Sometimes the story just isn’t written by Disney. The prince on the white horse doesn’t ride into the sunset, the hero doesn’t get the girl, the Death Star doesn’t blow up.
But then sometimes all of that just isn’t needed.
The Flames fulfilled Niklas Backstrom’s two start no movement clause agreement tonight in style, letting him start against his former mates in Minnesota, a desperate crew that little choice but pick away at their former buddy to the tune of a 6-2 win on Thursday night.
Backstrom wasn’t good, there is little doubt, but he hung in and the Flames hung with him in giving the veteran goaltender a great send off to a very solid career.
The Flow
How can I put this delicately? Not a great period for veteran Niklas Backstrom. The feel good story turned feel very bad in the first when the ex-Wild stopper had trouble with both of Zach Parise’s first two goals of the period. The first one he got caught on the short side and had the puck bounce of his back and in, the second a weak backhander through the wickets, his face all you needed to know about his disappointment. The Flames picked up the slack though when Johnny Gaudreau scored on a powerlay, his 28th of the season. Soon after the Flame’s Mark Giordano hit a goal post, but it’s Parise again to round out the first period scoring with his third of the night, 3-1 Minnesota after one. Shots were 10-9 Wild.
Hate to keep hitting that same chord but the second period tonight once again demonstrates the player’s belief in tanking as the Flames have the puck most of the frame out shooting the Wild 16-8. Which team is in a playoff battle for their lives? The Flames close the gap from the first period when Jacub Nakladal hammers a slapper just inside the blueline on a rush that beats Dubnyk far side top corner. The Flames press again but Dubynk is able to keep the puck out of his cage and the Wild ahead. The Wild re-take the two goal lead when Jared Spurgeon finds a loose puck on a Wild powerplay and slides it home, Backstrom with no chance. Period ends 4-2 Minnesota but the Flames are money for a solid road period.
An odd finish to the game as the Flames come up empty on a few early powerplays, the Wild had a goal disallowed and then the whole thing just sort of got out of reach as the host’s put two more past Backstrom to turn a relatively close game into a bit of a cake walk. In the end Backstrom certainly recovered from a tough start to some degree, but the team couldn’t find the net enough to get back into the win column.
Three Stars
1. Zach Parise: Scoring three in the first period never hurts a player’s chances at the three star selection. Had a few more chances to add to his tally.
2. Devin Dubnyk: Was very good in the second period or the Flames just may have delivered that Disney story for Backstrom.
3. Mikko Koivu:Three assists and a massive elbow to Matt Stajan’s face.
Big Save
Backstrom may not have had a great night but he was solid in keeping Parise from getting his 4th of the night in the second when a broken play bounce gave Parise an opportunity foiled by Backstrom with his left pad.
The Goat
I’m not going to say it, we all know it, but not going to say it.
Mr. Clutch
Bob Hartley. Getting both Hamilton’s in the lineup at the same time, finding a way with their parents flying to Calgary is a great thing. Giving a former Wild warrior one of his two starts in his home town in front of his wife and two kids is another. Wiser clap.
Odds and Ends
Well that should put to rest any notions by Flames’ fans that the goalie situation just got crystal clear with the arrival of Backstrom at the trade deadline. The guy is likely done for the league and certainly not in the Flames’ plans for next season. The Flames did the right thing in the trade though for two reasons; 1) get assets, even a 6th so it makes sense for me. 2) Getting Jones off the roster at the deadline and replacing him with a goaltender was brilliant as it gave Treliving the option to call up AHL guy after AHL guy on emergency recall instead of having a healthy scratch up front every night. … I love the Hamilton story, speaking of good stories, but not sure Freddie Hamilton is exactly knocking the door down in Calgary. He’s a good energy guy, and fine in the bottom six (preferably bottom 3) but he doesn’t have the finish to push up the roster in my opinion. He had Dubnyck down and out in the first and just couldn’t hit the top half of the net. … How hard can it be for the Wild to take the ice in matching helmets? Who do you blame for that? Does the equipment manager put the correct one in each stall or do they each reach for any of three or four colours? The Wild had two distinctly different looks on the ice tonight, a Christmas green that matched their jersey, and then a blue-green that simply didn’t. As the guys on 960 would say, CLEAN IT UP! … Interesting to watch the Giordano/Hamilton pair building chemistry. Not quite the same flow as Brodie/Giordano five on five, but they really feed off each other on the alternating side set up powerplay. Dangerous as all get up. … One of the clearest signs of the Wideman effect on the Flames coaching and training staff is the fact that any player that has any kind of contact with a player or the boards that could result in a head injury immediately gets walked down the aisle to the Flames dressing room, no questions asked. They seem to always reappear right away, but optics are optics, right?
Next Up
The Flames are home to the Blackhawks on Saturday night, their third last home date of the season. Game time is 8pm on HNIC.
3>Lines:
Johnny Gaudreau – Sean Monahan- Micheal Ferland
Lance Bouma – Mikael Backlund – Michael Frolik
Josh Jooris – Sam Bennett – Joe Colborne
Brandon Bollig- Matt Stajan – Garnet Hathaway
Mark Giordano – Dougie Hamilton
Jyrki Jokipakka – TJ Brodie
Jacub Nakladal – Tyler Wotherspoon
Niklas Backstrom
