Recap: Too Much Vegas, Not Enough Calgary

Calgary Flames 3 Vegas Golden Knights 7

The trip to Vegas was supposed to be fun. This game was not fun. David Rittich got shelled in the Flames 7-3 to Vegas and to make matters worse, the Ducks won tonight. This was an entertaining game heading into the 3rd period, then it wasn’t entertaining anymore.

1st Period: Flames 1 Golden Knights 2

If you were looking for a stress free period, you didn’t get it. The Flames and Golden Knights came out firing on all cylinders and 3 goals found their way to the back of the net in the first 20 minutes.

Vegas would strike first as Ryan Carpenter would start off his strong period by beating David Rittich’s 5 hole for his 6th of the season. Carpenter would collect a loose puck and fire a nifty backhander through his legs into the back of the net and quickly it was 1-0 Vegas.

The Flames would battle back thanks to some timely saves by David Rittich and Calgary’s hard work would be rewarded 16 minutes into the opening frame. The Flames second D pairing of T.J. Brodie and Travis Hamonic would tie the game at 1-1. Matt Stajan would lead the rush into the Vegas end where he would find Travis Hamonic who would fore one on net and T.J. Brodie would redirect the shot passed Marc-Andre Fleury for the equalizer. The goal was Brodie’s first tally in 14 games.

Vegas would finish off the first period scoring by taking a 2-1 lead with :31 seconds left in the period. William Karlsson would redirect a shot on net that would beat David Rittich, giving Vegas a 2-1 lead and Karlsson his 31st of the season.

2nd Period: Flames 3 Golden Knights 4

A goaltending clinic the 2nd period was not. 4 goals found the back of the net on 22 combined shots. Unfortunately for the Flames, 2 of those goals belonged to Vegas and they would hold a 4-3 lead after 40 minutes.

The Flames would open the scoring in the period as red hot Dougie Hamilton would tie the game a 2-2 a mere 20 seconds into the period. The Flames defenceman would bring the puck through the face off circle and bury a wrist shot over Marc-Andre Fleury’s shoulder for his 14th of the season.

Not to be outdone the Golden Knights would take the lead a little less than a minute later. Reilly Smith would collect his 20th on the season when he would crash the net, diving towards the crease to poke a loose puck in, giving Vegas a 3-2 lead.

Buckle up, because here come the Flames. Calgary would come roaring back on what looked like Dougie Hamilton’s second goal of the period. After further review the Flames second marker of the period actual went to Matthew Tkachuk, his 23rd of the season. Johnyn Gaudreau would find an open Hamilton who would put one on net that Matthew Tkachuk would redirect, giving the Flames their only PPG of the night and tying the game at 3-3.

If you haven’t had enough goal scoring, you’re in for a hot mess of goals, starting with Vegas getting the go-ahead goal with a little over 6 minutes left in the period. Alex Tuch would put his 11th of the season past David Rittich, giving the Golden Knights a 4-3 lead after two periods.

3rd Period: Flames 3 Golden Knights 7

Welp, the wheels came off the bus all at once and a terrible third period did the Flames in quickly. Calgary looked like they tied the game on a Sean Monahan goal, but Vegas challenged that the play was offside and after review…..the Flames were offside. The potential game tying goal was removed from the board and the flood gates opened for Vegas. The Golden Knights would shell David Rittich with three 3rd period goals on 7 shots and put the Flames away for the second time this season.

Final Thoughts

The Flames battled back all night long and you have to wonder where this game would have gone if Sean Monahan’s goal wasn’t pulled off the board. David Rittich really struggled tonight in net for the Flames. Calgary needed him to try and steal a game tonight and he did not. Rittich surrendered 7 goals on 26 shots taking the loss.

The Flames defence, despite giving up 7 goals, collected a ton of points tonight. T.J. Brodie and Dougie Hamilton scored and had an assist, while Mark Giordano and Travis Hamonic each had a helper apiece.

The Flames need to get this ship right and get it done quickly because as they continue to lose, their competition continues to win.

Flame Of The Game

Dougie Hamilton (D). Hamilton had 2 points in this contest to continue his hot streak. He had a goal and an assist, giving him 36 points on the season.

What’s Next:

2/22: Calgary Flames @ Arizona Coyotes

by Mark Parkinson