Postgame: The Worst Lead in Hockey

I don’t think anyone actually saw that coming, so watching the Calgary Flames come back to force overtime after trailing 4-0 in the second period was kinda fun.  Seeing P.K. Subban roof the overtime winner 66 seconds into the extra frame probably doesn’t sting Flames fans as much as it would have otherwise, as Calgary finishes a four game road trip with six of a possible eight points.

I really don’t know.  This was as odd a hockey game as I’ve seen, with one team seeing almost everything go in to start, and then the same thing happening at the other end in the snap of a finger.  Montreal started things off 4:27 into the first period thanks to Lars Eller who swooped home his third of the season off an offensive rush to give Montreal the lead.  After a Calgary powerplay expired, the Habs would go up by two when Jeff Halpern found Mike Cammalleri out of the penalty box; he ripped the puck past Miikka Kiprusoff to give Montreal a 2-0 lead, a bulge they’d take into the first period.

Just 3:14 into the middle frame, an Andrei Kostitsyn wrist shot would change direction off Adam Pardy’s stick and beat Kiprusoff, as it seemed this thing would get out of hand for Calgary.  And it got worse at 6:34 when a scramble in front of the Calgary net resulted in a goal from Halpern, and this one seemed out of hand.  The goal chased Kiprusoff from the Flames net, as he gave way for Henrik Karlsson and this one seemed like a sure thing for the home side.  But for whatever reason, things didn’t settle down and the Habs were still playing loose, and Calgary kept coming.  Rene Bourque followed up an Olli Jokinen shot at 13:26 to get things going, but it seemed like much ado about nothing.  Even when Jarome Iginla tipped home a Jay Bouwmeester shot at 18:48, it still seemed like an easy Montreal win.  Nope, it wasn’t until Karlsson stopped Max Pacioretty late in the frame on a great opportunity that I started to wonder.  Calgary trailed 4-2 after two.

The comeback bid didn’t take long to turn into a real live thing, as Calgary scored 97 seconds into the third period thanks to Ales Kotalik on a Jokinen drop pass and this was a one goal game, and you could tell the Habs were rattled.  The Flames continued to take advantage, and bam, we had a tie game at 2:56 when Alex Tanguay pushed home his 11th of the season, and I don’t think anyone saw it coming.  That would do it for the third period offence, as Montreal finally settled things down, and so off to overtime we went.  For the record, Kent had scoring chances 5-3 in that third period.

…why the Flames lost?  Did they really lose?  I mean, let’s be honest, 99% of Flames fans have to be happy with the point right?  I mean, basically, this game was a write-off and the Flames put on the full court press to tie it up, so it almost seems like a bonus point on my end.  I guess when you’re in a playoff race, you need every point, so I’ll answer the question, stop yelling.  Hey, the Flames fell down four goals, you don’t win a lot of games like that.  And they didn’t on this night.

Hmmmm.  I really liked Jay Bouwmeester’s game tonight, after a couple of not-so-great games prior.  With Cory Sarich not returning to action for the latter half of the game after his blocked shot lead to the first Flames goal, the Flames essentially went with four defenceman, and Bouwmeester was their best.  His shot was well chosen late in the second period, and he was good at moving the play north throughout.

I know the team needs two points each and every night, that’s the perils of being a 14th place team, but with a four goal deficit overcome, this one smacks of a whole lot more positive than negative.  Two questions come from this one.  First off, does this inspire even a little bit more from a hot Flames team going in their game against the Wild on Wednesday?  And how much scrutiny is Miikka Kiprusoff going to be under for the next few days?