No one in their wildest dreams pegged the Calgary Flames (29-23-10) to finish their epic six-game road trip against some of the NHL’s best 2-2-2, but that’s the record they achieved following a 3-2 overtime loss to the Dallas Stars on Thursday.
Unlike previous nights when the Flames looked gassed and out of sync, that wasn’t the case in Dallas, as the team had a 2-0 lead and played great at both ends until a Jason Robertson overtime goal ended the game.
After a gruelling road trip, coupled with a few losses by the Vancouver Canucks, the Flames are still a point ahead of their rivals and sit in the second wildcard spot.
Let’s discuss Calgary’s performance in the Lone Star State.
Dan Vladar played in his 100th NHL game on Thursday, becoming only the 13th Czechia-born netminder to reach the milestone.
NHL Highlights | Flames vs. Stars – March 6, 2025 Jason Robertson came up clutch, scoring the game-tying goal in the third and later potting the OT-winner to lead the Dallas Stars past the Calgary Flames 3-2…
Before this six-game road trip, he had a 7-10-5 record in 22 games with an .888 SV%. After defeating the top-ranked Washington Capitals last week, Vladar carried the Flames through his starts on the trip, going 1-1-1 with just seven goals against and an impressive .927 SV%.
Against the Stars, whom he never lost to until Thursday, he produced a .889 SV%, his lowest total in four starts. Despite giving up some softer goals, he was one of the main reasons the Stars were held at bay for most of the night.
Whether or not Vladar finishes the season in Calgary is another topic for another day, if this is his last run, it was brilliant.
Media personalities tend to stay professional at all times, but they are sometimes not afraid to discuss topics that are often considered taboo. Late in the third, Sportnet’s Greg Millen wondered why Yegor Sharangovich was still on the ice.
After pointing out that the grinding style that defined the game’s final minutes was not his forte, Sharagovich still played 19 minutes. That total was higher than Mikael Backlund, Morgan Frost, Blake Coleman, Connor Zary, Ryan Lomberg, Martin Pospisil, and Joel Farabee.
It was a curious decision about a player who is a former 30-goal scorer and once thought of as a critical piece to the Flames’ offensive attack.
Sharangovich hasn’t played more than 16 minutes in more than five games, skating 20:27 against the Seattle Kraken on Feb. 8. Meanwhile, he’s got a single goal in his last eight games.
Despite the minutes, Sharangovich didn’t seem to have it on Thursday and kept getting sent over the boards in an almost must-win situation.
As expected on most nights, the Flames combined to block 27 shots, preventing the Stars from attempting more than 45 shots on goal. Moreover, the visitors were the more physical team, keeping Dallas’ top players from creating offense.
Unfortunately, a couple of bad bounces decided the game. The Flames were a strong opponent for the Stars, who are Stanley Cup contenders.
Calgary played disciplined hockey as a team with a lethal top power-play unit, committing only one infraction in the tightly contested games.
Interestingly, the Flames, who had just run the gauntlet in the Eastern Conference, returned to their home conference to face one of the best and held their own.
Sure, they may have blown a 2-0 lead, but Dallas never had a chance to win this game like they did in the previous meeting, a 6-2 victory in December.
Overall, the Flames showed they had the guts to compete with the league’s elite teams and would not back down from a challenge in a high-stakes game.
Although one point is not two, it was better than zero. Calgary has nothing to hang their heads about this game and their overall performance on the road trip. Many thought the bottom would fall out, but they showed they were getting ready for what’s next instead.
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