The Calgary Flames padded their lead atop Pacific Division with incredible comeback victory before travelling to Minnesota, St. Louis and Dallas.
ONE MINUTE AND 43 SECONDS TO REMEMBER
Despite outshooting, out-chancing and outplaying the Flyers, the Flames found themselves behind by two goals with less than two minutes to play in Wednesday’s game. With their goaltender on the bench and an extra attacker on the ice, the Flames made it a one-goal game with one minute and eight seconds remaining in regulation time when Rasmus Andersson fired a rocket past Anthony Stolarz for his first-career NHL goal.
Following the 5-4 goal, Bill Peters briefly put David Rittich back in net before pulling his goaltender again and setting the stage for Sean Monahan, who scored his second goal of the game and team-leading 20th of the season with just seven seconds left in the third period to tie the game at five.
The Flames completed the comeback 35 seconds into overtime on a goal by Johnny Gaudreau, who scored his NHL co-leading third OT winner of the season.
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In 2014-15, the “Find-A-Way Flames” came from behind 10 times in the regular season and three times in the post-season when behind following 40 minutes, and on two occasions, overcame two-goal deficits by scoring twice with their goaltender on the bench and an extra attacker on the ice. As incredible and improbable as some of those finishes were, none, at least not in my opinion, were as exciting as Wednesday’s, thanks in large part to the crowd – I can’t remember the last time the “C of Red” was that loud.
Per NHL Public Relations, it was the just 28th time in NHL history that a team won a game in which it trailed by multiple goals in the final two minutes of regulation and the third time in franchise history that the Flames had accomplished the feat, tying the Penguins for most all-time.
The win was also the Flames’ league-leading seventh of the season when trailing going into the third period. In addition to being deeper and more talented they’ve been in more than a decade, the Flames truly believe that they’re never out of a game, a confidence that continues to build with each and every comeback.
MONEY HANDS
Since selecting him sixth overall in the 2013 NHL Draft, Monahan has been money in the bank for the Flames. While Monahan looked like a safe bet to reach the 20 goals again in his sixth season, I’m not sure how many people would have put money on him getting there in just 32 games, especially after having surgery on his wrist, hip and both groins at the end of what was an injury-shortened 2017-18 season. In addition to being healthy again, Monahan has better linemates and teammates than ever before.
Johnny Gaudreau, Monahan’s left-winger for the last five seasons, keeps getting better and better. As good as Monahan is at finding open ice in the offensive zone, Gaudreau is equally as good at finding Monahan in the right place at the right time. Gaudreau, one of the NHL’s best passers, and Monahan, one of the league’s best shooters, especially from the slot, continue to be one of the sport’s most dynamic duos.
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What has made the Flames’ first line even more dangerous this season is the addition of Elias Lindholm, who interestingly, was selected by the Hurricanes one spot ahead of Monahan in ’13. As good as Jiri Hudler was in 2014-15, when as Monahan’s right-winger, he led the league in even-strength points and won the Lady Byng Trophy, Lindholm is a much better two-way player. By being better without the puck, the team’s first line has spent more time with it, which means less time in the defensive zone and more time in the offensive zone and that equals less goals against and more goals for when they’re on the ice.
Tied for sixth in the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy race with 20 goals going into Friday’s games, Monahan is off to a great start offensively. Currently, the Flames’ top pivot is on pace to score 51 goals, which would shatter his career-high of 31. Defensively, he’s looked a lot more comfortable going head-to-head with some of the league’s elite centremen such as the Ducks’ Ryan Getzlaf, the Kings’ Anze Kopitar, and most recently, the Oilers’ Connor McDavid and the Flyers’ Claude Giroux.
SECOND-BEST START
Sitting 10 games above .500 with a 20-10-2 record, the Flames went into the weekend three points ahead of the second-place Sharks and Ducks in the Pacific Division, one point behind the Central Division-leading Predators in the Western Conference and tied for fourth overall in the National Hockey League’s overall standings. The team’s 20 wins in the first 32 games are second-most in franchise history – only the 1988-89 Flames, who went on to win the Stanley Cup, had more wins in the first 32 games, going 22-5-5 to start the season.
FLAMES INFIRMARY
There’s finally some good news on the injury front for the Flames. Early in the first period of Wednesday’s game, Mike Smith looked uncomfortable after getting bumped in a goal-mouth scramble. Smith managed to fight through the discomfort for two periods but was unable to return to the Flames’ net to start the third. Fortunately for the goaltender and the team, Smith’s injury isn’t serious. After a day off on Thursday, the 35-year-old wasn’t ready to return to practice on Friday and won’t dress for Saturday’s game against the Wild (Jon Gillies, recalled from the Stockton Heat on Friday morning, will serve as David Rittich’s backup), but barring a setback, he is expected to play in either Sunday’s battle with the Blues or in Tuesday’s showdown with the Stars.
In addition, Mikael Backlund, who has missed the last three games with an upper-body injury, returned to practice for the first time on Friday and will travel with the team to Minnesota. While Backlund isn’t expected to play on Saturday (he was skating on the fourth defence pairing with Dalton Prout at practice on Friday), the Flames’ second-line centre could play as soon as Sunday or Tuesday.
As far as the other injured Flames are concerned, versatile Michael Frolik, who has missed the last 11 games with a lower-body injury, appears to be the closest to returning as he’s been skating on his own this week. There is still no timeline for defencemen Michael Stone (blood clot) and Juuso Valimaki (lower body).
CAPTAINS CLASH
Things got a little heated the last time the Flames faced the Wild. Despite winning the game, Calgary lost two important players in the 2-0 triumph. Flames captain Mark Giordano was given a two-minute penalty for tripping Mikko Koivu by the referees and then a two-game suspension for kneeing the Wild captain by the NHL’s Department of Player Safety. After missing the last three games, Koivu is expected to return to the lineup for Saturday afternoon’s showdown between the Flames and the Wild in Minnesota.
The Flames also lost Backlund, who hasn’t played since being steamrolled by Matt Dumba with less than a minute remaining in last Thursday’s chippy contest.
The Wild are a team that hasn’t been afraid to take liberties with other teams’ top players, including the Flames’ Gaudreau. In a game between the two teams on Nov. 16, 2016, Gaudreau was slashed 20-plus times by Wild players before his finger was shattered on a slash by Ryan Suter. Gaudreau had surgery to repair the fractured finger and missed 10 games. Suter was not penalized or suspended.
There has been a lot of bad blood between the Flames and the Wild in recent years, so Saturday’s matinee matchup at 11:30 a.m. MT on Sportsnet West and Sportsnet 960 The FAN should be a good one.
SINGING THE BLUES
To say the Blues have been a disappointment this season would be an understatement. After participating in the Stanley Cup playoffs in each of the previous six seasons, St. Louis missed qualifying for post-season play by a single point in 2017-18. With off-season the additions of Ryan O’Reilly, David Perron and Patrick Maroon to an already talented core, the Blues looked like a team that should at least compete for a playoff spot in 2018-19. But with a 11-14-4 record and 26 points in their first 29 games this season, the Blues are all but out of the playoff race in December.
If not for what they’re doing on the ice, Doug Armstrong’s team will be an interesting one to watch off the ice. The names of a number of Blues players, including their captain, stud defenceman Alex Pietrangelo, and talented young blueliner Colton Parayko, have been regularly popping up in trade rumours. If the Blues decide to re-tool or re-build, they could be the biggest player approaching the NHL’s trade deadline on Feb. 25.
The Blues beat the Flames 5-3 at Enterprise Center in Game 1 of the three-game season series on Oct. 11. Sunday’s game, which can be seen on SNW or heard on SN960, starts at 1 p.m. MT.
