The Calgary Flames came into Vancouver on Saturday needing a good showing to build some confidence and needing two points to stay in the thick of the Western Conference playoff race. Mission accomplished. The Flames dug in and battled for three periods en route to an impressive 6-2 win over the Pacific-leading Canucks to kick off a four game road trip.

The Canucks got on the board first, and early. Like, first shot in the first minute of the game, early. Tanner Pearson took a feed from Quinn Hughes and his shot from the high slot found its way through traffic and made it 1-0 Canucks.

But the Flames responded back a few minutes later off a superb shift from the third line. Milan Lucic found Derek Ryan at the top of the circles and his shot beat Jacob Markstrom just inside the post to make it 1-1.

The Flames took a lead a little later, as Matthew Tkachuk took a pass from Johnny Gaudreau and drove the net. His initial shot was stopped but he crashed the net and his skate hit Markstrom’s pad, which nudged the puck over the line. It was reviewed and counted – it wasn’t a kicking motion! – and made it 2-1 Flames.

But a weird bounce tied things up. A rim-around attempt caught a seam in the boards and shot out right to Adam Gaudette in the slot. He beat a shocked David Rittich to make it 2-2.

Shots were 12-9 Canucks and scoring chances 8-7 Canucks in the first period.

The Flames came out with some fire early and got the lead back. Off a nice cycle, Dillon Dube’s wrist shot (with Ryan screening) beat Markstrom inside the far post to make it 3-2 Flames.

Shots were 12-7 Flames and scoring chances 10-5 Flames in the second period.

The Flames poured it on in the third period. Milan Lucic made it 4-2 on the power play when he redirected a shot from Mikael Backlund.

A little later, Sean Monahan took a cross-ice feed from Gaudreau and beat Markstrom five-hole to make it 5-2.

Tobias Rieder added an empty-netter to make it 6-2.

Shots were 11-8 Flames and scoring chances 7-5 Canucks in the third period.

They were the better team for the duration of this game, bringing battle, execution and desperation in equal measure. Moreover, they found a higher gear in the second period – beating Vancouver 6-1 in high danger chances – and took over the game completely.

To be blunt? This is the team we all thought we’d be watching this season based on how they looked in 2018-19. Thanks for finally joining us in 2019-20, gentlemen.

The entire third line was huge, but let’s go with Dube. He had a three point game and was engaged and battling as much as any of his veteran teammates.

Also, stick tap to the defensive group. They played down a man for much of the game, but they managed to play a structured, composed game.

The Flames gave up a goal off a bad bounce late in the first period. They got their lead back early in the second period and never looked back.

Data via Natural Stat Trick. Percentage stats are 5v5.

Tkachuk fought J.T. Miller in the first period. It was fine.

Travis Hamonic was hurt early in the second period off a hit from J.T. Miller. He came back for a late second period shift but left for good after that.

The Flames have 62 points. A 95 point playoff pace through 56 games prorates to 64.9 points, so they’re 2.9 points off a likely playoff pace with 26 games to go.

The Flames (28-22-6) continue on their road trip. They jet to the Bay Area, where they’ll face the San Jose Sharks on Monday night.