Calgary Flames’ Penalty Kill Needs Major Improvement
Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
The Calgary Flames’ three game win streak came to an end on Thursday night after a 5-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Calgary battled with the Lightning most of the night, only being outshot 33-31, but couldn’t quite finish on Ben Bishop. The Flames also gave up their first shorthanded goal of 2014-15, which might not seem too bad given that the Flames have played 15 games this season. But the penalty kill has been less than stellar and needs major improvement.
Calgary’s penalty kill is effective 75 percent of the time, good enough for 26th in the NHL. When your going into a game against a Lightning team that is in the top five for power play effectiveness, you’d better hope your penalty kill shows up. This was not the case for the Flames, giving up multiple shorthanded chances, including a couple breakaways, ultimately resulting in the first shorthanded goal against of the season. No matter how good your goalie is, you can’t rely on him to bail you out every time. Jonas Hiller has been exceptional this season, but it was only a matter of time before he would be unable to steal a game for the Flames on his own.
The most effective way to improve your penalty kill is to not take penalties. Calgary prides themselves on being a hard working, fast skating team. Being in the midst of a five game road trip, fatigue is going to be a factor, but that doesn’t excuse you from working hard. The Flames need to keep moving their feet and taking the body like they have done for the majority of the season. Against a speedy team like the Lightning, something had to give, and on Thursday, Calgary found themselves in the penalty box a little too often.
Another special teams note: the ability for Calgary’s defensemen to join the rush and provide offense in the offensive zone, especially on the power play, is now a known trait thanks to the early success of Mark Giordano and TJ Brodie. Head coach Bob Hartley needs to not only improve his penalty kill, but continue to develop the power play and keep opposing teams guessing. NHL teams can pick up on patterns within a game and adjust. Hartley needs to make sure his power play isn’t becoming overly predictable.
Shaun Lavery is a Calgary Flames writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter, or add him to your network on Google.
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