It was the perfect template.
The Flames came out hard Saturday night with an aggressive forecheck and a flurry of pucks directed at the Winnipeg cage, and the pressure paid off when they were rewarded with a pair of goals in the final three minutes of the opening frame.
Josh Leivo got his fourth of the campaign banging home a loose puck beside Winnipeg 'tender Laurent Brossoit after a scramble, while a powerplay shot from Mark Giordano went off a Jet and found twine.
However, Winnipeg stormed back with Mason Appleton getting a wonky deflection tally of his own a scant 34 seconds into the second and then Logan Stanley tying it up at 6:19.
But the Flames remained calm, cool and composed. There was no panic.
Their gameplan didn't change - keep up the pressure, and keep getting pucks on net.
Andrew Mangiapane - with his 10th of the year - scored the game-winner 49 ticks into the third period and then Sam Bennett provided the insurance marker.
Both shots squeaked home short-side and neither would have won a beauty contest.
But they highlighted the importance of getting as much rubber on net as possible, something head coach Darryl Sutter has repeatedly talked about since taking over the team.
"I just think we finally caught a break," the bench boss said after the game, which came 24 hours after a 3-2 loss to the Jets. "We haven't had much puck luck at all this whole stretch. When you don't have a lot of that pure goal-scorers that you need to get that break every once a while, and we got it."
There were a few notable changes to the lineup in the game, with defenceman Michael Stone and forward Brett Ritchie drawing in in place of Juuso Valimaki and Dillon Dube.
Sutter was impressed with the play of the veteran blueliner Stone.
"Good on him," said Sutter. "Since I've been here, he's worked his tail off, he's battled back from injuries, he's been on the stay-ready squad and he stepped in and didn't miss a beat. We needed his minutes and, quite honestly, needed his experience back there and his composure."
The night was also special as it marked Johnny Gaudreau's 500th NHL game. He picked up an assist on Giordano's marker.
"My family's really happy for me. … I'm sure a lot of (my teammates) are really happy for me after tonight," he said. "It was a special night, to win playing my 500th game and to do it with six, seven, eight guys in that locker-room that have been with me the whole time is pretty special, too."
