Comeback Calgarians remain in playoff hunt thanks to gutsy victories

One of the biggest goals for the Calgary Flames this season was scored by a player who missed 19 games because of injury.

With less than three minutes remaining in their Sunday night tilt versus the Anaheim Ducks, Nazem Kadri won an offensive zone faceoff and kicked the puck back to Michael Stone, who wired a slapshot off the post and in to give the Flames a 5-4 lead it would not relinquish. The group remains two points out of the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference. 

“It’s good,” Stone said of how he was feeling after the game. “The boys did a good job in the faceoff circle, [Nick Ritchie] coming in to help out Naz, and then I had a little bit of time to wind up.”

Calgary also got some much-earned puck luck.

“I think all five goals today were snipes,” Milan Lucic said. “What did we have, three or four posts-and-in today after what, 80+ posts and out? Good to see some bounces go our way.”

Lucic scored the tying goal off the rush, setting up Stone’s game winner.

“We just stuck with it,” he said. “We didn’t get frustrated…I thought in the third period, we went out there with the focus to win the game. It was a good team effort.”

As with many Flames victories, Sunday evening was far from a masterpiece. 

Jacob Markstrom was pulled after allowing two goals on nine shots, and at times in the first two periods Calgary lacked bite and engagement. Still, like their Friday night comeback against the Vancouver Canucks, the Flames ultimately got enough timely saves and that one extra goal to eek out the win. 

“Wasn’t pretty, but found a way,” head coach Darryl Sutter said, while referencing that the team had less energy on Sunday compared to Friday.

“We definitely didn’t play very well in the first two periods, but came together as a group and found a way to win,” Tyler Toffoli said.

“That’s all that matters this time of year.”

Sutter juggled his lines partway through the game, promoting rookie Walker Duehr to play alongside Jonathan Huberdeau and Mikael Backlund, while moving Blake Coleman and Andrew Mangiapane down to the fourth line. 

“Just trying to get a little more jump there,” Sutter said of the reason he moved things around.

In the span of a week, the Flames have managed to reverse narratives that have led to them fighting for their playoff lives late in the season. They have won four games in a row for the first time all season. Three of those have been one-goal games, the bane of their existence since October. And after going 70-some games without a victory when trailing after two periods, they now have done that in consecutive games.

Coleman said on Monday that the team was in a good place mentally. Lucic agreed that the group has turned a corner. 

“Just because of the situation we’re in, every game is a do-or-die or feels like a Game 7,” Lucic said.

“Everyone knows right now there’s no time for frustration or negative energy. It’s just going out there and playing the way that we can…the mindset is just simplifying it and winning shifts and winning periods.”

Calgary now has points in nine of their last 11 games, setting up a playoff race few saw coming a month ago. They host Chicago on Tuesday before a crucial trip to Winnipeg on Wednesday evening.