Flames keep playoff hopes alive with massive win over Wild
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In their biggest game of the season coming off their most disappointing loss, the Calgary Flames chased the Minnesota Wild’s starting netminder en route to a much-needed 4-2 win.
Calgary scored four times on Filip Gustavsson before the Wild pulled him in favour of veteran Marc-André Fleury, who got a rousing standing ovation from Flames fans given his impending retirement. Fourth liner Ryan Lomberg’s breakaway goal midway through the third period all but locked things up for the Flames and gave a raucous Saddledome crowd of nearly 19,000 even more reason to cheer.
“He two-pad stacked me at the end,” a beaming Lomberg said.
“I’m probably the last guy he did that on of his career, so that’s pretty cool.”
Friday's game meant so much to the playoff chances of both squads.
With the win, Calgary is now three points back of the Wild and St. Louis Blues, with a game in hand on both squads. Despite the stakes, Lomberg – a heart-and-soul leader for the overachieving Flames – found some time to crack a joke with the universally-respected veteran Fleury.
“I told him, ‘Nice save,’” Lomberg said.
“I grew up watching that guy win Stanley Cups, win gold medals. Just to be able to share the ice with him towards the end of the road for him is pretty special.”
Captain Mikael Backlund opened the scoring and credited the club’s resiliency for again propelling them to an improbable win.
“It’s been our recipe all year,” he said.
Backlund was also key in killing off a Minnesota five-on-three midway through the second period.
“No matter what, we find ways to come back in games or the next game [after a loss].”
Backlund complemented the team’s aggressive approach early. At one point, the Flames held the Wild without a shot for several minutes in the second period. They outshot Minnesota 26 to 13 through two periods and, until the waning minutes of the third period where the Wild scored two late goals, always looked in control.
“We were going for it right away,” Backlund said.
“We weren’t just sitting back. We were hungry to win the game… I like that we had a lot of energy.”
Head coach Ryan Huska commended Backlund and the penalty killers for their work in preventing the Wild from sneaking back into the game in the middle frame.
“That whole stretch of the penalty kill was huge for us,” he said.
Backlund ensured the Flames they can believe a little more on Friday night than they could have on Friday morning. Still three points out of the final wild-card spot, the odds are against them. Huska, Backlund, and goalie Dustin Wolf all stressed that they still need external help to extend their season – but with three games left, they are firmly in the playoff conversation. That’s a massive win for the team and organization, regardless of how the coming days unfold.
“We definitely helped ourselves tonight with a big win and put a lot of pressure on the two teams for tomorrow,” Backlund said.
“Of course you’re feeling a little better tonight than you did after that Anaheim game. But it’s the same mindset. We’ve got to enjoy this now. Tomorrow we come in. New day. Gotta win the next game.”
Lomberg has been critical to those efforts. Huska constantly includes him with the Flames’ group of seven leaders that includes Backlund, Nazem Kadri, Blake Coleman, MacKenzie Weegar, Rasmus Andersson, and Jonathan Huberdeau.
“It only matters if we keep it going,” he said of the win.
“But it’s important for our group to be in these meaningful games this time of the year and to find a way to win them. Tonight was probably one of our best, most-complete games. That says a lot about our group… we have the confidence in each other to keep going.”