Calgary Flames eliminated in first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs
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The dream is over Flames fans.
The 2018-19 season came to an abrupt end after the Calgary Flames fell to the Colorado Avalanche 5-1 in Game 5 on Friday.
After an outstanding regular season, the Flames could not pull it together in the post-season and were outmatched, outplayed, and outscored by a composed Colorado Avalanche squad.
See also
- Facing elimination, Flames need more from Gaudreau and Monahan
- Flames on brink of elimination after blowing late lead in OT loss
- Avalanche torch the Flames in Game 3 blowout loss
In Game 5, it was once again the Avalanche’s top line of Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, and Gabriel Landeskog that buried Calgary.
Perfect pass for the PPG!#GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/d0oPAIrWoV
— x- Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) April 20, 2019
The Flames’ inability to slow down MacKinnon proved to be one of the biggest factors of their downfall.
Nathan MacKinnon has 2 assists for the @Avalanche tonight. Over the last 30 seasons, he's tied with Alex Ovechkin for the 4th most points by a player through their first 18 career playoff games (23)
— StatsCentre (@StatsCentre) April 20, 2019
He tallied three assists in Game 5 and finished the series with a total of 8 points.
Following the loss, Calgary’s glaring historical numbers start to get ugly.
First off, this becomes yet another marker in the franchise’s continued struggles in the playoffs over the last two decades.
Calgary Flames have now been eliminated in the first round in 12 of their last 14 trips to the #stanleycup playoffs
— Rob Williams (@RobTheHockeyGuy) April 20, 2019
It also marks the seventh straight time the Flames have blown home ice advantage in a series.
Tonight's Gm5 loss marks 7 straight times since winning the 1989 Stanley Cup Final that the #Flames as a franchise have lost a series in which they owned the home ice “advantage”
— StatsCentre (@StatsCentre) April 20, 2019
This also marks the first time in NHL history that the two top seeds in either conference have lost in the first round – the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Tampa Bay Lightning were swept by the Columbus Blue Jackets.
For the 1st time since the NHL expanded into separate divisions (then later conferences) in 1967-68, the two #1 seeds have both been eliminated in the same year's opening round
— StatsCentre (@StatsCentre) April 20, 2019
With the loss, this becomes the sixth straight series that the Flames have lost as the higher seed.
One of the biggest factors of the Flames downfall in this series was the inability to slow down superstar Nathan MacKinnon.
Nathan MacKinnon has 2 assists for the @Avalanche tonight. Over the last 30 seasons, he's tied with Alex Ovechkin for the 4th most points by a player through their first 18 career playoff games (23)
— StatsCentre (@StatsCentre) April 20, 2019
He tallied three assists in Game 5 and finished the series with a total of three goals and five assists.
Flames forward Johnny Gaudreau struggled all series, but had a particularly tough go in Game 5, missing a penalty shot and had a goal overturned.
A dejected Gaudreau told media after the game,”It sits with you for the rest of the playoffs … it’s going to be a long couple of months.” Gaudreau, who had 99 points in the regular season, only mustered one assist over the five games.
Another notable omission from the series was offseason acquisition James Neal. After signing a five-year, $28.75-million contract with the Flames in free agency, Neal was a healthy scratch Game 5 and a non-factor in the playoffs.
The one thing that Flames fans can hang on to is the way Mike Smith played in net. He turned aside a remarkable 188 saves over the course of the series, making a multitude of highlight reel stops, and earning a spot in franchise history.
Even though his team lost in a 5-game series, Mike Smith faced a heavy workload in admirable fashion as he stopped 188 of 205 shots (.917 save %) to rank 4th on this @NHLFlames playoff list pic.twitter.com/HIL5TtLdu3
— StatsCentre (@StatsCentre) April 20, 2019
If there’s any silver lining, this team is young, talented and hungry. You can bet they will be back next year.
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