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!
For two periods, it felt as if the Calgary Flames would leave their clash with the Colorado Avalanche at Ball Arena empty-handed. The Flames weren’t bad, but they couldn’t generate a whole lot offensively and it felt like the Avalanche had the game under wraps. Whoops. The Flames put together a really scrappy, energetic third period, and a pair of goals from their fourth line got them to overtime.
The Flames rallied back from a 2-0 deficit after two periods to beat the Avalanche 3-2 in a shootout.

The rundown

The first period was pretty tight-checking and fairly even. The Avalanche had some strong looks, but the Flames did a pretty capable job of minimizing the time and space for the Avalanche and avoiding too many great scoring chances against.
16:31 into the first period, though, the Avalanche got a long shift in the Flames zone and cashed in. Jonathan Drouin parked himself in front of the net, Blake Coleman scrambled back to the Flames bench to replace a broken stick, and Cale Makar – taking advantage of the space and Drouin’s screen – cut down into the slot area and fired the puck past a screened Dan Vladar to give the Avalanche a 1-0 lead.
First period shots were 10-6 Avalanche. Via Natural Stat Trick, five-on-five scoring chances were 12-7 Avalanche (high-danger chances were 1-0 Flames).
The Avalanche looked a lot more dangerous in the second period. The Flames did their best to slow them down and keep them to the outside, but the Avalanche still used their speed and skill well.
Midway through the period, the Avalanche scored again. This time, Vladar played a dump-in and passed up to his teammates along the wall. Parker Kelly did a nice job crashing into the area and disrupting Vladar’s intended pass, and the confusion led to a three-on-one rush down low with Brayden Pachal defending against three Avalanche players. Logan O’Connor cut across the front of the net with the puck and fired past Vladar to make it 2-0 Avalanche.
Second period shot were 11-6 Avalanche. Five-on-five scoring chances were 6-6 Avalanche (high-danger chances were 3-1 Avalanche).
The Flames elevated Adam Klapka to Nazem Kadri’s line from time to time in the third period, especially in the offensive zone.
Shortly after a Flames power play midway through the third period – they couldn’t generate a ton – the Flames got a goal from an unusual source: the fourth line. With three bodies parked in front of Scott Wedgewood, MacKenzie Weegar’s initial shot was stopped, but a scramble in front ended with Ryan Lomberg jamming the puck over the goal line to cut Colorado’s lead to 2-1.
32 seconds later, the fourth line scored again off the rush. Lomberg fed Klapka on the wing and Klapka blasted the puck past Wedgewood to tie the game at 2-2.
Third period shots were 11-5 Flames. Five-on-five scoring chances were 13-5 Flames (high-danger chances were 4-2 Flames).
Off to overtime this game went! Nobody scored, but both teams got some incredible looks – including a shot that beat Vladar but hit the post behind him and stayed out.
This game required the shootout to decide a winner. Yegor Sharangovich scored for the Flames and Vladar shut the door on all three Avalanche shooters to give the Flames a 3-2 victory.

Why the Flames won

Were the Flames massively outplayed through two periods? Not especially, but they couldn’t generate anything offensively. But Dan Vladar held them in this game through two periods, and then the Flames found another gear in the third period and managed to battle back.

Red Warrior

We’re going to tip our caps to two gentlemen: Dan Vladar and Adam Klapka. Vladar was fantastic. And Klapka was every bit as impactful in this game, especially in the third period, as he’s been during his tenure with the Calgary Wranglers.

Turning point

The fourth line scored two goals in a 32-second span in the third period to tie the game.

This and that

This was Adam Klapka’s first multi-point effort of his NHL career.

Up next

The Flames (35-26-12) are back in action on Tuesday night when they visit the Utah Hockey Club.

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