Flames lose crucial game against Canucks in shootout: 'it was three points lost, not one'

It was three points lost, not one, according to Calgary Flames veteran blueliner MacKenzie Weegar. 

The stalwart defenceman, who played a team-high 27:10 and had two assists in the team’s 4-3 shootout loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday evening at the Saddledome, was in no mood for moral victories – despite his team being firmly in the playoff conversation with fewer than 20 games left in the regular season.

Weegar, Nazem Kadri, and Jonathan Huberdeau, all of whom were exceptional in front of a near-sellout crowd, had little interest in talking about the point they earned versus a Vancouver team on the second half of a back-to-back.

The focus was on the points they didn’t earn. 

“That’s a three-point loss there, not a one,” Weegar said.

Huberdeau felt similarly.

“At the end of the day, we didn’t get the two points,” Huberdeau said.

“It sucks … we got a point, but at the end of the day against these guys, you’ve got to get two points.”

Kadri played one of his best games of the season and was engaged shift after shift. He scored, had an assist, and was constantly a threat. 

“It was definitely tight-checking, just like we assumed it would be,” he said.

Huberdeau rued the Flames’ inability to close out the Canucks. Calgary had the lead going into the third period, but couldn’t find that insurance marker. Vancouver outshot the Flames 17-4 in the final frame and star forward Elias Pettersson scored the tying goal late. 

“They got a fortunate bounce, but at the end of the day, we had chances,” Huberdeau said.

“It would have been nice to have gotten that fourth one to give us the two-goal lead.”

Flames head coach Ryan Huska was happy with the club’s first two periods.

“We got away from the game in the third period,” he said.

“Everything in the third period the last two games is like, one guy is kind of going and nobody’s going with them. It’s all about giving the puck to [the opposition] and you have no support in your attempt to get it back," Huska said. 

"When we put pucks in [the opposing zone] in the third period the last couple of games, we’re not stalling them, not impeding their progress back up the ice and, to me, it’s because [we have] one guy only. No waves coming at teams. I just feel that we quit skating and we weren’t as connected as we needed to be in the third period.”

While the Flames ultimately got a point in the standings, the bigger concern may be the status of captain Mikael Backlund. The longtime Flame left after just a handful of shifts and did not return. Huska only said that it was an upper-body injury and didn’t have any update. 

While Huberdeau and Kadri have continued to drive the offence, Backlund may be the team’s most important forward. He plays all situations, was matched against Pettersson, and is a defensive force when the Flames have the lead. They surely could have used him late in the third period at the Saddledome on Wednesday.

“He’s the guy that I lean on in all situations, whether there’s a top line on the ice, Mikael’s the guy that’s out there a lot of times,” Huska said.

“A big faceoff late in games, he’s the guy that we go to. Hopefully he’s back in the lineup for us Friday against the Colorado Avalanche … if he doesn’t happen to be, somebody else needs to raise their level and find a way to pick up the slack that he usually brings.”

Huberdeau and Kadri, who may be even more important to the club should their captain miss time during the playoff chase, echoed the coach. Backlund’s presence is vital to the Flames defying the hockey world and making the postseason. 

“He’s that security blanket,” Kadri said.

“Swiss army knife. Can do a little bit of everything … if Backs can’t go, something was clearly bothering him.”

Huberdeau regretted the team not winning for their leader.

“It would’ve been nice to get the win for him,” Huberdeau said.

“He’s a guy that works the hardest I know. Hopefully, it’s not too bad.”