Flames spoil Rittich's debut in Toronto blue
FLAMES 3, LEAFS 2 (OT)
It's always a little weird facing a former teammate for the first time.
It's rarely as strange as it was for the Calgary Flames and David Rittich on Tuesday night, though.
The Flames (16-18-3) traded Rittich to the Toronto Maple Leafs (28-11-4) for a third-round draft pick on Sunday evening. On Monday, he hitched a ride with his suddenly former teammates from Calgary to his new home in Toronto on the Flames' private plane.
When the Flames took to the ice at Scotiabank Arena on Tuesday night, it was Rittich who was between the pipes as the Leafs starter.
The Flames' familiarity with Rittich may or may not have played a part in their 3-2 overtime win over the Leafs, but it was definitely a bit strange to see him in blue and white so soon after they'd literally been on the team plane with him.
And when Johnny Gaudreau got the puck on his stick on a breakaway in overtime, maybe knowing each other's tendencies inside and out played a factor in the Flames' speedy winger going to his forehand and slotting the puck around Rittich and into the back of the net for the game winner.
“I don't know. We had a couple shootouts in the last few practices before the deadline there and I scored a couple on him, so I kind of felt a little comfortable there,” Gaudreau said.
“Normally, I don't go to my forehand. Maybe kind of fooled him a little bit there.”
If it was strange seeing Rittich in Leafs colours, that largely ended once the puck dropped in the first period, although Matthew Tkachuk did playfully give Rittich a face full of snow early in the game and got a tap on the ankle in return from his old friend.
But this was a game the Flames desperately needed to win if they were going to have any shot of keeping their playoff hopes alive.
By and large, they played the type of game that might make fans believe they actually have a shot of making a miracle run happen.
The Flames were tight defensively, dangerous on the power play and largely stayed out of the penalty box.
Playing in his 1,000th game, Milan Lucic set up Juuso Valimaki's opening goal just 4:37 into the game and then fought Scott Sabourin later in the first period. He couldn't find the net to complete the Gordie Howe hat-trick, but the win was a nice consolation.
“I just wish I didn't miss the net on the shift before the fight, or else I would have had the Gordie Howe hat-trick in three shifts,” Lucic said. “It would have been nice, obviously, it would have been a cool storyline, but it's a great achievement and it makes it that much better when you get a big win.”
Zach Hyman did equalize for the Leafs before the opening 20 minutes were through, but the Flames took the lead back on the power play just 34 seconds into the second period when Elias Lindholm finished off a pretty passing play.
The Leafs made their push in the third period, as expected, and tied things up through Alexander Kerfoot, but the Flames seemed to snatch momentum back after killing off a four-minute penalty midway through the final frame.
“The penalty kill did a good job, the power play scored a big goal for us. The second period was real tight checking and we knew they 're the best team in the league and they were going to push in the third and they did and we hung on,” Flames head coach Darryl Sutter said.
Once the penalty kill was through, the Flames largely took over against a Leafs team that seemed exhausted after playing the night before in Montreal.
That's something the Flames are going to have to cope with on Wednesday when they play their first of five games in 11 days against the Montreal Canadiens. It could be a season-defining stretch.
The fourth-place Habs have three games in hand and remain six points ahead of the Flames. If there's any chance of catching the Canadiens and leapfrogging them into the playoffs, these head-tohead matchups will be pivotal.
Beating Rittich and the Leafs on Tuesday gives them a chance, at least.