Welcome back one and all to Beyond the Boxscore: Season 3 – a place to find out which Flames players had statistically great nights combined with some insight into what was working or not by myself (Shane Stevenson – @Flash_33 on X formerly known as Twitter). We’ll have charts, video breakdowns, colour commentary, and plenty of in-depth analysis.
CF% – 54.07%, SCF% – 49.81%, HDCF% – 56.9%, xGF% – 51.63%
It’s a Team Game – From a slow start into a resurgent second half the Flames were able to figure a lot of things out in the first intermission. In the first period alone the Jets recorded over 5 high danger chances to the Flames 2 – it was looking like a Winnipeg runaway. They got better at capitalizing on their chances, creating more dangerous ones, and controlled the entire flow of the game the last 40 minutes. The final frame specifically saw the Flames lock things down defensively with the lead, a positive sign seeing as this was largely the NHL group.
Corsi King – Adam Ružička (69.15 CF%) is a candidate for a resurgence this year. Many fans remember his torrid pace with skilled linemates last season before mysteriously ending up in the doghouse. He’s got a creative mind and a unique size/skillset combination. Him finding his footing could really help this club. Yegor Sharangovich (63.30%), Matt Coronato (61.31%) and Jordan Oesterle (60.79%) also finished on the good side of the shot attempt battle.
Corsi Clown – Blake Coleman (32.79%) is a little too good for regular fourth line duty. Weird thing to say when his ratios are low, but there was just nothing really working with his line. With Schwindt (48.56%) and Hunt (48.24%) they struggled to push play and get any quality opportunities. Other than that most guys ended up playing pretty positively. Despite getting limited looks Dubé (42.82%) made the most of them.
Under Pressure –
Taken By Chance – Now everybody wants to get to the games MVP in Matt Coronato (56.61 SCF% // 71.03 HDCF%) – but you have to shout-out the guy who didn’t see a high danger chance against while racking up over 4 – that’s Adam Ružička (62.24% // 100%). The defence pairing of Zadorov (56.42% // 100%) and Oesterle (56.42% // 100%) also didn’t surrender a high danger look. I’ve been openly critical of Oesterle but he played a good game and showed more mobility than others that have recently taken spins on the Flames 3rd pair.
xG Breakdown –
xGF% – Mikael Backlund (80.30%) led the way for his team with Matt Coronato (79.03%) just behind him. I wish I saw some more accurate plays from Jonathan Huberdeau (40.58%) – there were some spots where he found the puck in great space to make a pass and it resulted in not much in terms of chances. I’m not overly concerned about his long-term success, I’m just greedy in the pre-season. Kadri (35.91%) and Dubé (37.89%) may have found the scoresheet but they didn’t generate the best chances. Dubé was a guy I pegged as needing a big year last year, my potential ceiling for him dropped when he didn’t make those steps, but that does not mean he doesn’t still have an offensive spark. I’m hoping it just comes together this year and the new style of attack is enough to help him grow.
Game Flow –
Game Score –
Shot Heatmap –
In The Crease – Not the best night for Markstrom. He’s going to have to not let goals like number 4 in this year if he wants to stay ahead of the Wolf. 2.15 expected goals against with 3 high danger and one medium danger goal against. It was not a strong performance so it’s a good thing it gets erased in less than a week. Look, Markstrom is on this team no matter what – the questions are dependent on how he performs. If he gets back to even an average level the Flames have a shot at the postseason for sure, if he plays like last year the team will have to look themselves in the mirror and make the hard choice.
Player Spotlight – Matt Coronato – Let’s get this straight – he’s on the team (duh) and he’s going to be a mainstay in the top 6 lines. They should probably already get him on the first powerplay unit as soon as possible too. He’s legitimate folks, we knew he had the shot but against NHL competition his motor just doesn’t quit. He pursues the puck better than even the Flames own Mangiapane, who I believe is one of the best open-ice forecheckers in the league. He displayed his IQ, his vision, and that lethal release all in one game. Go pick out a house Mr. Coronato – you aren’t going anywhere anytime soon.
The Goals –
Flashalytic’s 3 Stars –
1) Matt Coronato
2) Mikael Backlund
3) Adam Ruzicka
HM) Zadorov/Oesterle pairing
(Stats compiled from Naturalstattrick.com // Game Score from Hockeystatcards.com // xG and Under Pressure charts from HockeyViz.com // Game Flow and Shot Heatmap from NaturalStatTrick.com)
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