Solid road game for the Flames.
They scored early, and then really never took their collective feet off the gas as they ran the show on the Predators in a 6-3 victory for the Flames in Nashville.
The win, the Flames third in a row, moves the team to within a point of the final playoff spot in the West (games in hand ignored for now).
The road trip moves to Philly for an afternoon game on Saturday.
The Flames were equal parts effective road execution and holding on for dear life in tonight’s 3-1 victory in Minnesota over the Wild.
Jacob Markstrom was the best player on the ice, as the Flames gave up 14 of the first 15 shots in the third period, but managed to steer a 2-1 lead home with an empty net goal by Blake Coleman.
The Flames have now won two in a row and move back to the .500 mark on the season.
They still have a tough road to get back into things, but you can’t win eight in a row without winning two!
The Flames last two games at the Saddledome have had a very similar feel, with remarkably different finishes.
On December 27th they take a 1-1 tie to the third period against the Seattle Kraken and lose the game despite out playing their visitors.
Tonight the same score, but the teams score five third period goals with the Flames outlasting the Flyers 4-3 on New Year’s Eve.
The Flames head out on the road for a four game slog starting Tuesday night in Minnesota.
The time is now for a streak if they want to get back into the playoff mix.
Territorially this was a win by all accounts.
Well not by all accounts, as the key one, the scoreboard went the other way for the Flames, losing a 2-1 game to the Kraken on home ice coming out of the Xmas break.
The Flames were certainly the better team in the second half of the game, but just couldn’t find that go ahead goal in a 1-1 tie.
The Kraken did, and the Flames despite pushing just couldn’t get it equalled.
Tough loss against a winnable opponent.
The Flames just didn’t have it tonight.
They were outplayed five on five throughout the game, and only made it close with a lack of King’s discipline in the last half of the game.
The two game roadie ends with a 1-1 split after tonight’s 5-3 loss in LA, sending the Flames to the Christmas break short of their goal to be .500.
The Flames now sit 11th in the West in win percentage and have a lot of work to do when the puck drops in a few days.
