On a night that saw former general manager and head Coach Darryl Sutter return to his old stomping grounds, The Calgary Flames dropped their final game of a four game home stand to the Los Angeles Kings by a 4-1 margin. With the loss Calgary drops their first game on Saddledome ice since December 1st, putting and end to an impressive eight game win streak in front of the home crowd.

PHOTO CREDIT - CalgaryFlames.com

Calgary - January 15, 2012 - On a night that saw former general manager and head Coach Darryl Sutter return to his old stomping grounds, The Calgary Flames dropped their final game of a four game home stand to the Los Angeles Kings by a 4-1 margin. With the loss Calgary drops their first game on Saddledome ice since December 1st, putting and end to an impressive eight game win streak in front of the home crowd.

Calgary managed to outwork and out chance the opposition in the first period as they combined to outshoot the Kings by an 11-6 total. Ultimately both teams were held off of the score sheet after twenty minutes of play as each goaltender held strong in net for their respective clubs. One individual in particular struggled immensely to capitalize on his chances as Mikael Backlund failed to find the back of the net after having multiple opportunities in close. A fortuitous bounce for the visitors saw center Mike Richards convert on a breakaway after a clear out attempt took a funny bounce over the stick of Mark Giordano just twenty seven seconds into the second period.

That goal initiated a three goal outburst for the Kings that included tallies from defensemen Matt Greene and star forward Anze Kopitar as they jumped ahead of the reeling Flames by a trio of goals by the midway mark of the contest. Mike Cammalleri made an instant impact in his return as a Calgary Flame when he scored his 10th goal of the season on the power play to bring the home club to within two heading into the second intermission. It was nice to see “squid” produce so early in his return to Calgary, especially seeing him convert on the power play in which he is at his best. In his first stint with the club, Cammalleri recorded an impressive nineteen goals while on the man advantage and will be looked upon to reproduce those results this season as the Flames have struggled immensely in that regard.

A system in which most Flames fans probably recognized was seemingly utilized to perfection in the third period as Darryl Sutter had his Kings playing a physical defensive brand of hockey that halted any hopes of a late game rally. Goaltender Jonathan Quick showcased exactly why he was invited to this month’s all star game in Ottawa, as he stopped 29 of the 30 shots fired his way on the evening. This loss definitely stings as the Kings now increase their lead on the Flames to five points in the western conference. Calgary will now get ready to embark on a critical three game road trip that will see them get an opportunity for revenge as they play San Jose, Los Angeles and Edmonton. Due to the all star weekend later this month, Calgary will get an opportunity to rest their injured bodies as they are only scheduled to play five games in the next eighteen days.

1. Jonathan Quick
2. Mike Richards
3. Anze Kopitar