Flames 4, Predators 3 post-game embers: Power win

That was both a completely typical Flames game, and an extraordinary win.

The Flames haven’t been able to say it much this season, but their special teams won them the game, and it was so satisfying.

First: they went two-for-three on the powerplay, their one failure not scoring twice during a two-minute five-on-three. Those powerplay goals came not too long after the Predators had taken the lead, and without those goals, it would have been easy to see this game spiralling out of control for the Flames.

It was so easy to see them failing to do anything with their chances: exiting the first period with a minute of powerplay time left, sure; squandering a full five-on-three, absolutely. And yet they came through. This isn’t the first time Matthew Tkachuk has scored a powerplay goal in the final minute of a period this season. And on the second one, well… let’s just say there was a good reason it’s been so widely clamoured for Dougie Hamilton to get first unit time.

The Flames really only bothered to play their first unit and it paid off in spades. No matter who else gets healthy and returns to the lineup, this is the unit that has to stay together. It consists of the Flames’ three best forwards and two best defencemen – it’s absurd that it’s taken this long to figure this out.

The Flames have scored multiple powerplay goals in six games this season, now. They have won five of those six games. Turns out it’s important.

Also important: killing off five penalties. Say what you will about the calls made (I still cannot figure out where Hamilton ever actually went wrong), but they were made, and the Flames had a duty to kill them off. Mark Giordano and Travis Hamonic played seven minutes each, while Mikael Backlund and Michael Frolik were 30 and 60 seconds shy, respectively. And when they weren’t up to the task, someone else was.

Small sample size. It’s been 11 games, nine starts. Very, very small sample size. But David Rittich is effectively the starter while Mike Smith is day-to-day, he just started back-to-back games for the first time in his NHL career and he, uh, crushed it.

Rittich gave up three goals on 32 shots, which makes for a not-very-flattering .906 save percentage, one of his worst to date, but the Flames do not win that game without him in net. Maybe they win it with Smith in net, but only one of the two was available, and the one who was got things done, especially during a heart-pounding end to the game, barely clinging to a one-goal lead and being forced to kill off their fifth powerplay in the dying minutes. The Flames, try as they might, could not get themselves set up for an empty net goal; Rittich made sure nothing went in his net, either.

Is he perfect? No. But this is what the Flames are getting out of an undrafted rookie. If they’re lucky, this is only the beginning. At absolute worst, they plucked up their most capable NHL backup in quite some time, and it cost them nothing to do it.

What a testament to scouting. What a find.

Johnny Gaudreau is consistently double shifted when there’s a need for it; Tkachuk gets to join him in that group now. And it has been beyond earned: Tkachuk is very fast turning into one of the premier players on this team. He’s seven points away from his rookie season total now, in 20 fewer games. He’s the third Flame to hit 40 points, just waiting for Micheal Ferland (35) and Backlund (34) to catch up.

Tkachuk has, like, resting smug face – and whether intentional or not, it’s earned. Part of the reason he has a “face you want to punch”, as his father put it, is probably because he’s just so good. It’d be one thing to be a pure pest who could easily be put in his place by dangling around and getting benched, but it’s something else entirely that he can not only draw penalties through body position and mind games, but that he can score, as well. At what is very apparently becoming an elite level.

Tkachuk is the opposite scale from Rittich: highly touted, high draft pick. Turns out it might just take both to win. Sean Monahan is in the Tkachuk camp; Gaudreau is closer to the Rittich one. Hamilton is in the Tkachuk camp; Giordano, the Rittich one. There’s more than one way to acquire a great player, and the Flames, when they’re able to put it all together, are great proof of that.

The Flames’ third line has had its problems. Sam Bennett and Mark Jankowski should be the two mainstays on it, but even their offence has sputtered, start-stop, start-stop. They’re in a “start” mode now, which is ideal; the more lines that are scoring, the better. The only regret is that they should be scoring more – but maybe rounding out their line with a consistently middle-high tier player would do the trick. In the meantime, enjoying their success while it’s ongoing.

And then there’s Curtis “deadass scored his second goal of the season on a hell of a shot” Lazar. He’s joined Matt Stajan in that regard. It’s so nice to see things come together, even if only for a moment. It suggests there could be more – as long as things keep moving in the right direction, which is far from a guarantee.

From top to bottom and all across the board in special teams, the Flames came together to take down one of the top teams in the NHL in regulation. It isn’t the first time they’ve done it this season, and it likely will not be the last. You just have to hope it starts happening more often than not, like that other February the Flames waltzed into Nashville and eked out a one-goal win.

More multi-goal wins would be nice, and honestly, probably a necessity if this team is going to go anywhere – but in these current baby steps, third in Pacific points percentage will do. And if this all hasn’t been building to something, well, that’ll be the greatest disappointment.