The Calgary Flames finally have something to show for all the work.
After a rough start to the season, they went into Anaheim on Tuesday and left with a 4-2 win over the Ducks, shaking off an early deficit and snapping their losing skid in the back half of the home-and-home. It was not clean.
It was not effortless. But it was a step forward for a team that needed one.
The Flames got rolling early, outshooting Anaheim 6-1 to start and spending much of the opening stretch in control. That pressure turned into the game’s first goal when the fourth line put together a strong shift, Adam Klapka buried a puck on Lukas Dostal, and Calgary jumped in front 1-0.
Things turned choppy from there. A.J.
Greer was whistled for roughing, and then Calgary stacked up three straight minors: Maxim Tsyplakov for slashing on a power play, Yegor Sharangovich for slashing during four-on-four, and Zayne Parekh for holding. The penalties drained the Flames’ momentum and opened the door for Anaheim.
The Ducks made them pay during four-on-four after Simon Nemec turned the puck over. Beckett Sennecke jumped on the loose puck, went the other way, and beat Dustin Wolf to tie it 1-1.
Then, once Tsyplakov’s penalty expired, Calgary found itself defending a five-on-four. Leo Carlsson took a pass from Mikael Granlund and scored to put Anaheim ahead 2-1.
Calgary settled in after that messy first period and looked much more composed in the second. The Flames rolled their lines, got their legs back under them, and were eventually handed a full two-minute, two-man advantage when Anaheim took a pair of minors at once.
They fired four shots on goal on that chance but couldn’t cash in. Even so, they stayed on it.
Ryan Strome found Aydar Suniev alone in the slot, and Suniev snapped home the tying goal to make it 2-2.
From there, the game tightened up into a third-period battle, and Calgary found the one moment that mattered most. After a near-miss off a deflection at one end and a broken-up Ducks breakaway at the other, Martin Pospisil took matters into his own hands. He went in alone against Anaheim’s defenders, pump-faked at the top of the zone, skated down to the face-off dot on Dostal’s right, and wired a wrister past him for a 3-2 lead.
Yegor Sharangovich finished it off with an empty-net goal once Dostal came off for the extra attacker, sealing the 4-2 Flames win.
It was the kind of result Calgary could build on because the team recovered after giving away momentum. The Flames got into penalty trouble and let Anaheim take the lead, but they regrouped, pushed back in the second, and carried that edge into the final period. A few timely offensive plays were enough to get them the extra goal they needed.
Suniev stood out with his first NHL multi-point game, scoring the tying goal and setting up the go-ahead marker. Dustin Wolf was sharp in net, Ryan Strome led the club with seven shots, Pospisil delivered the key goal and helped at the face-off dot, and Klapka added a goal and a fight.
The turning point was hard to miss: Pospisil’s solo effort to put Calgary ahead in the third.
The Flames lined up exactly as they had on Saturday against Anaheim: Aydar Suniev, Morgan Frost and Matt Coronato up front; Yegor Sharangovich, Mikael Backlund and Joel Farabee on the second line; Matvei Gridin, Pospisil and Strome; and Maxim Tsyplakov, Jonathan Castagna and Klapka on the fourth. On the back end were Kevin Bahl and Simon Nemec, Jake Middleton and Zayne Parekh, and Yan Kuznetsov with Zach Whitecloud.
Wolf started in goal with Devin Cooley backing up, while Joel Hanley and Brennan Othmann were the healthy extras. Jonathan Huberdeau and Sam Honzek missed the game because of injury.
There was also a debut on the Anaheim side, as forward Roger McQueen played his first NHL game.
Klapka dropped the gloves with Jeff Mallot in the second period.
Calgary is now 1-5-0 and heads to Vegas next, with a visit to the Golden Knights on Thursday night.
In Other News...
Flames Could Have A New Trade Question On Defense Soon
The trade chatter around Calgarys blue line is starting to build, and Zach Whitecloud is suddenly one of the names worth monitoring. The Maple Leafs have been doing their homework on the Flames defenceman, a sign that his blend of size and edge has registered around the league as teams look for help on the back end.
For Calgary, the interest is notable because it puts another veteran defender into the conversation at a time when clubs are already taking stock of their rosters early in the season. With Philadelphia weighing changes up front, Chicago nearing Connor Bedards return and Carolina facing a long absence for Jordan Staal, the market is already starting to shift, and Whiteclouds situation could become one more moving part before long. [Read more 🡒]
Flames Fans Will Want To See This Ducks Injury Update
Anaheims latest roster move carries a familiar sting for a player who has battled his share of injury trouble over the years. Forward Ryan Poehling has been placed on injured reserve after getting hurt in a game against the Flames, and the Ducks have turned to Roger McQueen, who was recalled from the San Diego Gulls, to fill the opening.
For Calgary, the update is a reminder of how one sequence can change the feel of a game long after it ends. Poehlings absence stretches out a stretch of weeks for Anaheim and leaves the Ducks adjusting up front, while the play that set everything in motion is the kind of moment Flames fans will remember whenever these two teams meet again. [Read more 🡒]
Flames Face A Tough Blue Line Call As Trade Buzz Builds
The blue-line market is already starting to stir, and Calgary finds itself in the middle of it as other teams begin circling for help. One name drawing attention is Zach Whitecloud, the kind of veteran defenseman contenders tend to monitor closely when they want stability and a little postseason pedigree, especially with his Stanley Cup background still carrying weight around the league.
For the Flames, the conversation is complicated by where Whitecloud sits in his Calgary tenure and how quickly trade talk can turn into real pressure. He was acquired in the Rasmus Andersson trade and is still pointless in five games, which does not change his value as much as it frames the scrutiny around him as the rumor mill picks up and rival clubs keep searching for answers on the back end. [Read more 🡒]