The Calgary Flames (30-24-10) couldn’t hold off a defiant Vancouver Canucks team, who rallied in the third period and got two goals in the shootout to prevail in a tightly contested game at the Saddledome on Wednesday night, 4-3.
The win propells the Canucks (71 points) into a tie with the Flames (71 points) for the second wildcard spot in the Western Conference.
Every game is a must-win moving forward, so what are some takeaways regarding tonight’s deflating loss?
During the first two seasons of Jonathan Huberdeau‘s tenure with the Flames, the fanbase had a love/hate relationship with the star player. No one was sure that Calgary would see the 115-point player he was with the Florida Panthers.
However, all season long, Huberdeau has had big moments for the Flames, scoring game-opening and winning goals. He’s been their goal or point leader for most of the campaign, and in one of the year’s biggest contests, he scored two goals, one shorthanded and one on power play.
On national TV, in a crucial game, Huberdeau led the Flames to a 3-1 lead, doing everything he could to get those two points in the standings.
Even though the home team lost in the shootout, with Huberdeau failing to score on his attempt, he proved earlier in the contest that he was up to leading Calgary down the stretch towards a potential playoff spot.
Dustin Wolf finished his night with 28 saves on 31 shots, stopping two of four shots in the shootout. As a top candidate for the Calder Trophy, he must have wondered how the Flames could have blown a two-goal lead and found themselves on the wrong end of a one-goal game (again).
According to NHL.com game statistics, the Cauncks blocked 24 shots on Wednesday, which means the Flames didn’t go enough to get pucks through to Kevin Lankinen, who finished with 20 saves. Meanwhile, Calgary did half the job, finishing with 11 blocked shots.
Overall, the Flames scored more than their usual 2.56 goals a game, but were not strong enough to prevent a team from scoring three in regulation and another pair in the shootout.
Ultimately, they didn’t need to rely on Wolf to steal the show. They needed to play as a unit in the final 20 minutes to get two points, again failing their goalie, who worked hard to keep things close.
Let’s set the stage. Vancouver comes into the Saddledome, one point behind the Flames with one less game left on their schedule. They arrive late at night, having lost to the Montreal Canadiens 24 hours prior.
At first glance, it appeared the Canucks would be easy pickings on Wednesday night, instead they turned into a trap game for the Flames.
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Usually, a team enters the second night of a back-to-back sluggish out of the gate and sometimes never regains its footing as the game progresses.
However, Vancouver continued to press and got better as the game continued. They were outshot 19-12 after two periods, but found a new gear in the third, dominating the Flames 17-4 in shots, plus 1-0 on the scoreboard.
Calgary had their chances in the first two periods and it was their only moment to bury the Canucks, which they failed to do. Riding all the momentum into overtime, Vancouver registered the only two shots of the extra period, before their shooters found spots and won the game in a shootout.
Ultimately, the Flames had the opportunities but failed to take advantage of them, leading to a crushing defeat at the hands of a rival team now tied for a playoff spot.
