Player Grades: Sharangovich Stands Out in 3-2 Shootout Loss to Wild

Facing the prospect of going winless over a three-game mid-December road trip, Ryan Huska’s Calgary Flames fought tooth and nail to tie up the score following a no-show first period on Thursday night. Despite an in-character successful rally to get the game to the shootout, the Flames failed to find a way to tie the shootout after a Matthew Boldy goal in the fourth round of shooters.

The game started with Minnesota doing the majority of puck management. Calgary reverted to a patient, counterpunch style that relied heavily on turnovers. With the luxury of controlling play, it wasn’t long before Minnesota found themselves on the board. 4:42 into the game, Flames winger Jonathan Huberdeau fanned on the puck on the half boards and would be credited with an assist – were he dressed as a forward for the Minnesota Wild. Matthew Boldy scooped the coughed-up puck, walked into the slot unhindered, and sniped one past Daniel Vladar for a 1-0 lead.

The second period featured some controversy when a chaotic net-front play led to a goal review during a Flames power play. The sequence was deemed “no goal”.

Minutes later, the Flames converted on their second power play of the night. A back-door goal was scored by Yegor Sharangovich and set up by Elias Lindholm and Connor Zary. The score was tied at 1-1.

Chaos erupted with 33 seconds remaining in the second period when Wild forward Pat Maroon threw a late hit on a puckless Nazem Kadri. A scrum ensued, resulting in two coinciding minors and an extra two minutes for the Minnesota Wild.

The Flames took a 2-1 lead from a major effort to retrieve a puck off a dump-in. The speedy center sent a bouncing puck to Blake Coleman who bounced a puck off a wild defender and in.

Shortly after that, and with the Wild still on the power play, Wild forward Marco Rossi caught a rebound off of Vladar and fired a knucklepuck past the Czech goaltender to tie the game. The clock ran out on the Wild power play mere seconds before the puck went in the net. Rossi’ goal to make it 2-2 would end up the final goal scored in regulation. Despite a high action five minutes of overtime, neither team managed to solve the opposing goaltender. Off to the shootout they went.

The Shootout

Zuccarello: Goal
Sharangovich: Goal
Kaprizov: Miss
Lindholm: Miss
Gaudreau: Miss
Huberdeau: Miss
Boldy: Goal
Kadri: Miss

And so Calgary’s four-game road trip ended without a win column entry. The team now heads back to Calgary for a Saturday game against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Player Grades

Jonathan Huberdeau: C
A costly turnover in the first period by the Flames first liner led to Matthew Boldy’s go-ahead goal. Drew a tripping call and made a nice setup to Nazem Kadri in the second period.

Mikael Backlund: A

One of a small handful of Flames players generating sustained possession.

Blake Coleman: A
Coleman progressively brought a faster game as the match went on. The Texan was credited with the Flames goal after an intense recovery effort from Sharangovich.

Andrew Mangiapane: C-
A continuation of “Mangiapane-Lite” this season. Two shots, a penalty and a -1 rating.

Elias Lindholm: B
Solid setup on Sharangovich’s power play marker but a rather uninspired performance otherwise.

Yegor Sharangovich: A+
Used his speed well to distance himself from checkers. Finished off a back door low play for Calgary’s first goal, set up the second goal, and scored in the shootout.

Connor Zary: A
Zary once again provided a concise outlet for scoring drives and covered his defensive responsibilities ably.

Nazem Kadri: B+
Not much for offence (seven harmless shots), but, like Zary, back-checked hard. Kadri’s defensive game deserves full marks on the night.

Martin Pospisil: B
The Slovakian winger’s speed and agitating game appear to be back in form. Threw a questionable hit on Pat Maroon in the third; possibly payback for an interference hit on Nazem Kadri.

AJ Greer: B-
The former waiver claim provided solid energy and brought a firm north-south game.

Adam Ruzicka: C
A solid, unremarkable game for the Slovak.

Dillon Dube: B-
Not a graceful night for the winger, but lots of jam to his game.

Noah Hanifin: B
The potential UFA brought a solid performance both on puck recoveries and zone exits.

Rasmus Andersson: B+
Much like Hanifin, Andersson played a solid if quiet game.

Jordan Oesterle: D+
Showed a few bursts of speed and poise with the puck. Issues defending off the rush. A late third period penalty for tripping ended the veteran’s night on a sour note.

MacKenzie Weegar: A
Easily Calgary’s strongest skater through three periods. Reliably started and contributed to brisk puck movement through three periods.

Dennis Gilbert: B
Threw the body and brought a conservative game as is his calling card.

Nick DeSimone: B
DeSimone made solid outlet passes and served adequately as a counterpart to Dennis Gilbert.

Daniel Vladar: A
Vladar put in a solid performance, getting beat only on high-quality shots. Brought out “The Scorpion” in the shootout for a phenomenal save on Fredrick Gaudreau. The 26-year-old finished the night with a .938 save percentage.