Quips and Quotes: Flames beat the Sharks 5-3

The Calgary Flames beat the San Jose Sharks by a 5-3 score on Sunday night. Here are selected reactions from players and coaches following the game.

Sunday’s victory was the 49th of the Flames’ season and had special significance: it’s no longer possible for any Western Conference team to pass them in the standings. Following the game, Flames head coach Bill Peters summed up the group’s accomplishment.

“It’s a good accomplishment for our organization and for our players,” said Peters. “I thought our players really dug in. About a dozen games into the season we really found a level of consistency that allowed us to get to this spot.”

The Flames nearly backed into the top spot by virtue of San Jose’s lengthy losing streak – Sunday’s loss was their eighth in their last nine games. Flames captain Mark Giordano noted that the team was pleased that they could stamp their own ticket to the playoffs.

“It feels a lot better when you win your way into these positions,” said Giordano. “We’ve had a good year, a good regular season, but we know the work lies ahead in the playoffs. But we won’t take this for granted. It’s an accomplishment by our team to finish first in the West and obviously not an easy thing to do. We’ll enjoy it, but we’ll get geared up here now for the playoffs.”

The third goal of the game came from a rather unlikely source: seventh defender Dalton Prout. Playing in his 17th game, Prout was the regular Flame who had played the most without scoring a goal.

“You’re happy for him,” said Peters. “It’s his first as a Flame. He’s such a good pro and he’s been excellent for us. That’s another example of our depth. We just wanted to go leftie-rightie, three pairs, and he took advantage of his opportunity.”

The Flames have three games left. They cannot move up or down in the standings. So expect to start seeing some players who haven’t played in awhile slotting in as the team tries to get everyone fresh and prepared for the post-season grind.

The 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs begin on Wed., April 10.