The only thing better than the ability to execute third-period comebacks would be not to keep falling behind so quickly in the first place. The Calgary Flames continue to show resiliency, but need to address the root of their problem before the magic runs dry.
Once again on Saturday, the Flames found themselves playing overtime on the road. This time in Buffalo. They’ve needed extra time to decide each of the three contests they played away from home this week. Against the Sabres, the Flames battled back from a two goal deficit only to lose the important extra point in a 3-2 shootout decision.
This followed the late overtime loss to the Bruins in Boston, which came after the impressive Matt Coronato-led comeback victory over the Montreal Canadiens to start the week and the road trip off on a positive note.
As exciting as the comebacks have been this year, the Calgary Flames could do themselves a favor and figure out how to have more impressive starts. It’s troublesome the team can so consistently find themselves falling behind early.
It was especially early on Saturday with the Flames playing a matinee game in Buffalo. The early start looked a lot like the later starts. The Flames found themselves trailing a little more than a minute in thanks to Zack Benson‘s goal.
“These ones, you’ve got to get into them quick, whether it’s making a hit, taking a hit, blocking a shot, having five coffees, I don’t know what it is, but you have to do something to get yourself into it right away,” Flames defenceman MacKenzie Weegar told reporters in Buffalo after the early afternoon contest.
Related: 2024 NHL Hall of Famer Reflects on Almost Joining the Calgary Flames
Another area of contention is the Flames penalty kill, which gave up a goal to Tage Thompson that made it 2-0 Sabres in the first period.
It was looking like a scoreless second period, too, but Coronato again breathed life into the Flames with his third goal of the trip with a little more than two minutes left in the period. He got himself into perfect position to tap in a pass from Weegar on a bit of a scrambled entry.
Flames captain Mikael Backlund evened the score with a few minutes remaining in regulation, finding the open side on a nice feed from Jonathan Huberdeau down low.
But JJ Peterka was the only player to score in the shootout and the Flames settled for another single. They’re now 7-5-3 on the season and went 1-0-2 on the road swing.
“We can’t be satisfied with just getting loser points,” Backlund said. “We have to find ways now to win games and get back on track with better starts.”
View the original article to see embedded media.
