Pressure on Flames forwards to generate more offence

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Through two games in the Stanley Cup playoffs, the Calgary Flames find themselves in the most unfamiliar of territory: unable to score goals at even strength.

During the regular season, the Flames boasted the sixth-most goals per game (3.55) and five-on-five goals (197), and third-most shots per game (35.5). Their power play was also in the top 10.

But Calgary has just a single goal in the opening six periods of their series against the Dallas Stars, which came on the power play five minutes into the opening game. During the series, the Flames have a combined 35 shots on goal at five-on-five. Equally as concerning is where those shots are coming from. Heat maps show that most of the Flames shots are coming from outside the home plate area in front of the net. 

Flames players and staff have mentioned how well Dallas boxes out forwards in front of their net – a big reason Calgary has not been able to score at even strength yet.

“If I stand there beside you, are you gonna try and get around me or am I just gonna keep you there,” Flames head coach Darryl Sutter said on Friday. “That’s the difference. It’s not any different if you put skates on.”

When asked if it was a matter of will or tactical adjustment, Sutter said that it was a bit of both.

“You still have to have a shoot mindset,” he said. “You can’t try and pass through four guys.”

This series was billed as a matchup between the league’s most productive lines. Calgary’s Johnny Gaudreau, Matthew Tkachuk, and Elias Lindholm combined for 124 goals and 301 points during the regular season, while the Dallas line of Jason Robertson, Joe Pavelski, and Roope Hintz combined for 105 goals and 232 points. With last change and the ability to dictate matchups,