Flames grit out a win over lowly Coyotes
Team finds a way to record victory in absence of injured star Gaudreau
It won’t be easy.
And it won’t often be pretty, either.
But just hours after Wednesday’s revelation that superstar Johnny Gaudreau required surgery on a fractured finger, the Calgary Flames showed the sort of resolve that will necessary to collect wins without their offensive go-to guy, scratching out a 2-1 overtime victory against the Arizona Coyotes at the Saddledome.
Wednesday’s showing won’t totally quash the concerns that Calgary’s already-sputtering offence will be mostly stalled while Johnny Hockey recovers from his busted digit, but Michael Frolik scored on a sizzling shot in the bonus period and the Flames deserve full marks for sweeping a tricky back-to-back that started with Tuesday’s 1-0 shutout triumph in Minnesota.
“We’re not the first team, or the last, that is going to lose a star player and then have to find a way to manufacture wins,” said Flames head coach Glen Gulutzan after Wednesday’s injury announcement.
On this night, they managed to do exactly that.
Thanks to rookie left-winger Matthew Tkachuk, who spoiled Mike Smith’s shutout bid early in the third period when he whistled a shot through a puck-sized opening on the short side.
Thanks to Frolik, who raced away after Coyotes centre Brad Richardson coughed up the puck in overtime and zipped a shot just inside the post.
And thanks to netminder Chad Johnson, who pitched a 27-save shutout Tuesday against the Wild and was nearly perfect again, delivering 20 stops in a second consecutive win.
“I think you see how well we can play as a group,” Johnson said. “In this league, it’s not about one guy. I think in the outside world, a lot of focus is on one person. But it takes such a big group to win hockey games. We are obviously going to miss Johnny, but we have to find ways to win hockey games. Teams do it.” They did it. For one night, anyway. Sure, it was against a cellardwelling club, but masked man Mike Smith threatened to steal two points for Desert Dogs in his return from a lower-body injury.
Smith, who had missed a dozen consecutive contests, certainly didn’t look like a guy coming off a four-week layoff.
He reacted just in time to swat away a shot late in the opening frame, bailing out teammate Lawson Crouse after the rookie winger accidentally deflected Dougie Hamilton’s point-shot.
Smith flashed a pad early in the second for a dandy denial on Frolik, who unloaded a one-timer from the slot.
When left-winger Tobias Rieder slid a rebound behind Johnson with 17.6 seconds remaining in Wednesday’s middle stanza, you wondered if that would be enough but Tkachuk finally solved the Coyotes starter in the third. The youngster charged to the net after a scrambled faceoff, spied a sliver of light over Smith’s left shoulder and then picked the top shelf on the short-side with a perfect shot.
Smith forced overtime with several more key stops, but Frolik ensured that the Flames were rewarded with two points that they absolutely deserved.
“With the news you get (Wednesday) and the way we’ve been playing at home this year and how we were really able to pull through when we were down, all the little things add up to a really big win,” Tkachuk said.
The Flames will play host Friday to the Chicago Blackhawks at the Saddledome (7 p.m., Sportsnet West/Sportsnet 960 The Fan) before embarking on a six-game, 10day road-trip that includes stops in Detroit, Buffalo, Columbus, Boston, Philadelphia and Brooklyn.
We’re not the first team, or the last, that is going to lose a star player and then have to find a way to manufacture wins.