Calgary's razor-thin playoff hopes remain alive thanks to the right man having the game on his stick in Friday's overtime win over Vancouver
We all want to be Michael Jordan when the game is on the line and make the buzzer beater for the win. But most of us would toss an air ball.
Tyler Toffoli is the closest thing to Air Jordan for the Calgary Flames, and they are fortunate to have him.
Toffoli’s second goal of the game for the overtime winner in Friday’s 5-4 victory over the Vancouver Canucks is certainly the kind of marker you receive from a game-breaker.
How many players, knowing full well their season is on the line, would flub that saucer pass that Toffoli corralled before he buried? Or shovelled the puck into the goalie’s outstretched leg? Or shoot high or wide?
The fact is, who else would Flames fans want in that situation other than Toffoli? Nobody else has warranted that faith when the club needed a victory to remain two points back of the Winnipeg Jets for the Western Conference’s final playoff spot, with both clubs now having six games remaining in the regular season.
Flames coach Darryl Sutter can be loyal to a fault towards players who have been part of winning teams in the past — for example, Milan Lucic and Trevor Lewis, but we’ll get back to them later — but he has never wavered on Toffoli, who reached a career high with 33 goals this season.
Calgary’s biggest goal of the season, so far, is a perfect indicator why Sutter has that faith. What the organization needs going forward are more players who want to be difference makers and capable of fulfilling that task.
Here are five more thoughts after the buzzer.
MARKSTROM COMES THROUGH: On the surface, goaltender Jacob Markstrom had a horrible night, surrendering four goals on 20 shots. However, without Markstrom’s collection of saves in overtime, notably against Andrei Kuzmenko, Brock Boeser and especially Dakota Joshua in the flurry just before the game-winning goal, that game is another extra-time disappointment for the Flames.
NUMBER’S GAMES: Finally the Flames win when trailing after two periods, which leaves them with a 1-18-3 mark in that situation. Finally a three-game winning streak for only the third time this season, and first since the start of December. Situations that have been nightmares in the past this season came up in Calgary’s favour. Calgary still has an ugly 17-12-15 mark in one-goal games and a paltry 7-15 record in extra-time affairs, but having those all go right all the same night may bode well for the rest of their Hail Mary attempt to claim a playoff berth.
HECK OF A COMEBACK-LUND: What a strange game for Mikael Backlund. Twice, the veteran centre failed to make a play at the offensive blueline and the end result was a goal against. He also was robbed of a goal. Those follies will be pretty much forgotten with his part in the game-winner — a perfectly placed on-the-tape saucer pass to Toffoli on the odd-man rush.
A TALE OF TWO HUBERDEAUS: It’s hard to believe the same player who scored the game-tying goal is the skater who flubbed a penalty shot. Jonathan Huberdeau has incredible talent, but looked like he was trying to stickhandle a live grenade during his second-period penalty shot. He not only made amends with a needle-threading sharp-angled shot to force overtime, but maybe — just maybe — received a jolt of confidence in the process.
VETERAN WHOAS: The shift for Lucic and Lewis — especially Lucic — that led to Vancouver’s Aidan McDonough netting his first career goal in the second period deservedly resulted in them being sat for the rest of the period. What remains to be seen is whether there are roster changes next game and a youngster such as Jakob Pelletier suits up, or Sutter continues to lean on those two veterans.
ICE CHIPS: The Flames will look for their first four-game winning streak at home on Sunday against the Anaheim Ducks, who are without Troy Terry and possibly Trevor Zegras. The Ducks also play Saturday in Edmonton … After that, the Flames play the bottom-feeding Chicago Blackhawks at home on Tuesday and travel to Winnipeg to face the Jets on Wednesday. It may be a turtle derby for the final playoff spot, but at least it’s entertaining … Troy Stecher may have some defensive lapses, but his goal, as well as the assist he collected, is a prime example of what Calgary lacked for much of the season without Oliver Kylington. Having a shifty and skilled third-pairing defenseman to create offense is so valuable.
