Calgary Flames 5 - Florida Panthers 1

Complete Stats

Scoring

1st: CGY 4:36- PPG Andersson (Gaudreau/Tkachuk), CGY 11:36- Coleman (Mangiapane/Backlund)

2nd: FLA 12:36- Bennett (Marchment/Verhaeghe), CGY 16:03- PPG Monahan (Gaudreau)

3rd: CGY 3:47- Tkachuk (Lindholm/Gaudreau), CGY 6:43- Monahan (Gaudreau/Tkachuk)

Well, whatever Darryl Sutter did to this Flames team after their embarrassing 4-1 loss to the lowly Ottawa Senators worked as they hammered the best team in the NHL last night in the Florida Panthers by the score of 5-1.

The last time these two met the Panthers outclassed the Flames by a score of 6-2 and with how well Florida had been playing lately (25 goals for in a four game winning streak) it didn’t look like this was going to be easy, but it was.

The Flames were fast and engaged from the get go and never let up. They never surrendered a lead all night long and were relentless in their checking game and puck possession in the Florida end. The last time these two teams combined for over 80 shots, but tonight the Flames were efficient with their shooting and were able to take advantage of Florida miscues with a 2-3 night on the PP.

Fans and the media alike have been asking the Flames for other people to step up and score and that happened tonight. Rasmus Andersson (1), Sean Monahan (2) and Blake Coleman (1) each found the back of the net, giving everyone hope the Flames can beat a strong team from the East when Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk don’t do all the scoring (more on them later).

This was the kind of game the Flames needed after getting crushed by Florida, Tampa and Carolina during their last road trip and losing to a bottom feeder like Ottawa.

Highlights

Rasmus Andersson opens the scoring

Sean Monahan with a nice redirect

Final Thoughts

-Well we asked for someone to please step up and help Gaudreau and Tkachuk and that happened tonight, but boy were those two brilliant. The Flames two best offensive weapons combined for a 7 point night (1 goal, 6 assists) and had 9 SOG between the two of them. You literally can’t ask them for anything more and they were just at their best tonight.

-Speaking of being good, the Flames bottom defensive pairing earned some redemption in this one. Erik Gudbranson had been playing effectively, but his partner in Nikita Zadorov had not. Both were on their A Game tonight and made solid plays and didn’t do anything that was a negative while helping Calgary secure a big win against a powerhouse team.

-Jacob Markstrom looked like he was back to his old self, stopping 28 of the 29 shots that came his way on the evening. Yes, he got lucky with a few posts, but he made some very nice saves early on that allowed the Flames to build on their lead and not look back.

-Sean Monahan had a two goal game last night and looked the most engaged he’s been all season. Is this the start of Monahan getting back to his old self? Who knows, but a little offence from him certainly isn’t going to bother anyone on the Flames...even if it’s just upping his potential trade value.

Flame Of The Game

Photo by Gerry Thomas/NHLI via Getty Images

Johnny Gaudreau: 4 assists, 6 shots on goal, 1:22 PP TOI

What’s Next?

11/22: Calgary Flames @ Edmonton Oilers 8 PM MT