Be sure to check Betway for the latest Flames game NHL odds! If you’re a gambler, we hope you took the over in Saturday night’s game between the Calgary Flames and the Dallas Stars. Both sides found their offensive swagger, with the lead changing hands multiple times and the two clubs combining for 10 goals through regulation.
The Flames lost 6-5 to Dallas in overtime. They went toe-to-toe with a great team, but left a crucial point on the table.
The rundown
This game was generally pretty nuts, with a few segments of relative calm here and there.
65 seconds in, Dallas opening the scoring by taking advantage of a puck thrown into the neutral zone. Dallas quickly transitioned to offence, hitting the Flames’ zone with an odd-man rush. Jacob Markstrom made the first save on Jason Robertson’s initial chance, and Markstrom sprawled out but couldn’t grab the puck. Joe Pavelski whizzed in behind the pile and fired the loose puck past Markstrom to make it 1-0 Stars.
53 seconds later, Markstrom played the puck behind the net and went to fire it around the boards. But it hit official Mark Joanette in the corner, allowing Radek Faksa to collect it. Roope Hintz’s initial shot was stopped but Faksa buried the rebound to make it 2-0 Dallas.
But 63 seconds after that, the Flames scored. Andrew Mangiapane’s initial shot from right down main street was stopped by Jake Oettinger, but the rebound was booted out to his right… right to Elias Lindholm. Lindhom’s sharp angle shot beat Oettinger to cut the lead to 2-1.
Late in the first, Dallas got another one. The Stars won a face-off in the Flames zone back to Miro Heiskanen. Heiskanen’s point shot was deflected on its way through – the goal was eventually credited to Wyatt Johnston – and beat Markstrom to make it 3-1 Stars.
Midway through the second period, though, the Flames made a push. Off a face-off win in the Dallas zone, MacKenzie Weegar had the puck at the point. His initial shot attempt was blocked by Joe Pavelski, so he opted to pinch and drove down towards the face-off circle to Oettinger’s left. Weegar opted to shoot, beating Oettinger to cut the lead to 3-2.
A few minutes later, a really nice cycle shift by the Flames ended with a goal. The Mikael Backlund line battled and cycled and moved the puck around. Eventually, Rasmus Andersson was able to pinch down – the Stars’ defenders were busy with Blake Coleman and Jonathan Huberdeau out front – and his shot trickled through Oettinger. Coleman sprawled out and poked the puck from behind Oettinger into the net to make it a 3-3 game.
Later in the second, the Flames took the lead. A heads up pass by Andersson from beside the Flames net sent Nick Ritchie into the Dallas zone on a breakaway. Ritchie beat Oettinger five-hole to make it 4-3 Flames.
But before the end of the period, Dallas evened things up. The Flames got a bit crossed up in their own end. An initial shot by Heiskanen was booted out into the slot area by Markstrom… right to Jason Robertson. He beat Markstrom with the rebound to make it a 4-4 game.
Midway through the third period, the Flames took the lead. Walker Duehr battled to protect the puck below the Dallas goal line, then flung it to the point for Andersson. Andersson’s shot beat Oettinger to give the Flames a 5-4 lead.
But a few minutes later, Dallas tied it up (again). The Flames managed to break up an odd-man rush, with a three-on-two becoming a three-on-three and the pressure largely being disrupted. But the Flames couldn’t grab the puck, and Pavelski found Jani Hakanpaa entering the slot area as the trailing man among all of Dallas’ skaters. Hakanpaa threw the puck on net and it found a way through a bunch of bodies, tying the game at 5-5.
This game required extra time to settle things. Both sides had chances in overtime, but Robertson scored on a nice backhand shot off the rush to give the Stars a 6-5 win.
Markstrom apparently felt he was interfered with by Hintz in front of the net, but the goal was reviewed by the NHL’s situation room (as all overtime and last-minute goals are) and it was upheld. Hintz stayed out of the blue paint entirely, for what it’s worth.
Why the Flames got a point
The Flames scored a bunch of goals. They did this because they more or less did what they’ve done for much of the season; they had the puck a lot, they had tons of shots, and they had the territorial advantage. They scored more than usual because they executed well in the offensive zone.
The Flames also allowed a bunch of goals. They had some challenges with puck management, especially early, and a combination of some tough rebound control from Markstrom and some gaps in their defensive coverage gave the Stars plenty of daylight in the Flames’ zone.
Goaltending just wasn’t able to overcome the defensive miscues (and rebound control challenges) in this one.
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Red Warrior
Man, both Andersson and Weegar were fantastic at times, especially playing with the puck. That pairing gets the joint hip of the hat for their efforts in this game.
Turning point
Can we say “the entire third period”? This was the type of game that the Flames might have found a way to lose in regulation a month or two ago. But they kept pushing in the third and were able to go toe-to-toe with a very good Stars team throughout this game. Their third period was a great example of how they need to play in these types of games going forward.
This and that
Weegar’s goal in the second period came during a “Minute to Win It” contest in the arena. His goal won a fan a trip to Las Vegas.
Up next
The Flames (31-24-15) are headed back on the road for a pair of back-to-back games. They face the Kings in Los Angeles on Monday and the Ducks in Anaheim on Tuesday.
