Post-Game: Flames skip first period, win anyway

The Calgary Flames were not great in the first period against the Florida Panthers on Friday night. But despite trailing 2-0 against a scrappy Panthers squad, the Flames ramped up their intensity and skated away with a 4-3 victory.

The home team looked rough early, as several passes hit feet, ankles or missed their intended recipient entirely. Their lack of jump and execution came back to bite them, as Noah Hanifin was spooked by Denis Malgin and Mike Hoffman’s forechecking. He whiffed on an attempted pass, leaving the puck with Hoffman, whose wrist shot beat David Rittich to make it 1-0 Panthers.

The Flames took a couple penalties in the latter half of the first period that really hampered their attempts to get back into the game, though Johnny Gaudreau and Sam Bennett each had nice scoring chances that couldn’t solve Roberto Luongo.

Shots were 10-4 Panthers in the first, while scoring chances were 7-5 Flames.

The Panthers added to their lead 23 seconds into the second period, as they took advantage of a late first period Flames penalty to Travis Hamonic. Keith Yandle sprung Jonathan Huberdeau into the Flames zone with a dandy saucer pass and he beat Rittich to make it a 2-0 Florida lead.

Being down a pair seemed like enough to wake the Flames up, though. The Flames pressed and had the next seven shots in the game. They hit the scoresheet on a nice play, as Mikael Backlund’s low shot towards the slot was tipped by Michael Frolik and beat Luongo just inside the far post to make it a 2-1 Panthers lead.

The Flames kept pressing and eventually tied things up off another smart play by Frolik. He skated the puck into the Panthers zone, waited for Mark Giordano to hop off the bench on a line change and skate into the zone, and then fed Giordano for a slap shot. Giordano’s shot ramped off Troy Brouwer’s skate and beat Luongo to make it a 2-2 game. The Panthers challenged on the basis of goaltender interference, but the goal stood.

Shots were 10-5 Flames in the second and chances were 8-4 Flames.

The Flames took the lead midway through the third period on a goal the Panthers will definitely want back. The 3M line had a long shift in the Panthers zone, but Florida gained control and tried to clear. Huberdeau made a no-look backhanded pass inside his blueline that was intercepted by Frolik, who fed Tkachuk in the slot. Left all alone, as the Panthers defenders had began to head towards the blueline, Tkachuk’s wrister beat Luongo to make it 3-2 Flames.

Sean Monahan added an empty netter on a late power play to make it 4-2. Evgenii Dadonov jammed in a loose puck with 19 seconds left to cut the lead to 4-3, but that’s as close as Florida got.

Shots were 12-10 Panthers, while chances were 9-3 Flames.

The locals seemed out of sync and somewhat disinterested in the first period. But – spoilers – the Flames are a deep, talented team that can play with anybody if they’re emotionally engaged in the game. Once they flipped the switch early in the second period, it was tough for the Panthers to keep up.

Frolik was superb in this game. He made smart reads. He made smart plays. Once he was slotted back on the second line early in the second period, things just started to click for the Flames.

Backlund, Tkachuk, Giordano and Rittich were all also pretty effective in this one, but Frolik definitely led the way for the home team.

The Giordano tying goal really took the wind out of the Panthers’ sails. Maybe, just maybe, they could’ve regrouped if they had a slim lead after 40 minutes. But Giordano’s clapper ensured the game would be tied after 40 and the Flames are a confident group when they’re heading into the third period tied or leading.

The Flames dressed 10 homegrown draft picks: Rasmus Andersson, TJ Brodie, Mikael Backlund, Johnny Gaudreau, Matthew Tkachuk, Sean Monahan, Oliver Kylington, Mark Jankowski, Andrew Mangiapane and Sam Bennett.

This was Giordano’s 799th career NHL game and Backlund’s 585th, which tied him with Gary Roberts for 10th all-time in franchise history.

The Flames (29-13-4) practice tomorrow. They’re back in action on Sunday night when they host the Arizona Coyotes.