Connect with us

Calgary Flames

Calgary Flames News & Rumors: Giordano, Brodie, Tkachuk, Mangiapane & Backlund

The Calgary Flames lost a tough one, now what’s up with the team? What news is emerging?

Point one: the Calgary Flames were coming off a big 5-2 win over the Boston Bruins on Tuesday night.

Point two: the Flames have been the NHL’s best road team since Nov. 23, winning 15 of their last 20 games.

Point three: The Flames got captain Mark Giordano back into the lineup in Nashville after he missed 10 games with a hamstring injury.

Still, it didn’t matter. Last night in Nashville against the Predators, they gave up a lead and lost in overtime by a score of 4-3.

As the team waits to play the Tampa Bay Lightning in a Saturday afternoon game, in this post I want to help Flames fans stay up to date on what news and rumors are emerging from the team.

Related: Calgary Flames News & Rumors: Davidson, Tkachuk, Gaudreau, Backlund & Talbot

Item One: Mark Giordano Returns to the Lineup As If He’d Never Left

Mark Giordano returned to the lineup in his usual role, playing in the top defensive pairing with T.J. Brodie and firing shots on net. Giordano had missed 10 games with a hamstring injury, but you wouldn’t have known it against the Predators. He fired two shots on goal, two blocked shots, had a hit, and skated for 21:34 minutes of ice time against the Predators.

The 36-year-old Giordano now has 27 points in 55 games this season. However, now that the team has brought in the offensive-minded Erik Gustafsson from the Chicago Blackhawks at the trade deadline, the Flames captain will probably see less time on the power play over the final stretch of the season.

Item Two: T.J. Brodie’s Offense Has Slowed Down

T.J Brodie has had lots of ice time, but he’s barely producing any offense at all. He’s only had two assists in his last 11 games. Brodie filled in admirably while Giordano was injured, even averaging over 22 minutes of ice time per game (he averaged under 20 minutes prior to Giordano’s injury.

Still, Brodie’s only points were two assists that were both scored in a Feb. 13 win over the Anaheim Ducks. The veteran defenseman has had a tough season with both medical issues and a lack of scoring. He only has tallied 16 points in 59 games. In fact, he’s not even shooting much on net – having only 58 shots (which is less than a shot a game).

Item Three: Matthew Tkachuk Continues His Strong February

Matthew Tkachuk had an assist in the team’s overtime loss to the Predators. Not that it helped the team on this particular night – well, except to gather a single point; but, Tkachuk has had a strong February with five goals and nine assists in his last 13 games. In fact, there have only been two games where he hasn’t had either a goal or an assist.

Tkachuk is only 22-years-old, but it seems as if he’s been around much longer. He has scored 21 goals and 34 assists (55 points) in 64 games.

Item Four: Andrew Mangiapane Is on a Point-a-Game Pace

Nine games isn’t a season, but Andrew Mangiapane has had five goals and four assists in his past nine games. He’s been hot. Mangiapane scored what looked to be the game-winning goal against the Predators – until Mikael Granlund scored two goals in a row, one to tie the game and the next to win it in overtime.

That goal marked his 28th point for the season. Part of his success is that he’s found good chemistry with Mikael Backlund and Tkachuk. The three of these players have handled the bulk of the Flames scoring.

Related: The Calgary Flames Add Forbort and Gustafsson

Item Five: Mikael Backlund Scores Three Points

Mikael Backlund started the season slowly, but he’s picked up his scoring pace over the last little while. He scored a goal and also had two assists against the Predators. In fact, he was in on all his team’s goals. He’s had a really strong February with nine goals and nine assists in his last 13 games. For the season, he’s up to 15 goals and 26 assists for the season.

What’s Next with the Flames?

The Flames play a tough back-to-back on Saturday against the Tampa Bay Lightning and on Sunday against the Florida Panthers. It will be tough to escape that trip with two wins – but the Toronto Maple Leafs just did it, so the quest isn’t impossible.

We’ll see where the team sits by early next week.

Click to comment

Leave a Reply

More News

Discover more from NHL Trade Talk

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading