The Flames take it to Vancouver 4-1

The Flames headed into Vancouver in desperate need of two points. The first period featured some pretty open hockey. Both teams showcased their speed, but there were few scoring opportunities. Josh Jooris started a break and dropped a nice pass to Michael Ferland. Ferland let one fly, but the elusive goal continued to haunt him. Ladislav Smid took a knee to head in the middle portion of the 1st and missed a few shifts, but returned. Ferland provided the main highlight of the period by dropping the gloves with Luca Sbisa and handed out an absolute beat down.

The second period carried the same pace until the Backlund/Frolik/Bennett line fired it up. Backlund started the break and fed TJ Brodie who laid out a gorgeous pass to Michael Frolik who finally got the monkey off his back giving the Flames a 1-0 lead. Matt Stajan took a hit along the boards and limped off the ice to the dressing room. He tried to gut it out, but he only lasted one shift before heading off the ice. Jonas Hiller held the fort for the period and the Flames headed to the 3rd up 1-0.

With a 1-0 lead going into the 3rd, the Flames had to feel confident. They are 14-1-1 when leading after 2. Matt Stajan, who left in the second period returned. The Flames didn’t have much going until Micheal Ferland hit the post. He then batted the puck down and Jones tapped it into the net. No goal. The Flames next best scoring chance came when Jiri Hudler missed a pass and kept digging on the forecheck. Huds kept the puck in the zone and fed Monahan right on the tape for the 2-1 lead. Miller somehow stopped Monahan on his second goal attempt. Not long after Mikael Backlund fought for a loose puck and tucked in an empty netter to give the Flames a 3-0 lead. Emerson Etem buried one past Hiller late in the third for Vancouver, but it didn’t matter. The Canucks celebration was short lived as Sam Bennett slipped down the left side and fired in another empty netter to give the Flames a 4-1 lead, which they held onto.

The Flames grabbed an all important 2 points within the division and kept their playoff hopes alive for another day. Jonas Hiller performed admirably in between the pipes, stopping 34 of 35 shots.

Flame of the Game:

Mikael Backlund

Backlund was all over the faceoffs, got an assist and a goal. No one has skated harder than Backlund over the last 2 nights.

Honorable Mentions:

Johnny Gaudreau, Jonas Hiller.

by Mark Parkinson