Instant Reaction: Flames gain a point against the Senators

The Sharangovich goal wiped out the final 32 seconds of the first minor, but left the entire second minor intact. However, the Senators took advantage of the remaining time. After a Flames turnover, Shane Pinto and Lars Eller went in on an odd-man rush. Rasmus Andersson laid out to block the pass, so Pinto opted to shoot. Devin Cooley made the initial stop but the puck bounced right to Eller, who jammed in the rebound to tie the game at 1-1 with a shorthanded goal.

Later in the period, though, the Flames regained their lead with another power play goal. With Pinto serving a minor, Morgan Frost swung low and fed Matt Coronato in the slot. Ullmark stopped the initial shot, but Coronato got his own rebound and jammed it past the netminder to give the Flames a 2-1 lead.

First period shots were 13-11 Senators. Via Natural Stat Trick, 5v5 scoring chances were 5-4 Flames and high-danger chances were 5-3 Flames.

The second period was pretty back and forth. The game was not high-paced and the chances were not high-octane, but both teams had decent looks both at even strength and special teams. Neither team was able to cash in, though.

Second period shots were 11-9 Senators. 5v5 scoring chances were 7-1 Flames and high-danger chances were 2-1 Flames.

Early in the third period, the Senators tied things up. The fourth line got hemmed into their end a bit and the Senators cycled the puck to the point. Artem Zub took advantage of some bodies in front of the net and beat Cooley with a point shot stick-side to knot things up at 2-2.

Right after the Senators tied the game, they had a couple golden chances to take the lead. On the first, Cooley made a dandy save on Pinto. On the second, Tim Stuetzle hit the post.

The Flames retook the lead midway through the third period. Jonathan Huberdeau poked the puck off Jake Sanderson’s stick in the neutral zone, leading to a rush into the Ottawa end. Huberdeau and Kadri passed the puck back and forth, ending with Kadri beating Ullmark to give the Flames a 3-2 lead.

But with just shy of three minutes left in regulation, Ottawa drew even again. With both Jake Bean and MacKenzie Weegar battling with defenders around the net, Sanderson fired a puck on net that found a way through – it looked to have bonked in off of Weegar, who had fallen over – to tie the game up at 3-3.

This game was tied through regulation.

Third period shots were 9-8 Flames. 5v5 scoring chances were 8-4 Senators and high-danger chances were 4-3 Senators.

This game required overtime. The Senators had several good looks but Cooley was sharp. Rasmus Andersson was called for tripping during overtime, but the Flames killed it off and got this game to the shootout.

In the shootout, Drake Batherson and Stuetzle scored for the Senators and the Flames couldn’t solve Ullmark. The Senators won 4-3.

Why the Flames got a point

This game was a bit of a slog, if we’re being honest, with both teams seeming to be fighting it a bit with the puck-handling and puck management. The result was a game that was fairly back and forth, but also punctuated by miscues that either created or dissipated scoring opportunities.

But give the Flames credit: they battled through the muck in this game. While they weren’t nearly as defensively stingy as they typically are, they scored enough and got enough big saves from Cooley to earn a point.

Red Warrior

At the risk of being labelled sentimentalists, we’re going with Cooley. He made a ton of big saves in this game and was consistently sharp during this outing. He gave them a chance, and that’s all that can reasonably be asked of a team’s backup.

Turning point

Sanderson’s tying goal late in regulation was a tough one. It was a tough bounce at a tough time.

This and that

Devin Cooley made his second start with the Flames. Connor Zary and Zayne Parekh rotated out of the lineup in favour of Adam Klapka and Brayden Pachal.

Yegor Sharangovich’s first period goal was his 200th NHL point.

After Burner

Join Dean “Boomer” Molberg and Mike “Mike” Gould right after the game for After Burner!

Up next

The Flames (2-8-2) is back in action on the road on Saturday afternoon when they face the Nashville Predators.