Post-Game: another big Flames third grounds Hawks

The Calgary Flames were the better team through 40 minutes on Saturday night. They trailed. They were the much better team in the third period and found key goals (and bounces) en route to a 5-3 win over the Chicago Blackhawks.

The Flames got an early, long power play after Dillon Dube was boarded by Duncan Keith just 2:14 into the game. The home side scored midway through that lengthy advantage, with Sean Monahan potting one from the slot after a nice bit of passing by the first PP unit. That made it 1-0 Flames.

But the Blackhawks responded back on a power play of their own. With both Michael Frolik and Travis Hamonic in the penalty box, Jonathan Toews jammed in a rebound during the ensuing five-on-three kill to make it a 1-1 hockey game.

Chicago added another goal late in the period. With just 27 seconds remaining in the first, Jan Rutta’s point shot beat a screened David Rittich to make it 2-1 Blackhawks. Shots were 9-5 Flames in the period and scoring chances were 4-2 Blackhawks.

The second period was a bit back and forth. Johnny Gaudreau dangled around a few Blackhawks defenders and had a nice scoring chance, but Alex DeBrincat sprung Brandon Saad on a partial break into the Flames zone. Mark Giordano hauled him down and as Saad fell he tucked the puck underneath Rittich to make it 3-1 Chicago.

But the Flames woke up and began pressing. Finally, they got one late in the second to draw within one. Matthew Tkachuk beat Corey Crawford with a top-corner wrist shot with 94 seconds remaining in the period to cut the lead to 3-2 Chicago.

Shots were 12-6 Flames and chances 12-5 Flames.

The Flames peppered Chicago’s net with shots throughout the period. They finally broke through late in the period, as Monahan buried a Gaudreau pass on a three-on-two rush to tie the game at 3-3.

The Flames took the lead with an odd one. Michael Frolik chucked the puck towards the slot from under the offensive red line. It bonked off Artem Anisimov’s stick, off Crawford’s back, and into the net to make it 4-3 Flames.

The Blackhawks got a late power play and pulled the goalie for an extra attacker, but Mikael Backlund added an empty netter to ice this one. The Flames held on for a 5-3 victory. Shots were 20-4 Flames in the period, and chances 12-1 Flames.

The Flames didn’t execute particularly well over the first 40 minutes, with some defensive zone sloppiness, lack of speed in the neutral zone and too many passes in the offensive zone.

But as has become the theme this season, the Flames just kept pouring it on. The Blackhawks took a step back, the Flames tidied up the noise in their game, and they had yet another third period offensive outburst.

Let’s give a joint award to the Flames’ first line – Monahan, Gaudreau and Elias Lindholm – who were generating scoring chances aplenty over the game, especially in the third period.

Monahan’s game-tying goal in the third period was a long time coming, coming on their 15th shot of the period. Chicago had been in a defensive shell for much of the period – The Athletic’s Mark Lazerus described it sarcastically on Twitter as a “20 minute PK” as the period began – and the Flames gained a ton of momentum. The goal was seemingly a validation of all that effort.

Tonight’s game was potentially Bob Cole’s final Flames broadcast, and probably his final one in the Saddledome. The Flames commemorated Cole’s legendary career in fine fashion.

Chicago’s major penalty in the first period ended up lasting 1:47 longer than it should have because the Blackhawks didn’t put anybody in the box to serve Keith’s major penalty. As a result, there was nobody in the box to come out to even things up – and NHL rules forbid a player from jumping on from the player’s bench in that situation.

The Flames held Chicago to just six high-danger scoring chances (per Natural Stat Trick) in this game, the fifth consecutive game in which they’ve prevented their opponent from hitting double-digits. Not surprisingly, they’ve earned points in all five games (4-0-1).

The Flames (9-5-1) have a few days of practice, then jet off to California. They kick off a three game California road trip on Wednesday night against the Anaheim Ducks.