Three takeaways as Flames win ugly against Sabres

The standings say the Calgary Flames are three points back of a playoff spot. 

That’s not necessarily something anyone who watched their 7-4 win over the Buffalo Sabres (11-14-4) on Monday night probably would have guessed.

The Flames (12-15-4) themselves weren’t bad, really. There were too many penalties, Dustin Wolf won’t be thrilled to have allowed four goals on 29 shots and their defensive details weren’t locked-in if we’re being real about the whole thing, but on the other hand, scoring seven is obviously a good thing for a Flames squad that’s struggled all season to fill the net.

But it just wasn’t a good hockey game. Stop-and-start, lots of whistles, a generally disjointed feel from the opening faceoff to the final buzzer.

“You’ve gotta win that way sometimes and earlier on, we weren’t winning that way,” said Flames head coach Ryan Huska. “You find a way, whether it’s the timely goals we scored tonight (or something else), you have to give the players credit for that. I just don’t feel like we checked hard enough or were fast enough.”
To the Flames’ credit, they’ve now won three games in a row for the second time this season and are 7-2-1 in their last 10 games. They’re legitimately on a bit of a roll, and while Monday’s game might have been ugly, the two points count just the same.

There’s a long way to go before anyone is confidently calling the Flames a playoff contender, but they’re taking steps towards respectability.

Here’s three takeaways from Monday’s game:

1. GETTING BETTER

For most of the season’s opening seven or eight weeks, Yegor Sharangovich wasn’t finding ways to impact games.
He was a healthy scratch on multiple occasions and didn’t seem to have a role on the roster.

After opening the scoring on Saturday against the Utah Mammoth, Sharangovich did the same against the Sabres and also recorded an assist and added a second goal into the empty net.

Suddenly he’s got six goals this season, with three coming in the last two games.

There’s a comfort that seems to be growing alongside Nazem Kadri and Joel Farabee and a bit more commitment in the hard areas of the ice.

“I feel like the last two or three weeks he’s been a good player for us,” Huska said. “Since he’s been put on that line, I think he’s feeling or understanding that if he goes to certain areas he’s going to touch the puck more. He’s really committed to being a harder player on walls and in beatles and all those different areas.”
Sharangovich’s opener wasn’t pretty, by any means. A MacKenzie Weegar shot deflected off his body and past Sabres goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, who was pulled after two periods.

It might have been ugly, but like his goal against the Mammoth, it came from him getting in front of the net. That’s where he needs to be.

“Nice shot by Weegsy, almost killed me but …” Sharangovich joked. “This year, most goals I have are front of the net. When you’re going hard to the net, good things happen.”

2. CHEMISTRY BUILDING

The Farabee-Kadri-Sharangovich line is starting to click.

In addition to Sharangovich’s three points against the Sabres, Kadri pitched in with a goal and two assists and Farabee added a helper of his own.

Kadri’s lamp-lighter was legitimately pretty, too.

“I do think that line has some chemistry now,” Huska said. “Even the goal that Naz scored, that was a beautiful play and we haven’t seen a tonne of those this year, it was nice to see them connect on one that looked like that.”

Kadri’s now got 26 points in 31 games and has quietly snuck into the top-50 in scoring around the NHL. He’s been especially hot recently, with eight points in the Flames’ last six games.

“It’s funny, because a lot of times you feel like you’re doing the right things and you just can’t catch a break,” Kadri said. “But we’ve stayed consistent and we’re starting to get some puck-luck, as well, which is great to see. It’s very relieving for scorers, it’s always nice.”

3. A NICE BONUS

“Just pure offensive instincts.”
That’s how Yan Kuznetsov described his second goal of the season, although it should be noted that he had a big smile on his face when he said it.

The first-year blueliner went to the net hard and did well to get his stick on the puck for his second period game-winner. It wasn’t pretty – we’ve said that a few times this column – but he did well to recognize an opportunity to storm the net and it was a big goal.

Nobody is expecting Kuznetsov to score many, he’s more of the stay-at-home type, but he had another solid showing on Monday and continues to make the most of his shot in the NHL.

“Yeah, (scoring) is definitely a bonus,” Kuznetsov said. “I have things that I have to do and if I can chip on top of it, not instead of it, it’s a good bonus, for sure.”

daustin@postmedia.com

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