Relief, contributions from throughout the lineup, another goal in an NHL debut, overcoming adversity and more led to the slump-snapping 6-3 win over the Kraken
The sense of relief could not be missed. As the television camera panned the Calgary Flames bench late in their 6-3 victory over the Seattle Kraken on Saturday, there was Jonathan Huberdeau raising his eyes and his arms to the sky in relief, players smiling, others laughing.
The multiple 600-pound gorillas were apparently set free by snapping the six-game losing skid that had consumed the Flames.
Now, to see whether one win can become two and beyond.
The Flames earned their victory, and may have deserved a better fate in another one or two outings in that swoon, but the real test is to use their victory as a springboard.
Just look at the Oilers, all their positivity from beating the Flames one week ago at the Heritage Classic has disappeared with consecutive home losses, the latest a 5-2 defeat at the hands of the Nashville Predators, who are up next for Calgary on Tuesday at the Saddledome.
Here are three other thoughts from Saturday’s win:
Mangiapane’s mess: It was completely out of character, but Andrew Mangiapane’s cross check to the back of Jared McCann’s neck while he was on the ice can not be defended. The match penalty and five-minute Kraken power play resulted in a 1-0 deficit the Flames could barely afford. To their credit, Calgary battened down the hatches after and recovered, but Mangiapane’s infraction was more turmoil the club does not need while attempting to turn its fortunes. The likely suspension to follow will not help, either.
Give the kids their due: Two consecutive games with players scoring in their NHL debut, now that is a unique feat. With Martin Pospisil scoring in Seattle a few nights after Connor Zary did the same at the Saddledome on Wednesday against the Dallas Stars, it does lend credence to the belief a youth movement can mean at least some success. It also has people scrambling to decide who the Flames can summon for the next game in case some kind of magic is in the air. Zary had a solid follow up to his debut. Pospisil delivered what was expected, with the goal a bonus.
Finding a connection: The Flames may having something with the line of Nazem Kadri, Zary and Yegor Sharangovich. After a horrid start to the season, Kadri has looked more like himself the last few games. Zary has provided spark, speed and skill. As for Sharangovich, the Seattle game was by far his most complete of the season. Considering how consistent the Mikael Backlund and Blake Coleman duo performs with anybody else alongside them — although Mangiapane has proven to be the best person in that mix — the Flames now have two solid middle-line trios on their hands. Their fourth line, built around Walker Duehr and A.J. Greer has been strong all season, too. Now to see if there is any way to get Elias Lindholm and Huberdeau to turn around their games and have an actual scoring line.
ICE CHIPS: The game marked the first time this season the Flames had tied a game in which they had trailed ... Almost lost in the mix was the play of goalie Dan Vladar. He faced only 20 shots, but stood tall in the waning moments while the Kraken pushed to tie. That’s no easy feat considering there was a stretch of around 30 minutes in which Vladar faced only five shots … Despite the win, there are plenty of reasons for concern, namely the number of turnovers and ineffectiveness of Calgary’s power play when it had a five-on-three advantage … Nick DeSimone also took a puck home, his first career point, an assist, in his fifth NHL game.