When the going gets toughest, there Dan Vladar is, backstopping the Calgary Flames.
Such is Vladar’s lot in life this season.
All five times this season the Flames have played back-to-backs, it’s the 27-year-old Czechia product who has been tapped to play in the second game, including Tuesday in St. Louis.
He’s won only one of them.
Tuesday wasn’t one of them.
Making his task even tougher on this start was the fact it was his team’s third game in four nights.
With tired legs, and in a city in which the Flames have had very little success in recent history, the evening ended predictably: with Vladar playing well, and the team losing 2-1 to the Blues.
Once again, the loss wasn’t on him, as the team’s inability to score cost the club.
Beaten on a sharp-angle roof job and a deft redirect that finished top shelf, Vladar’s 23 saves gave the club a chance in a tight game.
But you certainly get the feeling things are about to change in the Flames crease.
Both the coach and the GM have been on record recently saying they’d like to end the platooning and give one of the team’s goalies a lengthy run between the pipes.
That goalie won’t be Vladar.
As good as he’s been this year in some tough spots, his 6-9-5 record pales in comparison to the man who has positioned himself perfectly to remain in the spotlight moving forward.
Prior to Tuesday’s loss, Dustin Wolf had backstopped the Flames to three straight wins and had started four in a row.
That trend is about to continue.
It has to, as the Flames would be foolish not to start leaning a little heavier on the rookie sensation, who is 15-6-2 and an early frontrunner to be a Calder finalist.
The team just seems to play better in front of him, incentivizing the club to test just how reliable Wolf can be with tougher assignments.
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The team’s playoff run depends on it.
No more alternating starts: Expect Wolf in net Thursday for the second straight game in St. Louis, and Saturday in Winnipeg.
Some takeaways from Game 2 of a four-game roadie:
Bahlin’
Kevin Bahl had good reason to give his stick a little twirl after tying the game six minutes into the third period.
The Flames’ towering defensive revelation had walked in from the blue line with a fake slapper to freeze Jordan Binnington, before reloading with a snapper that beat Team Canada’s goalie short side.
It was just the second goal of the season for the man acquired in the Jacob Markstrom trade, whose job description doesn’t necessarily include regular snipes.
A rangy, defensive sort who has paired seamlessly with Rasmus Andersson on the top duo this season, Bahl is significantly better at keeping the puck out of the net, as opposed to generating offence.
However, his goal came at a big time for a Flames team looking for goals anywhere they can get them.
For those keeping track at home, that’s a two-game point streak for the 24-year-old Bahl, who has 14 on the year.
Backlund falters
In a tight game that saw Colton Parayko open the scoring in the opening minute, Bahl’s response gave the Flames hope of nabbing at least a point.
Those hopes were dashed with nine minutes remaining, when a rare Mikael Backlund turnover just outside his own blue line led to Radek Faksa’s game winner.
A rare miscue from the captain, whose defensive play has long been beyond reproach.
He slapped his stick several times in frustration after the play.
Kerins’ hero reaches out
One night after Rory Kerins had two assists in the first period of his NHL debut, the AHL call-up said he received a text from his childhood idol, Sean Monahan.
“Sean’s always been my favourite player since I was probably eight years old,” Kerins told Ryan Leslie on the Sportsnet broadcast.
“My dad always told me to watch him and how he plays. I always kept tabs on him and he always kept in touch with me as well, which was really nice of him.
“He told me, ‘Easy league’ and that he was proud of me.
“I know the league’s not that easy. But it was awesome to hear from him. Really cool.”
The lines
The Flames iced the same lineup as they did in Monday’s win in Chicago.
Huberdeau-Kadri-Pospisil
Coleman-Backlund-Coronato
Kerins-Sharangovich-Pelletier
Lomberg-Rooney-Duehr
Bahl-Andersson
Hanley-Weegar
Bean-Pachal
Vladar
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