Smarter Not Harder

That's more like it!

The Flames burned the Ducks last night, no doubt engendering a collective sigh of relief from their fans.

Big hits, opportunistic scoring, solid defense. That's the team we know and love.

While the temptation is to herald an increased work ethic, I think last night's win was more about playing smarter than harder. I was never under the impression that the Flames weren't trying a whole lot in the first two contests; in fact, I think they worked their asses off. Unfortunately, when you spin your wheels in the mud, putting the pedal to the medal doesn't get you very far.

No, I think this win was more about coaching and focus. Sutter obviously made some adjustments: the powerplay, in particular, went under the knife and became a new creature altogether:

Gone was the "shoot and skate hard" entry strategy.
Gone was the "blast from the point" scoring plan.

Instead, Sutter instilled his PP unit(s) with an almost gentle patience - wait stoically at the Duck's blueline for an opening in order to skate the puck into the zone. With the o-zone safely penetrated, set-up the attack around the newly crowned PP quarterback, Kristian Huselius. Next, Huselius would dip and dangle, scanning the ice so he could thread a pass or risk a shot. Things were never rushed, often in control. The result was 3 (nearly 4) powerplay goals.

Clearly Sutter recognized that Carlyle and company had decided to focus on Dion and the point shot in their penalty kill. In response, Sutter shifted the Flame's focus to the side-boards and Huselius' puck control. This obviously opened up the potential for more scoring chances down low, especially with Anaheim cheating towards the point...

...and guess what?! It worked! One could almost imagine Darryl eagerly dry-washing his hands on the bench, muttering, "it's all going according to plan..."

Of course, that wasn't the extent of Sutter's alterations:

Amonte played on the first line a lot (not sure if that accomplished anything), the veteran blueliners played more than the rookie and Simon and Lundmark drew into the line-up. After his GWG assist, Im hoping Simon will remain a fixture in the roster. As for the Dion, I think it's probably a wise move to ease him into his first play-offs...I assume he'll get better as the series goes along and he becomes less the "nervous kid". Im lukewarm on whether the Amonte move should stay or go.

As for the players themselves, they seemed to settle down and focus on playing "Calgary hockey". It was a much smarter game, defense-wise, than the prior 4-3 loss to be sure. I'm not certain if the Ducks managed to pry even a single odd-man rush from the Flames last night (as compared to the half dozen they got on Sunday). So why the turn-around? I think the combination of "needing a win" (+) more ice for the vets (+) playing pressureless in front of the Duck's crowd helped in that regard.

Another not-insignificant point to consider is that the Flames pretty much schooled the Ducks despite many of their top players having a "just okay" game. Iginla was fairly quiet all evening. Dion Phaneuf played for only 15 minutes. Kiprusoff let in 2 shots from the point! And yet, Calgary managed to pot 5 en route to a 3 goal margin in the victory.

This, Flames fans, is probably the most encouraging part of all.

Positives:

- Take a 2-1 series lead.

- Kristian Huselius. Has already collected 5 points in 3 games. Easily the most dangerous Flame in the offensive zone.

- Rhett Warrener. See video.

- Chris Simon. Gets back into the line-up and makes a great play to set-up Kobasew for the GWG.

- Powerplay. Goes 3 for 7 on the night. the difference maker.

- Darren McCarty. Scores his second goal of the series and then later blocks a Duck shot with his FACE.

Negatives:

- Penalty-kill. Allows two goals after being perfect in the first 2 games.

- Undisciplined. Have to cut down on the penalties. Ducks have already had 4 5on3 advantages in this series.

- Tony Amonte. Moved up to the first line and looked rather confused. muffed a 2on1 by shooting lamely into the side of the net.

Next up - Game 4!