Nazem Kadri’s stick toss amid some friendly fire between him and Calgary Flames teammate Rasmus Andersson was a pretty good place to pinpoint where things went off the rails in Tuesday’s loss to the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs.
Kadri’s former club scored twice late in the second period to help send a hopeful Flames squad playing a tight game into a tailspin. The Leafs added another fairly early in the third period to put things out of reach in what would finish as a 6-3 loss for the Flames.
Mentally, it appeared as if things went south for the Flames after the Leafs’ fourth goal, their second in a row late in the second frame. Andersson expressed his disgust for their systematic breakdowns — which appeared to be directed toward the forward group. Kadri took offence, and punctuated his retaliatory statement by flinging his hardware into the hallway.
No big deal. Just a couple of super-competitive Flames veterans expressing themselves freely as the game turned into a free-for-all.
“We’re a competitive group and we’re fighting for a playoff spot, and you could kind of sense it tonight,” Flames defenseman MacKenzie Weegar explained to reporters at the Saddledome after the game. “We want to win every single night and make the right plays every night.
“Guys don’t necessarily want to go at each other, but there’s that competitive, intense time in the game where guys are fiery and hold each other accountable at times, or they’re pissed at themselves.
“It usually doesn’t last long with this group.”
By the time the Flames hit the ice for the third period, things were settled and the team pushed to try to climb back into the contest before Calgary-born William Nylander scored his hat-trick goal into an empty net.
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Things had started well for the Flames with Matt Coronato scoring his 14th of the season late in the first period to open the scoring. The Leafs took the lead with a pair of quick goals from Nylander and John Tavares early in the second period, but Yegor Sharangovich tied it up for the Flames less than six minutes in. Unfortunately for the Calgary Flames fans in attendance, those two Leafs tallies before the 40-minute mark were backbreakers for goaltender Dustin Wolf and his squad.
New Flames forward Joel Farabee — picked up in the blockbuster trade between the Flames and Philadelphia Flyers — scored twice but only his second one counted. Then Knies put a knife in them when he scored to make it 5-3. And Nylander’s hat-trick goal was met from plenty of headgear from the many Leafs fans in attendance.
