Calgary ended its six-game slide thanks to contributions throughout the lineup
It won’t go down as a masterpiece, but the Calgary Flames don’t care about style points after claiming a 6-3 road win over the Seattle Kraken Saturday night.
Snapping a six-game losing skid, no matter how it happens, is a big deal, and you could see the sighs of relief on the bench when the result was not in doubt.
Besides, the game had plenty of positives. It featured:
Martin Pospisil’s first NHL goal in his first NHL game.
Nick DeSimone’s first NHL point.
Mikael Backlund’s first goal of the season, and second into an empty net.
Noah Hanifin finally lit the lamp, too.
Plus, the Flames twice erased a deficit, which they had yet to do this season.
Not to be lost in the shuffle was the performance by goaltender Dan Vladar. He stopped 17 of 20 shots, and held the fort when the Kraken were pushing madly for the equalizer before the Flames sealed the game with a pair of empty-net goals.
Yegor Sharangovich potted the go-ahead goal that broke the 2-2 tie and sent the Flames (3-7-1) on their way.
The Flames face an uphill climb to actually be a playoff squad, but Tuesday’s home clash against the Nashville Predators is a big test to build upon their fifth.
Before that game, we will await news whether Andrew Mangiapane pays more for the match penalty he received for cross-checking Jared McCann in the back of the neck.
For more coverage visit back Sunday morning for the takeaways.
