Instant Reaction: Flames rally back to tame Panthers

A little later, the Flames got caught on a bad line change, leaving Rasmus Andersson all alone to defend an odd-man rush against A.J. Greer and Sam Bennett. It didn’t go well, and Bennett fired the puck past Cooley to go up 2-0.

But a little later, the Flames got on the board. Blueliner Yan Kuznetsov skated into the Panthers zone and, using a defender as a screen, fired the puck past Daniil Tarasov to cut the Florida lead to 2-1.

Awhile later, the Flames tied things up. Mikael Backlund made a smart read from below the goal line, throwing the puck to the point for MacKenzie Weegar. Weegar’s low point shot through traffic beat Tarasov to make it a 2-2 game.

First period shots were 19-14 Panthers. Via Natural Stat Trick, 5v5 scoring chances were 15-8 Panthers and high-danger scoring chances were 10-5 Panthers.

Late in the first period, the Panthers took two minor penalties on the same sequence, which gave the Flames a five-on-three power play that carried over into the second period. The Flames cashed in on that advantage, as a Rasmus Andersson shot was stopped by Tarasov, but Morgan Frost deposited the rebound into the Florida net to give Calgary a 3-2 lead.

Later in the period, the Flames scored again off a pretty similar play. This time, Andersson’s shot was deflected by Nazem Kadri in front of Tarasov’s net. That deflection beat the Florida netminder to give Calgary a 4-2 advantage.

Second period shots were 10-8 Flames. 5v5 scoring chances were 8-5 Flames and high-danger scoring chances were 3-0 Flames.

The Panthers pressed in the third period, obviously aware that they were down two goals on home ice. They got a few good looks and eventually managed to trim Calgary’s lead.

The Panthers entered the Flames zone with speed and numbers, with Brad Marchand entering as the trailer, receiving a pass in the slot from Sam Reinhart, and firing the puck past Cooley. That cut the Flames’ edge to 4-3.

The Panthers pulled Tarasov for the extra attacker and pressed late, but Yegor Sharangovich made a great defensive play around the blue paint, and then Joel Farabee scored an empty-netter to give the Flames a 5-3 lead. That was enough for the two points.

Third period shots were 12-10 Panthers.

Why the Flames won

The Flames were kinda tentative and slow in the first few minutes of the first period. But give them credit: they woke up pretty quickly and the details that were wholly absent in the first few minutes were fully present for much of the rest of the game. The Flames made life really easy for Florida early on. After that point, they made life tough for them, and they ended up getting rewarded for their efforts.

Red Warrior

Nazem Kadri had a goal, won over 60% of his draws, and led the Flames in shots on goal. He had a three point game, and his line was flat-out excellent.

Turning point

We’re gonna cop out and say “the second period.” The Flames were superb at bottling up the Panthers in the middle frame and making them play the game on their terms. They also out-scored them, taking the lead. It was a really strong 20 minutes of Flames hockey.

This and that

This was Devin Cooley’s sixth start of the season. Otherwise, the Flames made zero lineup changes.

Yan Kuznetsov’s goal was the first of his NHL career. Joel Farabee’s goal was the 100th of his NHL career.

Blake Coleman celebrated his birthday on Friday. He turned 34.

After Burner

Join Mike Gould and myself right after the game for After Burner!

Up next

The Flames (9-14-3) continue their road trip on Sunday afternoon against the Carolina Hurricanes.