Calgary Flames

Elliott's streak snapped as Flames fall to Capitals in Washington
March 22, 2017, 12:06 PM ET [37 Comments]
Todd Cordell
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Winning in Washington is a tall order at the best of times.

Winning in Washington without one of your best players and several guys playing above their regular slot is even tougher.

That's what the Calgary Flames unsuccessfully attempted to do last night as they fell, 4-2, at the hands of the league's top-seeded team.

A few notes on the game:

1) Sam Bennett took Matthew Tkachuk's spot on the 3M and they didn't really miss a beat. Despite playing a good chunk of their 5v5 minutes against the Alex Ovechkin line/Matt Niskanen pairing, the Flames won the shot-attempt battle by double digits and had a handful more scoring chances with that trio on the ice. Mikael Backlund and Michael Frolik were good as always but Bennett really seemed to have some extra pep in his step. They didn't get on the scoresheet but still played very well, which kind of summarizes how Bennett's year has gone. Even when he's been on, the results haven't really followed.

2) Brian Elliott's 11-game winning streak reached its end last night but not at the fault of his own. He was peppered with shots and made a plethora of quality saves while keeping the Flames in the game for 57 minutes. Though he allowed four goals, he still posted .900 save percentage or better for the 11th straight game. If he can give the Flames even average goaltending consistently, and he has done a lot more than that of late, they'll have a legitimate shot against anyone.

3) One issue I have with the Flames, a team I think has the potential to go deep into the playoffs, is a lack of depth, which hasn't really shown through due to how healthy they've been.



Just one injury (or suspension) completely throws off their entire roster. They moved Bennett up to fill Tkachuk's spot in the top-6, which led to Matt Stajan centering the 3rd line, which led to a 4th line featuring Lance Bouma, Curtis Lazar, and Freddie Hamilton. Shockingly, it didn't work as the Flames were out-chanced 5-1 with that trio on the ice and they were on for a goal against despite playing limited minutes.

Stajan has done a nice job of keeping the 4th line above water this season but with him playing up in the lineup they can really be exposed, especially against deep teams like Washington.

I know injuries throw off any team but the bottom few pieces on the Flames' roster really aren't capable of stepping up for even a short period of time. The top guys best stay healthy.

4) Speaking of depth issues, I'm about ready to give up on the Deryk Engelland - Matt Bartkowski pairing. Every night they spend most of their shifts chasing play in the defensive zone and neither guy has the talent to make meaningful contributions offensively, although Engelland did make an awesome play setting up Troy Brouwer last night.



I'd like to see Rasmus Andersson, who I've always been sky-high on, get into a couple games down the stretch. He has been solid in Stockton this season and could help move the needle on the bottom-pairing. There is no harm in giving him a look as he couldn't really make things worse.

If he's good, he can stay and plug one of the few holes remaining on the team. If he's OK, he can jump in and out of the lineup and continue learning while practicing with NHLers. If he really struggles, well, you know to send him back to Stockton for some more seasoning.

At least if they give him a chance they know what they'll get and if they can rely on him for some minutes should anyone struggle and/or get injured down the stretch and in the playoffs.