Never Say Die

VANCOUVER — Call THAT a comeback.

With a highlight-reel cherry on top.

Connor Zary capped off a wild Flames rally with a spectacular goal 1:33 into overtime, as the visitors erased a three-goal deficit to stun the Canucks 6-5 at Rogers Arena.

Six different Calgary skaters scored Wednesday, with Anthony Mantha, Rasmus Andersson, Martin Pospisil, MacKenzie Weegar, and Jonathan Huberdeau also lit the lamp.

It was a rocky start, though.

The hosts took a 4-1 lead into the first intermission, scoring twice on the man-advantage.

Brock Boeser finished the frame with two tallies for Vancouver, the last of which came off a tap-in in front of the Calgary net with 2:42 left on the clock.

Mantha got the Flames on the board late in the period with a pretty individual effort. The winger stepped out of the penalty box, stole the puck at his own blue line then strode in alone on the Canucks net, slipping a backhand shot past Vancouver netminder Arturs Silovs for his first goal in a Calgary uniform.

The Flames settled into form in period two, outshooting the Canucks 10-3 while testing Silovs throughout the frame.

Zary came close to lighting the lamp at the five-minute mark, but his tip off a Blake Coleman point blast clanked off Silovs’ left post and stayed out.

But persistence paid off with just under three minutes left in the period.

After his initial shot was blocked, Andersson grabbed a pass from Nazem Kadri at the top of the right circle, juked once, and snapped the puck into the top corner to cut the deficit to 4-2.

The pressure continued into the third thanks to Pospisil, who wired a puck home 2:41 into the stanza after a savvy blueline hold by Kevin Bahl. Mantha then dished a pass to Pospisil in the high slot and from there, he made no mistake.

Then, after Huberdeau drew a tripping minor, the Flames drew even.

Weegar grabbed the puck off a won face-off to the right of Silovs and snapped it home, bar down, to send the Rogers Arena crowd into a stunned silence.

For the Flames defenceman, it was a case of picking up where he left off, finding the back of the net in Game 1 after setting a personal best with 20 goals a season ago.

Two-and-a-half minutes later, the comeback was completed.

From the right wing, Brayden Pachal sent a puck toward the net, and Huberdeau was right on the spot to gather the loose change and stuff it home.

The Canucks wouldn’t go away quietly though, adding another layer to the topsy-turvy contest in the final two minutes.

After a Flames shot at the empty net was blocked, Miller raced down the left wing and slapped a shot into the top corner to level the score at 5-5, and force extra time.

That set the stage for Zary.

After gaining the line during 3-on-3 OT, he cut across the Canucks zone from left to right, spun to his backhand to dance around defenceman Filip Hronek, then cut back across the crease, tucking the puck past Silovs’ right pad.

An exclamation point on a wild comeback.

And two early points in the bag.

Five Flames skaters enjoyed multi-point nights including Kadri, who finished with two assists.

Weegar led all Calgary skaters with five shots on goal and 22:33 of ice time.

Vladar earned the win in goal, turning aside 20 shots.

Calgary finished 1-3 on the powerplay, while Vancouver was 2-4.

The Lineup:

Forwards

Sam Honzek - Nazem Kadri - Andrei Kuzmenko

Jonathan Huberdeau - Martin Pospisil - Anthony Mantha

Connor Zary - Mikael Backlund - Blake Coleman

Ryan Lomberg - Kevin Rooney - Adam Klapka

Defence

MacKenzie Weegar - Daniil Miromanov

Kevin Bahl - Rasmus Andersson

Jake Bean - Brayden Pachal

Goaltenders

Dan Vladar (starter)

Dustin Wolf

They Said It:

The Numbers Game:

Shots: CGY 26, VAN 26

Powerplay: CGY 1-3, VAN 2-4

Faceoffs: CGY 46.2%, VAN 53.8%

Blocked Shots: CGY 21, VAN 12

Hits: CGY 18, VAN 13

Takeaways: CGY 3, VAN 6

5-on-5 Scoring Chances: CGY 18, VAN 26

5-on-5 High-Danger Scoring Chances: CGY 6, VAN 13

Up Next:

The Flames return home for the 2024-25 home opener presented by Original 16, when the Flyers pay their lone visit of the season to the Scotiabank Saddledome Saturday at 8 P.M. MT. Get tickets