All tied up.
One month after being seven points out of a playoff spot, the Flames battled fatigue and heartbreak to piece together their gutsiest win, when it mattered most.
A season-saving, 3-1 win over Winnipeg on Wednesday drew them even with the Jets for the final playoff spot in the West, with just three games left.
Oh sure, the climb is still an uphill one, with the Jets having the tie break, as well as a game in hand.
But give the lads credit for grinding through their third game in four nights to find a way to focus on the only thing they could control.
Minutes after a gritty, come-from-behind effort at Canada Life Centre, game star Jacob Markstrom admitted he was armed with extra fire.
“Obviously still pissed off from the other night, and I think that fed into it a little bit coming into this game,” said the Flames netminder, whose 34 saves (and one unsportsmanlike conduct penalty) were fueled by a gut-wrenching loss to Chicago a night earlier.
“A little bit more emotion than usual.
“It was a great atmosphere and a big win, but we’ve got to keep going here.”
To keep their playoff dreams alive, the Flames will likely have to win their remaining games against Vancouver, Nashville and San Jose, and hope the Jets lose at least two of their four against the Predators, Sharks, Wild and Avalanche.
Stay tuned.
“We won the game,” said Darryl Sutter of the only thing that mattered.
“The media and outside the room has been telling us it’s the biggest game, or we’re over, or how bad we are since the all-star break.
“It’s like I tell the players, ‘block it out, play the game.’”
Surely buoyed by Sutter’s ol’, “us against the world” schtick, the task at hand was indeed mammoth, given the host Jets had two days off and were riding the high of two convincing wins.
“It’s a tough rink to come into — it’s a pretty loud building,” said Sutter, before tempering excitement.
“We’re not in it yet.
“If we didn’t win tonight, or lose in OT or a shootout, it’s a big swing too.
“We did win tonight.
“All we did is close the gap.”
They did it in impressive fashion, as the crowd fed off a Kyle Connor power play snipe midway through the first.
In a feisty affair that included 30 penalty minutes and plenty of heated scrums, it was five minutes into the second period when the game featured a fascinating series of twists.
The Flames had to deal with the disappointment of having a Nikita Zadorov rebound goal overturned due to goalie interference by Nick Ritchie.
Less than two minutes later a stellar pad save by Markstrom on a 3-on-1 sent the puck up ice for a Flames 2-on-1 that saw Andrew Mangiapane slap in a perfect pass from Mikael Backlund.
A slashing exchange between Pierre-Luc Dubois and Markstrom following Winnipeg’s chance led to the netminder and Winnipeg’s chief pest drawing penalties as the lads gathered for more face-washes.
Markstrom was unbeatable the rest of the way, turning aside Grade A chances from Josh Morrissey, Mark Scheifele, and a Nikolaj Ehlers breakaway — all after Walker Duehr and Zadorov scored third period markers.
“(Markstrom) was huge — he bailed us out a handful of times,” said Duehr, whose seventh of the year won the game after his backhand wraparound attempt bounced in off Nate Schmidt’s stick, past Connor Hellebuyck.
“You can say he won us the game.
“He was amazing tonight.”
With wins in five of their last six to keep things interesting in Calgary, the Flames head back to Vancouver on Saturday, where Markstrom will again be the most important player on the ice.
“He was great today, he’s been great down the stretch,” said Mangiapane, whose club is a surprising 6-2-2 in the second half of back-to-backs.
“We have three more games, and we’re going to need him for all three of those.
“He’s a big part of our team.
“This is big for us.”
