Flames Visual Recap 58: Markstrom nabs ninth shutout of the season with 3–0 victory over Red Wings

Playing into their seventh game in 12 days, the Calgary Flames hosted the Detroit Red Wings. The last time these two teams met was all the way back in October, where the game resulted in Calgary’s first win the of 2021–22 season. The two teams are facing very different scenarios with their seasons, as the Flames are continuing to push for the first seed in the Pacific Division while the Red wings are well out of the playoffs.

The Flames saw Oliver Kylington sidelined with a day-to-day lower body injury, in which Michael Stone slotted in for him. Jacob Markstrom got the start, suggesting it might be Daniel Vladar tomorrow versus the Colorado Avalanche.

First period

The first period was a sight to behold. The Flames peppered Thomas Greiss with 19 shots while holding the Red Wings to just a single shot. Markstrom was not busy in the opening period whatsoever. For the Flames, they got up to an early 1–0 lead thanks to a power play marker from Elias Lindholm.

It’d be goal number 30 for Lindholm, marking a new career-high for the forward, and making him the first Flames player to reach 30 goals this year. He did it almost entirely by himself. Entering the zone, he seemingly parted the Red Wings and got a quick shot off that beat Greiss cleanly.

By period’s end, the Flames were essentially unlucky to be only up by a goal, they could have easily led by much more.

Second period

In the second period, most would expect the Red Wings to push back after a lacklustre start, but the Flames refused to let up. They held Detroit to just four shots in the middle frame to total five shots after forty minutes of play. Calgary however, put up 12 more shots of their own to hold a 31–5 edge.

Despite the onslaught, the Flames weren’t able to get another goal past Greiss in the period, and he was a big reason the Red Wings were never truly out of the game, keeping them one shot away from tying it up.

Third period

As mentioned, despite total dominance over the Red Wings, the Flames were heading into the third period with just a 1–0 lead. That would soon change however, as just before the midway mark of the final period, the Flames found themselves on the power play. A quick pass from Matthew Tkachuk to Tyler Toffoli waiting on the doorstep led to the Flames’ second power play goal of the game.

With under four minutes to go, the Flames got extra insurance thanks to a hard-to-the-net goal by Blake Coleman. He was setup on a one-timer from Chris Tanev but wasn’t able to get a clean shot off thanks to Joe Veleno playing the role of defender. Coleman end up in the net himself and so too did the puck. After a coach’s challenge and another review to see if the puck crossed the goal line, the call on the ice stood and the Flames were up by 3–0.

All that was left to do was secure the shutout for Markstrom. The ensuing power play awarded to Calgary for Detroit’s delay of game made it easier to fend off the pressing Red Wings, however they did pull Greiss for the extra attacker nonetheless. Ultimately they weren’t able to solve Markstrom, who ended up picking up his ninth shutout of the season, one away from tying the Flames’ franchise record and restoring the gap between himself and Ilya Sorokin back to three.

The Flames pick up a great win at home after putting up an absolute clinic. Check out the data visualisations from the game below!