending teams to start the year, all of a sudden couldn’t take the puck away from the Buffalo Sabres as they maintained possession for a solid minute in the Flames’ zone near the end of the second period. Even if one Flames player did touch the puck briefly, it would be followed immediately by a forecheck. A turnover and more skating would follow.
It felt like a long, tedious game of keep-away. Even if the Sabres didn’t score, it was a stretch of play that summed up the game.
Calgary wasn’t prepared to take on a Sabres team younger and faster, but it displayed flair and skill to its advantage. The worst part about the Flames was that they knew exactly what they were facing long before the puck dropped. They had last season’s loss to the Sabres at home to stew on. Mikael Backlund earlier Thursday highlighted the fact that the Sabres were a ‘fast, young team’ and were quite skilled. Frankly, it’s a bit surprising the Saddledome didn’t display the words ‘trap game’ in a giant neon sign atop the arena as fans walked into the building.
They knew they had the ability to play well. They didn’t. They admitted postgame that they weren’t ready, nor engaged sufficiently, to beat the Sabres.
“We had another s— start (to) the game,” Flames defenceman Nikita ZadorovAfter a 6-3 loss against the Sabres on Thursday night, he said. “Too many turnovers. Too many odd-man rushes. We weren’t winning any battles down low. We knew what Buffalo was going to bring and that’s what they did. But we weren’t ready for it. It’s totally on us, totally unacceptable.”
The Flames were on the right track when they scored their goal. Andrew MangiapaneTheir hope of a full 60 minutes was alive and well just four minutes in to the game. However, the Sabres responded quickly, with possession, and decisiveness, and defeated the Flames, leading the team to the above-mentioned and less-than-ideal beginning.
“Can’t take any team lightly in this league.
Andrew Mangiapane talks to the media after tonight’s match vs. Sabres. pic.twitter.com/z7jl7Ghb7t
— Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) October 21, 2022
Dylan Cozens put the Sabres on the board after the Flames couldn’t clear and eventually turned the puck over in their own end. Rasmus Dahlin, who made NHL history by scoring in a fourth consecutive game — the longest season-opening scoring streak by an NHL defenceman — got a goal as a trailing D-man while the Flames’ defence was helpless to stop him as they were scrambled too deep in their own end.
“If you look at, not only the turnovers but the chances and goals against,” Flames head coach Darryl Sutter said. “Especially (from) the one defenceman. (He’s) a pretty dominant player for them. He is probably the best player on the ice. Some of those bigger players we didn’t defend very well against, up front.”
The Sabres were faster on loose puck battles than the Flames for two periods. Casey MittelstadtAlthough it was short-handed, it won. MacKenzie WeegarIt was not a roofed before. Jacob MarkstromOn the backhand.
“We had to do a better job of folding up guys in the D-zone and coming out together as five,” Mangiapane said. “We were kind of slow everywhere and made them look even faster.”
The Flames’ depth was already being tested with Noah Hanifin out of the lineup ahead of Thursday night’s game. Despite playing against the opponent, the defenceman has been attending morning skates and practices. Vegas Golden Knights and Sutter telling the media he’d ‘probably’ play Thursday. But Sutter, who will keep his lineup choices and players’ health as close to the vest as humanly possible, threw out a misdirection. Even then, the Flames’ loss had less to do with a lack of quality, or resources, available to them. Markstrom also allowed three goals on 12 shots after 20 minutes before making way for Dan Vladar, but his goaltending didn’t doom his team.
“It’s more on us than on (our goalies),” Mangiapane said. “Just with that switch, you want to play better in front of Vladdy, right? Obviously, we didn’t and we let them both down.”
The Flames misaligned their forward lines in hopes of getting something to work. Backlund was thrown on a line with them. Jonathan Huberdeau Tyler ToffoliYou can also call it: Blake ColemanYou can play alongside Nazem KadriMangiapane. Elias LindholmWithdrawn from the top to third lines Dillon Dube Milan Lucic. Although it was difficult to follow, the Flames found a way for a jolt.
“I think it did until the third period where we took a penalty and turned the puck over,” Sutter said.
Unfortunately, a third-period penalty from Zadorov took the wind out of the Flames’ sails and led to a power-play goal against and an eventual empty-netter.
It will be difficult for the Flames not to make the same mistakes again and forget about this loss. The group that has overcome many difficulties in its first few games this year can learn a valuable lesson. The Flames will need to continue to fine-tune their game plan against teams that show off skill and speed, all the while ensuring they don’t take their foot off the gas pedal when it comes to their playing style. The Flames’ next three games will come against tougher opponents, the Hurricanes on Saturday, the PenguinsNext Tuesday and a Battle of Alberta match next Saturday.
The Seattle KrakenThe rest will follow, which some might consider an easy game from afar. The Flames ought to be aware of this.
“Can’t take any team lightly, that’s for sure, in this league,” Mangiapane said. “I think, just coming in, we’ve got to be better prepared and, like I said, not take any team lightly because they’ll sting you.”
The Flames team is still trying to find a complete effort. This lesson was learned early in a long season.
(Photo: Sergei Belski / USA Today)
