Calgary Puck

I hate the term “statement game”.

It adds too much weight to a single out come.

However there are games where a team facing adversity comes out and makes it really obvious that the narrative is different this time around, and a great season isn’t going to get washed away by a hot young goaltender and the opposing team clinching sticks.

The Flames down 2-1 in Dallas left very little doubt, at least in the end, in putting up 54 shots on goal and skating away with a 4=1 victory after beating the unbeatable Jake Oettinger three times.

The games was 1-0 heading into the third period with both goaltenders standing on their heads, so the script was there for the Stars to pull off an improbable victory.

Instead the Flames got the game winner on a Johnny Gaudreau penalty shot, and just kept pouring it on it tying the series and making it a best of three, as per the norm in the NHL this playoff season.

Next up the Stars in Calgary on Wednesday night.

Are the Flames back?

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It was incredible how different game three was compared to the first two games in Calgary.

Way more offensive flow and a huge pile up of scoring chances, as the Dallas Stars broke open a 2-2 tie in the third period with a Joe Pavelski powerplay goal to tilt the game towards the home side.

The Flames had a 2-1 lead in the second period, and looked to be taking the game away before wilting in the last 7 minutes of the period and sending the game into the third period all tied up.

Johnny Gaudreau had a breakaway with five minutes to go in an effort to tie things up but Jake Oettinger made the save to put a exclamation point on a game where he dominated.

The Flames won’t want to go down 3-1 on Monday night, so they have to find a way to solve the young Dallas goaltender.

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Amazing how similar games one and two in this series have been.

One team scores early.

And that’s it … nobody scores again.

In game one the Flames struck early on a powerplay goal and hung on for a 1-0 win, tonight the Stars returned the favour converting a five on five Joe Pavelski goal in the first period into essentially the same final score; but with an empty netter to make it 2-0.

The Flames for their part looked rattled. They forced the play, were disconnected, and far too happy to shoot from the perimeter with no net front presence.

Will be interesting to see what adjustments are made for Saturday’s game in Dallas.

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The puck drops on a Calgary C of Red attended playoff game for the first time since that disappointing game five against the Colorado Avalanche in 2019, on a very good note.

The Flames came out hard and pushed the Stars onto their heels, running up a 9-0 lead in shots, and scoring what turned out to be the game winner on a powerplay with Elias Lindholm lighting the lamp.

From there the game ground into a very low event game, with the Flames literally giving up nothing in battling their way to a 1-0 win to take an identical 1-0 lead in their best of seven series against the Dallas Stars.

If you’re a Dallas fan you like the fact they hung in and didn’t get blown out.

If you’re a Flames fan you like the fact your team is up 1-0 in games despite the top line not having a whole lot going on five on five.

Game two goes Thursday night.

Good start!

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Wouldn’t that be a playoff series?

The Flames came from behind three times to force overtime; the third of three games to enter extra time between the teams, before winning it on an Elias Lindholm strike through former Flame David Rittich.

The game was tied when Matthew Tkachuk tied the game with 0.1 seconds left on the clock.

The loss for the Predators moves them into a tie with the Stars with even games played for the final playoff spot.

Will be an interesting week.

With two fights and a lot of scrums the Flames were on their toes to send a message should the Predators be their first round foes.

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