16 Stats: Tanking pour Bedard, montée subite de Juuse Saros, chance de tir de Seattle
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vonnierotten
@Flames de Calgary
16 Stats: Tanking pour Bedard, montée subite de Juuse Saros, chance de tir de Seattle
—
vonnierotten
1 Comment
Flames section:
The other part of the reason the West playoff race is so spicy is because the other presumed favorite, the Calgary Flames, have been a middling mess all season. With all the talent on the team, it’s a bit shocking that they currently sit at 19-4-9 on the season, but things should turn around in the second half. Better goaltending, growing chemistry and a softer schedule should all be factors that help the Flames cause. It certainly doesn’t hurt that over the last month, Calgary has a 58 percent expected-goals rate at five-on-five, the third-best mark in the league. This is still a good team.
A lot will depend on their offense waking up with Jonathan Huberdeau and Andrew Mangiapane specifically coming to mind.
Huberdeau is one of the most gifted offensive talents in the league and I’d happily bet on him scoring above a 59-point pace going forward. The same goes for Mangiapane who over the prior four seasons scored 1.2 goals per 60 at five-on-five off of 0.9 expected goals per 60 with a 16 percent shooting percentage. This year he’s getting more chances, but finishing a little below expected. He also has just one measly power-play assist in 81 minutes after scoring eight goals and 11 points in 146 minutes last season. Look for a second-half bounce-back on both fronts.