Welcome to Instant Reaction, where we give you our instant reaction to tonight’s Calgary Flames game and ask our readers to do the same in the comments section below!
The Calgary Flames returned home after a four game eastern road trip on Tuesday evening to host the Seattle Kraken. For the first 40 minutes of the game, the Flames weren’t especially good or bad, but they weren’t particularly inspiring. They seemed to find their urgency and execution in the final 20 minutes, though.
The Flames managed to survive a back-and-forth third period to beat the Kraken in overtime by a 4-3 score.

The rundown

The opening period was a little sleepy and a little sloppy for both teams. There were a lot of passes missing their mark and shots hitting shinpads – both via intended blocks and more inadvertent efforts.
Midway through the period, the Flames opened the scoring. A Seattle player attempted to throw a hit on Adam Klapka in the Kraken zone, but missed their mark. With a bit of space and time with the puck, Klapka opted to head to the net. His initial shot was stopped by Joey Daccord, but both Klapka and Kevin Rooney got whacks at the rebound. Klapka’s second chance went into the Seattle net to give the Flames a 1-0 lead.
First period shots were 9-8 Flames. Via Natural Stat Trick, five-on-five scoring chances were 9-7 Flames (high-danger chances were 8-2 Flames).
Midway through the second, the Flames had a sloppy change and took a too-many-men bench minor. The Kraken executed well on the resulting power play, with Jared McCann finding Jaden Schwartz open at the side of the crease. He received the pass and tucked the puck between Dustin Wolf’s pads to tie the game at 1-1.
Near the end of the period, Seattle took the lead. Jonathan Huberdeau attempted to send Matt Coronato into the Seattle zone with a neutral zone pass. However, the pass was just out of Coronato’s reach and was intercepted by Vince Dunn. Dunn passed to Tye Kartye, whizzing through the neutral zone, and he found a space in-between Rasmus Andersson and Kevin Bahl, then fired a shot that beat Wolf on his glove-side to give the Kraken a 2-1 lead.
Second period shots were 12-10 Kraken. Five-on-five scoring chances were 7-4 Kraken (high-danger chances were 3-2 Kraken).
The Kraken did a pretty capable job of managing their lead at even strength in the third period.
The Flames drew a four minute power play midway through the third period after a high-stick by Brandon Montour on Coronato. On the extended man advantage, they managed to tie the game. They couldn’t bury their looks during the first minor, but Nazem Kadri rifled a shot past Daccord during the second minor to tie the game at 2-2.
Things got a bit scrappy afterwards, with Kadri battling with Montour (both were given fighting majors) among other clashes.
Just after that, the Flames took the lead. An offensive zone draw was won back to the point, and Rasmus Andersson fired a shot that found a way past a bunch of bodies and eluded Daccord to give the Flames a 3-2 lead.
But the Kraken pulled Daccord for the extra attacker with a couple minutes left. With 1:30 left in regulation, the Kraken put a lot of bodies in front of the Flames net and got a few whacks at it, with Jordan Eberle’s final touch of the puck sliding it between Wolf’s legs and into the net to tie things up (again) at 3-3.
Third period shots were 14-6 Flames. Five-on-five scoring chances were 7-5 Flames (high-danger chances were 2-1 Flames).
This game required overtime to decide a winner.
Both teams had their looks in extra time, and both netminders had to make big stops. Coronato sent Kadri in alone with a minute left in overtime, and Kadri deked out Daccord and tucked the puck behind the Seattle netminder to give the Flames a 4-3 victory.

Why the Flames won

We hear a lot about the first game back after a lengthy road trip being a tough one. The Flames were pretty good during their three games in the New York area – and occasionally excellent – but they weren’t particularly great against Seattle, especially in the first two periods. They didn’t get run out of their rink or anything, but their urgency and execution weren’t up to snuff.
The Flames had more urgency in the third period, but their execution still wasn’t where we’ve seen it this season. Quite simply, they let Seattle dictate how the game was played for much of it, to their own detriment. But their key players managed to be their key players in the later stages of the game, and that was enough to grab two sorely-needed points.

Red Warrior

The Flames’ big guns woke up in the third period and overtime, but I really liked the fourth line throughout this game. Sure, Klapka had a goal, but that trio was full of pep and energy throughout the proceedings.
Honourable mentions to Wolf and Kadri on this occasion.

Turning point

Let’s give it to Kadri’s second consecutive overtime game-winner. Given how tight the margins are in the standings, that goal was massive.

This and that

At first TV timeout, the club paid tribute to Jonathan Huberdeau, who played his 900th NHL game on Saturday.
Kadri’s game-winner was his 300th NHL goal.
This is the final Flames game against Seattle of the season, which means it’s our final chance to pay tribute to an all-time great Simpsons bit about funny place names.

Up next

The Flames (34-25-11) are back in action on Thursday night when they welcome the Dallas Stars to town.

This article is brought to you by Platinum Mitsubishi

This article is a Presentation of Platinum Mitsubishi, family owned and operated by lifelong Calgarians. Home of the best warranty in the business with ten year warranties available. Check out the showroom at 2720 Barlow Trail NE or online at www.mitsu.ca