The good news is the Calgary Flames know they can come back from any deficits. They don’t give up, that’s for sure.
It would probably be nice if they didn’t need to do it quite so often, though.
On Saturday, the Flames fell behind by two goals in the first period against the Buffalo Sabres. They’ve been outscored 17-8 in the opening frames of their 15 games this season, so it’s something of a trend.
To their credit, the Flames came storming back with goals from Matt Coronato and Mikael Backlund before ultimately falling in the shootout and losing 3-2.
“It’s been our starts, right?” Flames defenceman MacKenzie Weegar told reporters in Buffalo. “It’s the consistency to start a game. Preparation, focus. It’s a 1 o’clock start and these ones, you’ve got to get into them quick. Whether it’s making a hit, taking a hit, blocking a shot, having five coffees, I don’t know what it is but you have to do something to get yourself into it right away.”
Ultimately, the Flames ended this week’s road-trip having earned four of a possible six points. There can’t be any complaints about that. The only problem is that two of those points came in games that were ultimately losses. They lost in overtime to the Boston Bruins on Thursday and then in the shootout against the Sabres on Saturday.
They still picked up two points from those games, obviously, but they felt like losses.
“It’s a good trip, but we can’t be satisfied with just getting loser points,” Backlund said. “We have to find ways now to win games and get back on track with better starts and play the full 60.”
Here are three takeaways from Saturday’s game:
ABOUT THOSE STARTS
The Flames have now fallen behind in three of their last four games, and there’s no question it’s going to be an area of focus as they return to Calgary for a two-week stretch that’s going to see them play five-of-six games at home.
“It’s the same story the whole trip, slow starts. We know that, we’ve got to be better,” Backlund told reporters in Buffalo after the game. “Going home now, we know first period is going to be a big key for us. It’s great that we come back and show character and resilience to stay in every game and fight back and get points, but if we want to win games we need better first periods and play with the lead.”
There are no easy answers to what is ailing the Flames at the start of games. Saturday definitely wasn’t the first time they’ve identified their first periods as an area of concern, and while there’s probably a built-in excuse with the game starting at 11 a.m. Calgary-time on Saturday, they know there’s more to it.
“We just have to get over that hump and make sure that part of the game that’s causing us problems over the last little while, we’ve got to push it aside and start the game better than we have,” Flames head coach Ryan Huska told reporters in Buffalo.
STEPPING UP
Coronato has not-so-quietly had a really impressive road-trip.
The 21-year-old scored twice against the Montreal Canadiens – including the overtime winner – and then made a heads-up play to drag the Flames back into the game with a little tap-in to cut the Sabres’ lead in-half.
It was a bit of a strange play because Justin Kirkland and Sabres defenceman Dennis Gilbert were tied-up at the red-line and both took penalties, so there was a brief moment where it was unclear if the goal would stand.
It did, though, and it brought Coronato’s season-total to five goals, which is tied with Nazem Kadri and Jonathan Huberdeau for the team lead.
When you consider that Coronato was sent down to the AHL for a weeklong stint with the Wranglers and has played five fewer game in the NHL than most of his teammates this season, that’s pretty impressive.
KEEPING THEM IN IT
Dan Vladar had another solid start on Saturday, and it again seems worth mentioning that the rotation between him and Dustin Wolf is working well for the Flames.
Neither of the Sabres’ two first-period goals were his fault, as Zach Benson roofed the puck from a dangerous position and it’s generally just not a good idea to let Tage Thompson blast a one-timer from the slot, regardless of who is in net.
Vladar didn’t have his busiest night, but he saved 17-of-19 shots and came up with a couple big stops when it was needed.
Both he and Wolf are giving the Flames a chance to win almost every time they play.
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