20211025_backlund_celebration

Arenas like this are built for the showstoppers.
Memories have been made here. Names like Messier, Graves and Richter - the altruistic heroes of 'RangersTown' - cemented legacies here. Their numbers hang as a reminder of when.
And how.
Everyone knows about MSG. The World's Most Famous Arena has a way of bringing out the best; a way of celebrating great accomplishments.
It's fitting, then, that Jacob Markstrom and the Flames would deliver a show like that in the shadow of Broadway.

Brendan Parker reports from MSG

Andrew Mangiapane (2), Chris Tanev, Blake Coleman and Mikael Backlund supplied the offence, while Markstrom stopped 28 shots, as the Flames knocked off the Rangers 5-1 to win their third straight.
Trailing by two entering the third period, the Rangers pulled to within one and the raucous New York crowd turned up the volume - but the Flames were unfazed and pulled away with a trey of unanswered markers to secure the two points.
Elias Lindholm had the first good chance of the game when he and his linemates, Matthew Tkachuk and Johnny Gaudreau, were buzzing in the Rangers' end of the rink for a good half-minute. Lindholm corralled a loose puck between the hashmarks and rifled a quick shot labelled for the far corner, but Igor Shesterkin got his left pad on it and calmly steered the rebound into the corner.
The Rangers turned up the heat on the next shift and nearly had the game's opening tally when Artemi Panarin took a long stretch pass and went in alone on a breakaway, but Markstrom stood tall and coolly punched away the sniper's hard, blocker-side offering.
Otherwise, the Flames were in full control for much of the opening frame, dictating the pace and generating a number of Grade-A scoring opportunities.
A point-blank chance by Oliver Kylington, and another by Sean Monahan immediately after, allowed the Flames to build up a 14-7 edge on the shot clock, as the ice tilted even further in favour of the good guys.
Finally, the dam broke.
And from an unlikely source, no less.
Jumping up in the rush during a brief period of 4-on-4, Tanev took a beautiful feed from Gaudreau and buried a wrister from the right circle, putting the Flames up 1-0 at 18:50.
Elias Lindholm picked up the other assist.

CGY@NYR: Tanev opens scoring on 4-on-4 rush up ice

The Flames opened up a two-goal lead early in the second period, as Mangiapane scored his first of the night with a wicked shot off the right circle. No. 88 applied all sorts of pressure on the forecheck, then capitalized on a Rangers turnover, before taking two steps into the middle and beating the goaltender clean over the right shoulder.

CGY@NYR: Mangiapane scores in 2nd period

The tally came only seconds after Markstrom made a gargantuan pad stop in tight at the other end, with Filip Chytil, Julien Gauthier and Sammy Blais working a give-and-go off the rush.
Talk about a big swing in momentum.
Markstrom was THE story in the back half of the stanza, first robbing Jacob Trouba of a sure goal on back-to-back looks, then turning away another D man - Ryan Lindgren - less than a half-minute later by rambling into a snow-angel.
The Rangers had the edge in shots in the second - 11-9 - but the Flames carried a two-period total of 25-18 into the final frame.
The Blueshirts got on the board at 5:25 of the third, with Kevin Rooney swatting home a rebound left by a Trouba point shot. The goal came only a few seconds after the Flames killed off a Kylington minor and looked to have stemmed the tide.
The Flames pushed back - hard - and restored their two-goal advantage only 2:48 later.
Coleman took a Backlund pass and blitzed a one-time shot on goal. The initial try was knocked down by Shesterkin, but the two-time Cup winner stayed with it, gathered up his own rebound and went backhand-shelf to notch his second of the campaign.
Tyler Pitlick nabbed his first point as a Flame on the goal with the secondary assist.

CGY@NYR: Coleman roofs nifty backhand by Shesterkin

Backlund added the insurance with an absolute beauty, beating Rangers blueliner K'Andre Miller to the inside with a nifty bit of stickwork, before turning the rush into partial 2-on-1 and going bar down for good measure.

CGY@NYR: Backlund goes top corner for goal on rush

Mangiapane scored a powerplay goal with 4.6 seconds left to give the Flames a 5-1 victory. He now has five goals on the year.

CGY@NYR: Mangiapane scores second on late power play

BY THE NUMBERS:

Shots: CGY 37 - NYR 29
Powerplay: CGY 1-for-2 - NYR 0-for-2
Hits: CGY 20 - NYR 27
Faceoffs: CGY 39% - NYR 61%
\Scoring chances: CGY 30 - NYR 26
\
High-danger scoring chances: CGY 7 - NYR 15
*Courtesy of Natural Stat Trick

THEY SAID IT:

MARKSTROM ON TURNING POINT IN THE SECOND:
"It's either a 1-1 game and it ended up being a 2-0 game. That's a huge difference. we're always talking about it, as a goalie, it's about timely saves in this league. When the other team is pushing, you need one or two saves - and then (Mangiapane) went and finished it off there. It's about timely sequences and a switch in momentum that can change the game for us."
ON THE TEAM'S IDENTITY:
"Since we started 0-1-1, we needed to get some wins under our belt. Just a hard-working team. We need all four lines to roll and we need six D and myself and Dan (Vladar), the goalies to play well if we're going to have a chance to win games. I think we've been playing much better, not giving up as many chances and the chances they do get, the guys are clearing rebounds. … It's not going to be super fancy and back and forth; we want to be more in control and come as a unit as five. When we do that, we've had success this year."
DARRY SUTTER ON MANGIAPANE'S TWO-GOAL GAME:
"He's really good around the net. He's got a great work ethic, good hands, and even the play at the end, it comes off the boards and a lot of guys aren't going to make that play. They're either going to fan on it or not get it. It's a good package."

"It's about timely saves in this league"

HIP HIP HOORAY:

ONE-TIMERS:

Madison Square Garden is one of the most unique facilities in the world. Did you know that ice level is actually five floors above street level? But get this: There are no stairs. At least, not for the visiting team. When the bus pulls into the rink, players, coaches - everyone - makes a long walk up a steep ramp that (seemingly) never ends. It really puts your cardiovascular health to the test!
The building itself is about 10 stories tall, with the world-famous Penn Station sitting beneath all the action inside.
Elias Lindholm had his consecutive goal streak to open a season snapped at four games (the second-longest in franchise history), but his point spree lives on. Lindholm picked up an assist and now has seven (6G, 1A) in five games this year. ... Johnny Gaudreau's assist on Chris Tanev's opening strike pulls him into a tie with Victor Hedman, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, J.T. Miller, Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid for the league lead in assists with seven.

THE LINEUP:

UP NEXT:

The Flames are right back in action as they cross the Hudson and square off with the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday at the Prudential Center. Puck drop is at 5 p.m. MT and you can catch it live on Sportsnet One/Sportsnet 960 THE FAN.
It's the first time the Flames and Devils have played each other since Nov. 7, 2019. Noah Hanifin led the way with a goal and two helpers that night as the Flames earned a 5-2 victory.
The Flames have won six straight meetings with the Devils, dating all the way back to Feb. 3, 2017.