Takeaways from the Calgary Flames' comeback 4-3 overtime victory over the Dallas Stars on an emotional day

Only a few hours after defenceman Nikita Zadorov is dealt for draft picks, the Flames cued up another thriller for the win column

Calgary Flames players were already at the Saddledome on Thursday when word came down Nikita Zadorov had been traded.

With a game only a few hours away, the emotional roller-coaster of seeing a player dealt away for draft picks was ridden quickly and set aside in time to beat the Dallas Stars 4-3 in overtime.

“It’s a sh**ty business,” said forward Nazem Kadri after he was the overtime hero. “That’s just how it is. You get to know somebody, they're in the room every single day and next thing you know they’re on a different team. Especially when it’s a friend of yours, you get a little sensitive about it. At the end of the day, they’re going to be friends for a long time, but we’ve got work to do. It was a big game against a good team. Nothing you can do but move on.”

The Flames, who received goals from Noah Hanifin, Chris Tanev and MacKenzie Weeger, drummed up another comeback and improve to 10-10-3.

“It’s hard when you lose a player, for sure, but it’s also opportunity,” coach Ryan Huska said. “You lose a good person out of your room, but now it’s an opportunity for another good person to seize the day. That’s the way we have to approach things.”

Curiously, it’s appears Zadorov’s first game with the Canucks will be at the ’Dome against the Flames.

“He’s gonna have a few bucks on the board, that’s for sure,” Kadri said. “I’m curious to know what that is. We don’t look at those things like you guys do. We’re playing the Canucks, against a good team and gotta be ready to play.”

Here are three other takeaways from another entertaining affair.

Defence continues to provide offence

Zadorov was gone but the rest of the blueline brigade stepped up, with a trio of goals from the defencemen getting the Flames to overtime.

Hanifin and Tanev notched first-period markers when the clubs took a turn claiming and then relinquishing a lead, and then Weegar’s long point shot tied the affair with 2:41 on the clock.

Calgary’s defencemen have combined for 14 goals over the past 14 games.

Weegar is tied for the league lead with six goals, two shy of his career best set two seasons ago with the Florida Panthers. Hanifin has tallied five times and Rasmus Andersson has netted three.

Sounds like an opportunity for healthy competition.

“We're all supporting each other and fired up when it happens,” Hanifin insisted. “We’re a unit back there, and it’s nice to give the forwards some grief.”

Resiliency is the big word

For the 11th time in 13 games the Flames surrendered the first goal. For the 12th time in 13 games, they trailed.

Yet, even with a potential tying goal wiped off the board with five-minutes remaining, the Flames cued up another comeback and victory to give them a 8-3-2 mark in their those 13 affairs.

“Our bench felt like we were coming back to win,” Huska said. “It had that feeling all night. It really did. When the penalty shot goal went in (to give Dallas a 3-2 third-period lead), there was no sag, nothing like that. Honestly, the felt they were gonna win the game. You could see it in situations where they gave something up, they came back with a good shift.”

Back to .500 in tough conditions

Heading into the day’s action on Nov. 4, the Flames sat 31st overall with a 2-7-1 and having lost six consecutive in regulation.

They are now at the NHL’s version of .500.

“We’ve had a few opportunities to get there and just came up a little bit short,” Hanifin said. “It’s nice to be back here. It’s still early and we have a lot of room to go, but we’re headed in the right direction.”

Curiously this team has won all three games decided in overtime, while losing all three that have gone to a shootout.