The Flames were up by two goals with less than four minutes remaining in regulation Wednesday. They wound up on the wrong end in overtime.
The Flames were up by two goals with less than four minutes remaining in regulation Wednesday. They wound up on the wrong end in overtime.
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As the Anaheim Ducks celebrated an overtime triumph, several of the Calgary Flames were sitting still on the visiting bench at Honda Center.
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Stunned. Shell-shocked.
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Already in fingers-crossed territory, the Flames’ fading playoff hopes took a huge hit when they surrendered a pair of snipes in an eight-second span in Wednesday’s late stages in Anaheim, coughing up a two-goal lead with less than four minutes remaining in regulation.
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The Ducks completed this comeback in sudden-death. Cutter Gauthier buried both the tying tally and the overtime winner.
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“That’s when leadership and everybody has to step up and shut that game down,” Flames alternate captain MacKenzie Weegar told reporters in Anaheim. “Unfortunately, it’s going to cost us big-time.”
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Indeed, this collapse — ‘choke’ would also be an appropriate description — couldn’t have come at a worse time.
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To have any chance of scoring a playoff invite, the Flames will likely need to win their final four games — starting Friday at home against the Minnesota Wild — and will also need a whole lot to go their way on the out-of-town scoreboard.
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“It’s hard. It’s tough,” said Flames captain Mikael Backlund, struggling to find the words. “It’s a tough one to swallow.”
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“We should be disappointed,” added Flames head coach Ryan Huska. “It’s 3-1, and the game should be over. But right now, there’s nothing we can do about it. All we can do is make sure that we’re ready to go for our next game at home against Minnesota. That’s what we have to do.”
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WHAT HAPPENED? (AND WHAT DOES IT MEAN?)
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There was no shortage of drama Wednesday in the Western Conference wild-card race.
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Minnesota received a serious scare from the San Jose Sharks, but the just-returned-from-injury Kirill Kaprizov scored in overtime to end an 8-7 scrimmage. Two points for the Wild.
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The Edmonton Oilers did the Flames a major favour in their battle against the St. Louis Blues, with the just-returned-from-injury Connor McDavid assisting on Connor Brown’s go-ahead goal with 21 ticks left on the clock. Zero points for the Blues.
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It may not matter after Calgary’s meltdown in Anaheim, where Yegor Sharangovich and Matt Coronato each scored in a span of 1:34 in the third. Up by a pair, the Flames should have cruised from there.
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But then Martin Pospisil was guilty of an offensive-zone turnover, with Frank Vatrano capitalizing with a one-timer at the opposite end of the rink.
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They botched the coverage on the ensuing faceoff, and Gauthier beat Dustin Wolf on the blocker side for his first of two hammer swings at the nail in Calgary’s coffin.