Instant Reaction: Flames triumph over Islanders in matinee

First period shots were 10-4 Islanders. Via Natural Stat Trick, 5v5 scoring chances were 12-1 Islanders and high-danger scoring chances were 7-0 Islanders.

The Flames added to their lead in the second period.

3:04 into the second frame, Adam Klapka deflected a Kevin Bahl point shot into the Islanders net at the end of a nice cycle play in the offensive zone. That made it 2-0 Flames.

The fourth line was hemmed into the own end for a little while, but they executed a nice breakout play off an Islanders turnover. That allowed Ryan Lomberg to set up Justin Kirkland, and Kirkland fired the puck past Rittich to give the Flames a 3-0 edge.

Later still, the Flames entered the Islanders zone off the rush. They passed it to Yan Kuznetsov at the left point, and his shot picked the top corner past Rittich to give the Flames a 4-0 advantage.

The Islanders answered back, though, with Jean-Pierre Pageau taking advantage of some time and space in the Flames’ zone and picking the corner over Wolf’s shoulder to cut the lead to 4-1. The puck actually got stuck in the back of the net, so nobody on the ice was really sure what had happened until one of the officials found the puck lodged in the net and then called for a review that confirmed the goal.

Second period shots were 9-7 Islanders.

The Flames seemed pretty content to roll their lines and run the clock in the third period.

The Islanders pulled Rittich for the extra attacker with 8:04 remaining – you do you, Patrick Roy – and tried to press to whittle down the Flames’ lead. Anders Lee fired one that just trickled over Wolf’s pad with 2:56 left to cut the Flames’ lead to 4-2.

But that’s as close as they got. The Islanders got a late power play and had a brief six-on-four advantage but the Flames held on for a 4-2 victory.

Third period shots were 11-8 Islanders.

Why the Flames won

The Flames were merely okay in the first period, and looked a bit overwhelmed by the Islanders at times. But give them credit: they were really strong in the second and took advantage of a few lapses by the Islanders to score key goals at key times.

This was the precise type of game the Flames needed to have coming off a 2-3-0 road trip: they largely kept it at five-on-five, rolled their lines, and generally looked pretty good after their slow start.

Red Warrior

We’re gonna be sentimental fools and give it to Rasmus Andersson. He played a ton and he was really energized.

Honourable mention to Kevin Bahl, who was all over this game in positive ways.

Turning point

The Flames were nursing a 2-0 lead in the second period, then they got insurance goals from Kirkland and Kuznetsov 1:59 apart. That gave the Islanders a big climb to get back into the game.

This and that

The Flames made a few roster moves on Saturday in advance of the game: Zayne Parekh was assigned to the Wranglers on a conditioning loan, William Stromgren was sent to the Wranglers on a regular loan, while Matvei Gridin was called up in his stead. Gridin played on the second line in this game, which bumped Adam Klapka to the fourth line and Dryden Hunt to the press box.

After Burner

Join Cami Kepke and Robert Munnich right after the game for After Burner!

Up next

The Flames (21-23-4) are back in action on Monday night when they host the New Jersey Devils.