ROUGH NIGHT FOR SQUADS
Wild dominate Flames 4-2; Ice edge Hitmen 4-3 in playoff opener
With only a handful of opportunities left to gain points, the Calgary Flames have no time to lose.
And, frankly, no time for games like Friday.
After a 4-2 loss to the Minnesota Wild — who are in a similar situation as the visitors — the Flames (40-28-7) are still on the outside looking in, sitting ninth in the Western Conference, a point behind the Los Angeles Kings for third in the Pacific Division, and three points behind Winnipeg for the final Wild Card spot.
More importantly, Friday saw the Flames get outplayed, outchanced, and outworked for the majority of the game.
“We’ve gotta clean it up,” said Kris Russell. “This is our season. It’s desperation now. Teams we’re fighting for playoff spots with are on hot streaks and are playing their best hockey of the season. “We’ve gotta do the same.” Now, hanging over their heads until Sunday’s date with the Nashville Predators, they need to get past a loss on the first stop of a difficult five-game road trip that may make or break their playoff chances. They also left goaltender Karri Ramo out to dry, especially in the first and second periods.
Evaluation of the game, Russell said, is crucial.
“If this is the way we’re going to play at this time of the year, it’s just not good enough,” said the Flames defender. “We have to be better. We expect a lot of ourselves. We’ve shown character throughout the whole season and I’m sure we’ll do it.”
For Calgary, visits to Minnesota, have been difficult over the years. Heading into Friday, the Flames toted a 1-4 record in their past five stops.
Considering what was on the line — with seven games remaining in the 2014-15 regular season — they picked a bad time to keep the streak going as the Minnesotans claimed the season series 3-0-0.
Ramo was on the hook for all four goals and faced 35 shots while Jonas Hiller was only thrown in for 6:44 after Zach Parise scored Min- nesota’s fourth goal.
On the other end, Devan Dubnyk, the feel-good story of the year, improved to 25-6-1 since joining the Wild.
“They were dominant (Friday)” said Flames head coach Bob Hartley. “Right from the drop of the puck, they dominated us … they controlled the entire game. It was quite a performance for the Wild.”
When it comes down to it, a noncall on Joe Colborne in the third period fired it up for Minnesota.
Tied 1-1 at that point, Colborne had hit an unsuspecting Justin Fontaine without the puck, which had Minnesota coach Mike Yeo livid on the bench. That ignited the home club and they took advantage of it.
At 3:36, Thomas Vanek struck to put the Wild ahead 2-1. Then, Minnesota captain Mikko Koivu chipped it five-hole off Chris Stewart’s pass to go up 3-1. It was all but over when Zach Parise scored the fourth Wild goal.
Sure, Markus Granlund scored Calgary’s other goal with 4:43 remaining by getting a piece of Mason Raymond’s shot. But it was pretty much in the bag at that point.
“We can’t keep doing that, where we get down two or three goals and expect to come back and win every game,” Russell said. “Especially at this time of the year, especially if we want to be a playoff team. The next two games are huge. They’re mustwins from now on. You’re in a situation where everyone around you is winning. We have to be better.”
Ramo was sensational in the second period, making a handful of saves. A paddle on Nino Niederreiter. Charlie Coyle on a spinaround backhand attempt. A right pad on Jordan Schroeder. A slapshot from Sean Bergenheim. Another pad save on Niederreiter.
And, on probably the best sequence of the game, was an incredible attempt by Jason Pominville.
“He gave us a chance,” Hartley said. “That’s what you want from a goalie. We knew the Wild are a very good hockey club and we knew they’d come at us. We knew we needed a strong performance from our goaltender and we got it ... (The Wild) are very impressive.”
The Flames hit the scoresheet first when Josh Jooris deposited a loose puck only 5:52 into the game. But the motivated Minnesotans stayed patient.
Colborne took a penalty when he tried to break up a rush between Fontaine and Calgary native Matt Dumba. With 16 seconds left in the Flames’ kill, Dumba scored against his hometown team to tie the game.
After one period, shots were 136. After two, 28-15. In the end, the Wild outshot Calgary 36-25.
“I told them (Friday) morning, getting two points in October, November, it’s never easy,” said Hartley, whose club visits Nashville, Dallas, St. Louis, and Edmonton on this swing before returning home. “But getting two points at this time of the year considering the races that are going on in the Western Conference, we need to find another gear.”