Reilly Smith’s game-winning goal Saturday at the Saddledome was an attempted pass that glanced off the skate of MacKenzie Weegar
Reilly Smith’s game-winning goal Saturday at the Saddledome was an attempted pass that glanced off the skate of MacKenzie Weegar
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It was a heartbreaker.
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And yet, it didn’t feel that way late Saturday inside the home locker-room at the Saddledome.
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Between some understandable gripes and grumbles about a string of bad fortune, the Calgary Flames were more hopeful than disheartened as they digested a 3-2 overtime loss to the Vegas Golden Knights at the Saddledome.
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“Really tough bounce,” said captain Mikael Backlund, referring to Reilly Smith’s fluke from below the goal-line for the sudden-death strike. “Huge point, though.”
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True enough.
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Noon News Roundup
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The Flames are now four points back of the Minnesota Wild for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. They do have one game in hand, plus a head-to-head with the Wild, who visit Cowtown on Friday.
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“You’ve gotta think of it as glass half full, too,” stressed rookie netminder Dustin Wolf after a 31-save showing against the Golden Knights. “One point is better than no point. Obviously, I think we deserved better (Saturday). But the hockey gods aren’t really helping us out a lot right now with bounces.
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“At some point, it’s going to turn. And when it does, I think we’re all going to be laughing about it. In the meantime, we have to work our butts off for the last six games and find a way to get 12 points.”
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HOW IT ENDED
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Any script writer would agree that Saturday’s ending was simply unfair.
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Not just because Smith was attempting to throw a pass into the slot when the puck instead deflected off MacKenzie Weegar’s skate, then glanced off Wolf’s back for a junker.
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But because that rotten bounce came off Weegar’s right foot, already throbbing because of a gutsy shot-block on Jack Eichel’s blast earlier in the bonus session. While he didn’t miss a shift, it was plain to see that the workhorse defenceman was playing through pain.
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“It was obviously a tough bounce at the end of the game,” Weegar said during his appearance on After Hours. “I hate excuses and all that stuff but it’s been tough for us to get a little bit of a break right now. But our team, we battle through that stuff. As much as it’s a tough loss, we gained a point out of it. We’re still in the conversation. And there’s full belief in that dressing room, still right now.”
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Weegar logged 28:08 in Saturday’s showdown with the Golden Knights, the second-highest total by any Flames skater in any single outing this season. The Flames needed a clutch penalty-kill with 1:29 remaining in regulation, and he was key to surviving that scare.
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Certainly, he deserved better than a pat on the back from teammates after Smith’s overtime winner and an ice-pack for his foot.