‘Must win game’ is a phrase that is used far too often. But with only 9 games remaining in the season, sitting tied with the Kings with 86 points, and on their last night of a 5-game home stand before heading on the road for 5, this one was pretty close to justifying the moniker. And it had the feel of a must win game, with both teams looking tight at the start. But it eventually turned into a typical Dallas-Calgary game with plenty of goals, some bizarre sequences, and a few hits that will still be felt in the morning. In the end it went to a shoot-out – justifiably so – and the team that was just a little bit more desperate managed to leave with the 2 points. 4-3 Stars, despite the Flames outshooting them and, as usual, never giving up.
The Flow
If the Flames were hoping to get off to a quick start, they failed. After six and a half minutes, shots were 1-1, there were 9 whistles, and the Flames had iced the puck 5 times. Then, to keep things rolling, Granlund got 4 minutes for high-sticking. However, the Flames did a great job on the PK, with solid efforts from Bouma, Backlund and Colborne, to name a few. They didn’t get their 2nd shot on net until the 16 minute mark. But they did change the flow and started to get some good chances late in the period. Monahan had a good look, and Backlund rang one off the post. Then a soft call against Bouma gave Dallas a PP for the remainder of the period. Again, the PK was excellent, leaving it scoreless after one. Shots were 13-6 Dallas.
If the 1st started poorly, the 2nd started terribly. Just a minute in, Hemsky entered the zone and beat Ramo with a wrist shot. Then they had a couple more good chances on the next shift, culminating in the Flames’ 9th icing of the game. They settled things down though, and then got their first PP. A minute into it, a neutral zone trip gave them a 5 on 3. But despite solid pressure and some good shots, Lehtonen held them at bay. Shortly afterward, the Stars got their 4th PP of the game and Spezza, after a nice move, hit Benn in front for an easy tap in. Two nothing Stars and not looking good. But never count the Flames out. The top line entered the zone on a 3 on 2. Gaudreau passed it to Hudler who gave it back to Gaudreau and he beat Lehtonen 5-hole. That woke the Flames up. After several chances and some good shifts, including one in particular from Raymond, a great fore-check from Jooris, Bouma and Backlund led to Engelland scoring his 1st of the year to tie the game. The Flames were suddenly flying and had all the momentum until, with just seconds left in the period, the Stars got a 2 on 1 and Hemsky buried his 2nd of the night to give the Stars the lead heading into the final frame. Shots were 15-9 for the Flames.
The third didn’t start a whole lot better, but give credit to Dallas for that. They did a great job of clogging the neutral zone and giving the Flames little space to maneuver. For about 10 minutes, the Flames were unable to get much momentum and only generated a couple of shots. But all it takes is one shift. Raymond got it back to Engelland at the point and, with Granlund and Colborne screening, he beat Lehtonen with a 60 ft wrister for his second of the night. That gave the Flames life and they pressed hard for the go-ahead goal. They got a PP and generated several chances but couldn’t beat Lehtonen. Then with about 2 and a half minutes left, Colborne hit Hemsky high into the glass and put Dallas on the PP. But the Flames PK was strong again. Time ticked down slowly and the Stars managed another shot from the slot with one second left, but it was tipped high and the game went to OT. Shots in the third were 12-7 in favour of the Flames.
OT was sloppy and both teams had shifts with offensive pressure, but neither team could make that one crisp pass that would tee up the winner. Shots were just 1-1, though it seemed like each team had more than that. With nothing decided in OT, it was off to the shoot-out.
Colborne started things off with his patented stick handling, but the puck bounced off his stick. Seguin beat Ramo with a wrist shot to the glove side. Gaudreau was next but he too was unable to finish his move. Ramo stopped Benn, leaving Monahan to keep the game alive. However, Lehtonen stopped him for the win. 4-3 Stars in a shoot-out. In a rather bizarre stat, Dallas was 0-3 in the SO at home this year, but now 4-0 on the road.
Three Stars
1.Deryk Engelland: Played 22 minutes, had 4 shots and 2 blocked shots, was +2 (only player on either team), played physical, was involved in the offense, had a chance in front in OT, oh, and scored his 1st and 2nd goals as a Flame.
2.Kari Lehtonen: Every time the Flames gained momentum and looked to take the lead, Lehtonen stoned them. He turned aside 31 of 34 shots, including 5 on a 3rd period PP, and was perfect in the SO.
3.Ales Hemsky: Had a couple goals.
Big Save
After Engelland tied it, the Flames got a PP and put 5 shots on Lehtonen, including one point blank from Gaudreau and a rebound from right in front off the stick of Colborne. But Lehtonen stood tall and despite some great pressure, the Flames were unable to get that elusive go-ahead goal.
The Goat
The hockey gods. The Flames are tired. After months of battling hard every night, they are simply spent. And what do they get for their efforts? Every game it seems that they run into one of the hottest teams in the league. Columbus? Winners of 7 straight on the road. Colorado? 7-2-1 in their last 10. Dallas? 8-2-0 in their last 10. Every night has been a battle against a team on a roll, and it really is starting to look like it’s catching up to the Flames. And of course, next up is the Wild..
Mr. Clutch
Jolly old Engelland. He tied it up in the 2nd with his first goal as a Flame, then tied it up again in the 3rd when the Flames looked listless and ineffective.
Odds and Ends
With the point, the Flames move 1 pt ahead of LA, though the Kings have a game in hand. They also move within 1 pt of the Jets, just in case that 8th and final wild card spot becomes a necessity… Gaudreau extended his lead in the rookie scoring race to 2, with his 21st goal of the season. He now has 14 pts (6G, 8A) in his last 12 games. Monahan had an assist to extend his point string to 4. He has 12G, 10A, 22P in his last 19 games and 31 points in his last 31 games… Hudler also has a 4-game point streak. He has 8G and 10A for 18P in his last 12 games… The Flames finished this 5 game home stand with a 2-1-2 record. They now have 6 of their 8 remaining games on the road. So far, they are 7-2-3 in the month of March… Despite going 9-2-0 in their last 11 games, Dallas remains 6 points behind the Jets for the final playoff spot with only 8 games left on the schedule. If the Stars remain hot, it is possible that there could be 10 teams with at least 96 points this year – out of only 14 teams in the conference. It is also possible that there could be 12 teams with at least 90 points. Way to go, everybody except Edmonton and Arizona!… In an interesting example of how some of the stats that are tracked in a game can be subjective and even arbitrary, NHL.com had takeaways after the first period at 5-1 in favour of the Flames. However, on the Stars TV coverage, they had them at 10-5 for the Flames. So whoever was recording them for the Dallas broadcast saw 2 and a half times as many takeaways as the Calgary correspondent did! How is that even possible?…
Next Up
They start a gruelling 5-game road trip Friday night with a stop in Minnesota to play the red hot Wild. Game time is 6PM on Sportsnet.
Lines:
Lance Bouma – Mikael Backlund – David Jones
Johnny Gaudreau – Sean Monahan – Jiri Hudler
Joe Colborne – Marcus Granlund – Josh Jooris
Mason Raymond – Matt Stajan – Brandon Bollig
TJ Brodie – Deryk Engelland
Kris Russell – Dennis Wideman
David Schlemko – Rapha Diaz
Karri Ramo
