5 THINGS - FLAMES @ DEVILS
The Flames look to bounce back tonight as a three-game road trip continues with a stop in Jersey
Video: Brendan Parker sets up tonight's tilt with Devils
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GAME DAY VIDEO
Game Day with Brendan Parker
Pregame Interviews
GAME DAY FEATURES
'Grind Through It' - Weegar on big minutes
Say What - Pregame Quotes
STAT PACK
Media Game Notes
Scoring Leaders
2022-23 Head-to-Head Stats
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Leading Scorers:
Flames:
Points - Nazem Kadri (11)
Goals - Nazem Kadri (6)
Devils:
Points - Jesper Bratt (17)
Goals - Jesper Bratt, Nico Hischier, Miles Wood (5)
Special Teams:
Flames:
PP - 20.0% (T-19th) / PK - 80.0% (14th)
Devils:
PP - 20.0% (T-19th) / PK - 86.8% (4th)
Advanced Stats:
Flames:
Shot Attempts: 54.43% (4th)
High-Danger Chances: 57.14% (10th)
Devils:
Shot Attempts: 60.83% (2nd)
High-Danger Chances: 65.98% (1st)
There's no way around it. That felt like a punch to the gut.
Up 3-1 in the third period of a game that you've controlled should - more often than not - result in a clean two points.
But it remains a work in progress.
"It's not about winning and losing," said Head Coach Darryl Sutter after his team fell 4-3 in overtime to the Islanders. "It's about the process.
"We've had to almost start over again this year and that's part of it."
The other, he explains, could be the tax on their backend. Already without stud defenceman Chris Tanev due to an upper-body injury, the Flames played (essentially) their second straight game without Michael Stone, too. And the toll, it seems, is having an impact on those in the Top 4.
"You could see at times in the third period, they were on the ice too much," Sutter said. "It has nothing to do with effort or anything like that. I think they were just out of gas at times, and didn't quite have the execution. And that's hurting us right now."
Indeed, it was another big night, with Rasmus Andersson leading the troops with a game high 27:49 of ice time. Noah Hanifin was second with 26:43, Nikita Zadorov and MacKenzie Weegar each played north of 25.
While some costly mistakes were to blame in watching that two-goal lead evaporate in a span of less than a minute, a lot of good things happened.
Mikael Backlund scored his fourth and fifth goals of the season, Elias Lindholm had the other and Jonathan Huberdeau looked as good as he ever has in a Calgary sweater, collecting an assist on the game's opening tally.
The Flames outshot the Islanders 46-32, including a 30-12 margin after 40 minutes. They controlled the extra frame, too, with a number of point-blank opportunities that Ilya Sorokin had the answer for.
Unfortunately, Rasmus Andersson was tagged for interference 3:15 into the 3-on-3, and Noah Dobson wired home the winner on the Isles' only shot of the stanza.
While the loss extends the team's losing streak to five (0-3-2), this one felt a lot closer to 'Flames Hockey' than any of the previous four.
"I thought we played with a lot of energy and had some jump," Backlund said of the first two periods. "Our forecheck was really good and I thought we were all over their D. We were getting pucks in and were creating a lot of o-zone time and chances from a good forecheck. That's what we want to be. We want to be a checking team that plays really hard and I thought we did that in the first 40, especially."
Video: "I thought we had lots of opportunities to win it"
So … We meet again.
On Sunday, the Devils left snowy Calgary at the exact same time as the Flames, but have been sitting around, waiting on the west side of the Hudson ever since.
With the Flames playing the first of a back-to-back set over in Queens, the Devils were busy enjoying some downtime following Saturday's overtime win at the Scotiabank Saddledome.
New Jersey has now won six straight and currently owns the top spot in Metro Division standings with a 9-3-0 record.
"We're playing fast and it's been a fun year for us," Devils forward Nathan Bastian told Aaron Vickers of NHL.com. "It's been preached through our room that we want to play connected. When we're connected, the D know where the forwards are, and the forwards know where the D are, and (goaltender) Vitek (Vanecek) knows where the rest of us are.
"We're trying to do everything as a team because it's such a hard league to win in. We've had a lot of individuals step up as well."
Fabian Zetterlund scored twice, while Bastian and Miles Wood added singles in a 4-3 win over the Flames, after blowing a 3-1 lead. Vanecek finished with 27 saves, with the bulk of his workload coming in the final 40 minutes.
The Devils have now won six straight for the first time since March 27 to April 7, 2012.
"You're going to have to win games in a lot of different ways," Head Coach Lindy Ruff told reporters. "To find ways to win, you can't always win it in an easy fashion and tonight was not an easy fashion.
"Having a 3-1 lead and giving that up, last year possibly that would have gone the other way, but we found a way to end up winning that game."
Video: CGY Recap: Markstrom stops 31 in overtime loss
BACKS AT IT:
Thanks to his first-period goal last night against the Islanders, Mikael Backlund now has 69 even-strength road goals in his career, which is the seventh-most in Flames history (tying Johnny Gaudreau). Backlund also recorded his 83rd multi-point game of his career - the most among active players on the roster.
NO REST FOR THE WICKED:
This is the first back-to-back game of the season for the Flames, who were 9-5-2 in these situations during the 2021-22 season. The Flames will have another night of these scenarios during the 2022-23 campaign.
BEDEVILLED:
The Flames come into tonight's game having won four straight at the Prudential Center dating back to February 3, 2017. Calgary is 8-1-1 in there last 10 games against the Devils and 7-2-1 in its last 10 road games against Jersey. All time, the Flames have outscored the Devils 424-293.
Stick tap to Flames Media Relations Specialist Dalton Ulrich for compiling these notes
Follow him and the Flames PR team @FlamesPR on Twitter for more
Flames - Jonathan Huberdeau
He was an absolute treat to watch last night and looks poised for another strong effort tonight.
"I think I'm trying to keep things simple right now," Huberdeau said after the game. "I want to try and think about the team and help the team as much as I can. Obviously, I wasn't helping the team before and I think tonight was a little better. I've got to obviously build on that and be better."
Devils - Jesper Bratt
The 24-year-old has gotten off to a blistering start this year, leading the Devils with five goals and 17 points in his first 12 outings.
However, Bratt was strangely quiet on Saturday and saw his career-long 11-game point streak come to an end.
Mikael Backlund on the loss last night and the chance to rebound against the Devils:
"It's frustrating. It's tough. We played so well in the first, came out with a lot of jump and energy and carried it over into the second. We made some mistakes that cost ourselves in the third and it's a tough one. We've got to rebound here (tonight). Big game. It's good we have a game right away. We can switch our focus and know what to get better at and come out and play a good game."
