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The Calgary Flames don’t appear to know the right way to give up.
It’s not of their DNA.
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We’ve seen it repeatedly this season.
It’s been true in so many video games the place they’ve been down within the third interval, like they had been towards the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday evening on the Saddledome.
You’ll assume it’s over after which, out of nowhere, the Flames discover somewhat life and are available storming again. A loss turns right into a win, identical to that.
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And it’s true whenever you take a look at the massive image of the season as a complete, too. The Flames have misplaced two of their top-six defencemen to trades that haven’t introduced NHLers again in return. Administration traded away their first-line centre, too.
Primary logic would recommend that they need to have gotten worse. And but right here they’re, with Saturday’s wild 4-3 comeback win giving them their first five-game successful streak because the 2021-22 season.
“We’re not right here to pack it in and look to the longer term,” mentioned Flames winger Blake Coleman, who scored his team-leading twenty fifth objective on Saturday. “We’ve acquired guys who’ve gained right here and guys who wish to win right here. There’s by no means going to be give up in our group.
“So long as we’ve acquired breath in us, we’re going to have that battle.”
This was a tough week for the fellows within the Flames’ locker-room. GM Craig Conroy traded away Chris Tanev, their greatest defensive defenceman and a particularly standard teammate across the Saddledome.
Everybody understands why the deal needed to occur. Tanev is a possible unrestricted free agent this summer season and is in his mid-30s. He needs the chance to win a Stanley Cup and the Dallas Stars give him a greater likelihood of doing that than the Flames.
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However that doesn’t imply it didn’t really feel like a gut-punch. The Flames had already overcome the trades that despatched Nikita Zadorov and Elias Lindholm to the Vancouver Canucks.
They stored grinding, stored working, stored scraping and clawing to remain inside hanging distance of a playoff place. After which, proper once they gave the impression to be enjoying their greatest hockey and had gotten sizzling, Tanev was traded away.
That’s robust. Simply on a human degree, you possibly can perceive the frustration.
You’ll be able to see the way it might need been exhausting to rise up for a sport like Saturday’s matchup with the Penguins.
And for 2 and a half intervals, it regarded like which may have been the case. Then, Nazem Kadri scored a magnificence and the Flames got here to life. Blake Coleman tied issues up after which Yegor Sharangovich scored his second of the sport to seal the take care of lower than a minute left.
“All 12 months, we’ve been very resilient,” mentioned Flames captain Mikael Backlund. “There’s been lots of issues happening and it seems like we come collectively as a bunch when issues (occur). Shedding Tanny was actually exhausting for all of us and unhappy to see him go, nevertheless it’s a part of the enterprise and all of us got here collectively and dug deep and located a strategy to win.
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“It was talked somewhat bit within the morning, Husk (head coach Ryan Huska) introduced it up too the opposite day. It’s a fantastic alternative for different guys to step up and play extra minutes. Exhausting to exchange Tanny, nevertheless it provides guys alternative and I believed lots of guys within the d-corps performed properly tonight, particularly as the sport went on.”
The Flames use the phrase ‘resiliency’ typically, they usually imply it.
There have been no scarcity of off-ice distractions this season, they usually’ve completed an admirable job not letting them derail the season.
And on a game-to-game degree, not giving up has turn into a legit a part of their identification.
Saturday evening was the third time they’ve earned a multi-goal, third-period comeback win this season. No group within the NHL has extra.
They’ve additionally acquired 9 third-period wins in complete this season. Solely the Detroit Purple Wings have extra, and it’s value remembering that final season the Flames had solely two third-period comeback victories throughout all the season. That was the fewest within the NHL.
“That’s simply who we’re. We don’t again down, we don’t give up,” Kadri mentioned. “It says lots about who now we have in right here and particularly whenever you’re doing it a number of instances, that solidifies it. We have now a bunch of fellows in right here who refuse to go down (with out) swinging and that’s a fantastic mentality to have.”
Is all of this going to be sufficient for the Flames to make the playoffs? Perhaps not. They’re nonetheless 5 factors again of the Los Angeles Kings, who’re sitting within the second wildcard place after Saturday evening’s motion.
Noah Hanifin is sort of actually going to be moved earlier than the March 8 commerce deadline.
Perhaps that would be the breaking level and the exodus of expertise will show an excessive amount of.
Don’t depend on the Flames simply accepting that and waving the white flag.
They’ve show again and again this season that that’s not who they’re.
daustin@postmedia.com
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