Sam Bennett and Matt Stajan scored and David Rittich was steady between the pipes to lead the Calgary Flames to a 2-1 victory over the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa on Friday. Here are a few thoughts from the game.
RITTICH REALLY GOOD AGAIN
When Mike Smith went down with a lower-body injury on Feb. 11, Rittich went from being Robin to Batman. After struggling in four of his first five starts following Smith’s injury, Rittich returned to form in Wednesday’s 5-1 win in Buffalo, stopping 25 of 26 Sabres shots. The 25-year-old rookie was even better in Ottawa on Friday, turning aside 29 of 30 Senators shots.
In his last two starts, the only goals Rittich has given up came on a seeing-eye shot off of Casey Nelson’s stick with less than 18 seconds left in the third period on Wednesday and on a Jean-Gabriel Pageau penalty shot just before the 13-minute mark of the third period on Friday.
After participating in the team’s optional practice on Tuesday and in full morning skates on Wednesday and Friday in addition to skating on his own on Thursday, Mike Smith could return to the Flames’ net as soon as Sunday, when they’ll host the Islanders at Scotiabank Saddledome. If Smith isn’t quite ready to return, the Flames should still be a confident team in front of Rittich, who my broadcast partner Peter Loubardias named the First Star in Friday’s win.
MATTY ICE
Only six games away from 1,000 in his NHL career, Stajan is playing some inspired hockey. While some fans would like to see the Flames deploy a younger player in Stajan’s spot on the fourth line, the 34-year-old centre is making it impossible for Glen Gulutzan to take him out of the lineup. Stajan, who is extremely well-respected inside the Flames dressing room, is leading by example by leaving everything on the ice. In my opinion, the fourth line of Troy Brouwer, Curtis Lazar and Stajan was as effective during the Flames’ three-game road trip to Pittsburgh, Buffalo and Ottawa as it has been all season.
On Friday, the line’s hard work paid-off. Leading 1-0 in the third period, the Flames doubled their lead when Johnny Gaudreau sprung Lazar, who raced down the right side and made a perfect pass to Stajan, who made a beeline to the Senators net and redirected the puck past Mike Condon, scoring what would turn out to be the game-winning goal. Offensively, Stajan has come to life in the second half of the season. After recording only two points (one goal, one assist) in the first 40 games, Stajan has produced eight points (three goals, five assists) in the last 19 games.
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GREAT GETAWAY
Before the Flames left Calgary, I said they needed to return home with at least four of a possible six points on the road trip. After falling 4-3 in overtime in a game that they could have won versus the two-time defending Stanley Cup Champion Penguins on Monday, the Flames took care of business by beating two teams that won’t be playing spring hockey this season — the 30th-overall Sabres and the 29th-overall Senators.
While the Sabres didn’t put up much of a fight on Wednesday, the Senators certainly did on Friday, but the Flames found a way to win, playing a good road game for about 53 minutes before taking their foot off the gas in the final seven, which Gulutzan addressed with his team after the game.
With the win, the Flames are now only one point behind the Kings for the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference. They’re also only two points back of the Ducks for third place in the Pacific and three behind the Sharks for second in the division. The Flames will start a three-game homestand on Sunday, when they’ll host a struggling Islanders squad that has lost eight straight games.
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