Winger notched the game-tying goal and set up the game-winner for a crucial victory
Looking for somebody, anybody, to step up and keep their flickering playoff hopes alive, the Calgary Flames were saved by an unlikely source in Walker Duehr during Saturday’s 5-3 win over the San Jose Sharks.
Duehr scored the clutch game-tying goal 25 seconds after his team saw a two-goal lead turn into a 3-2 deficit early in the second period. Then he was the catalyst in Nazem Kadri’s game-winning goal early in the third period, giving the 25-year-old fourth-line winger two goals and five points in his last five games.
It was a well-deserved first-star selection for the first-year NHLer with all of 21 big-league games under his belt. Duehr could recall only one curtain call in his professional career, third-star honours in a game with the AHL Wranglers.
“It’s awesome. It’s what you want to do as a player, right?” Duehr said. “With my game, it’s not always with scoring and putting pucks in the net to contribute, but it’s on other nights with hits. When you can get on the scoresheet, it’s always a nice feeling to help the team win.”
The win leaves the Flames four points behind the Winnipeg Jets for the final playoff spot with eight games remaining in the regular season.
Duehr has points in four of his last five games, and a performance like that means the world to his teammates.
“It’s motivating,” Kadri said. “You look for the young guys to provide energy and Walks is a great kid. He’s willing to learn. … It’s nice to be rewarded.”
Here are five more thoughts after the buzzer.
Searching for a killer instinct: Certainly Calgary deserves credit for winning, but the victory was way too much of a nail-biter than it should have been.
The Flames staked an early 2-0 lead and held the last-place Sharks without a shot for 10 minutes, only to be outplayed for the second half of the opening period and then trailed 3-2 just past the five-minute mark of the middle frame. Duehr’s goal, coming 25 seconds after the Sharks scored a pair 22 seconds apart, not only staunched the bleeding but turned the tide.
Even so, that is not a recipe to follow when the Los Angeles Kings come to town on Tuesday. The Flames had best remember how much their play needed to elevate against the Vegas Golden Knights a couple of days after they beat the Anaheim Ducks.
Milestone game for Backlund: Mikael Backlund clocked his 900th regular-season game, only the third player in franchise history to reach that mark with the club.
For those who remember how his career evolved, how he battled through injuries in his first few seasons and even was a healthy scratch in his mid-20s, it’s a huge accomplishment. Backlund has become respected by everyone in the organization for his efforts on and off the ice.
“It’s a privilege to know him as long as I have,” said coach Darryl Sutter, who was the general manager when Backlund was drafted 24th overall in 2007.
Toffoli continues his career campaign: With a pair of goals on Saturday, Tyler Toffoli now has 31 on the season, equaling his career high. The 67 points he’s amassed is already a new standard.
“It’s really cool,” Toffoli said. “I was joking around that I was trying to pass to Backs and have him cap of the day. I’m very fortunate. It hasn’t gone the way as a group we’d want it to and it’s a little unfortunate, but at the same time we’re still kinda in it and trying to win games.”
Kadri turning a corner?: Amidst what has been a wild week of speculation regarding how he and Sutter have meshed, Kadri now has goals in consecutive games after 16 without lighting the lamp.
“When you play in the league for a certain amount of time, you understand that if it’s not going your way, you might have to take a step back and simply, get to the net, grind it out a couple ugly ones until you get your mojo back,” he said.
No news on Tanev: Top shutdown defenseman Chris Tanev missed a third consecutive game due to a lower-body injury.
“He’s better today than he was, but it’s good we’ve got a couple days off and we’ll got from there and see what he’s like on Monday,” Sutter said. “I don’t have a good answer because there isn’t one. He’s just got to get better.”
QUICK HITS: It wasn’t a pretty win, but Sutter happily called it a “gut-check game” before noting “Nine games in 15-and-a-half days. They guys that play lots of minutes after Tanny went out, it’s hard for them. It’s been heavy lifting.” … Lost in the win was a couple of great saves by goalie Jacob Markstrom midway through the third period … Sharks defenseman Erik Karlsson now has 90 points in his quest to become the sixth blueliner in NHL history to reach 100.
