Flames penalty kill has continued to be elite in 2023-24
The Calgary Flames have plenty of things to improve upon after their first six games of the season, but their penalty kill isn’t one of them.
The Flames have found themselves shorthanded 22 times this season yet have given up just one power-play goal against thus far. That gives them a miraculous 95.5% success rate on the kill so far, which is good enough for second in the league alongside two great teams in the Colorado Avalanche and Boston Bruins.
As impressive as the Flames have been on the kill in the early going, it isn’t new for this group. Despite their struggles last season, the Flames’ one major strength was their penalty kill, as they had the third-best unit in the entire league with a success rate of 83.6%. The only teams that ranked above them made the playoffs with ease were the Bruins and Dallas Stars.
What’s hurting the Flames, however, is their even-strength play. Their 19 goals against at 5v5 play is the worst in the league. They have only managed 10 goals at 5v5, giving them an ugly goal differential of -9 in that regard. It will need to be cleaned up moving forward if they hope to succeed this season.
To little surprise, the most valuable member of the Flames penalty kill early into 2023-24 has been Chris Tanev. The 33-year-old continues to be outstanding in that area of the game, averaging a ridiculous 3:55 minutes per contest when down a man so far this season.
MacKenzie Weegar, Mikael Backlund, Elias Lindholm, Noah Hanifin, Rasmus Anderson, and Blake Coleman have also played big parts in the early success of the Flames penalty kill.Ā Yegor Sharangovich, who was recently able to score his first of the season after a slow start offensively, has also contributed in that area, averaging over two minutes per game on the penalty kill early on.
Through their six games this season, the Flames have amassed a mediocre 2-3-1 record. It isn’t what fans had hoped to see in the early going, but if they can improve on their even-strength play moving forward, wins should pile up. Their first opportunity to straighten things out in that regard will come tonight in a game at 7:45 pm MT versus the New York Rangers.
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