Momentum’s a funny thing.
It comes and goes, it ebbs and flows.
But when it’s in your grasp, it provides a feeling of insurmountability.
The Flames are hopeful four periods worth of momentum can carry over into their next challenge, a Tuesday home date with the Predators at Scotiabank Saddledome. Get tickets
The team returned to practice Monday morning, following an effort Saturday in Seattle that Head Coach Ryan Huska suggested was his team’s most complete of the campaign.
And all of a sudden, the prospect of back-to-back wins is on the table, after a contest in Washington state that saw Calgary match a season-low with just 20 shots on goal against.
Flames captain Mikael Backlund has seen plenty of momentum swings over the course of his 900-plus game NHL career.
For him, it begins and ends with energy, and pace.
“For quite some time, against Dallas, we were playing some good hockey but didn’t win, then we carried it over into Seattle, played even better, big win and now we’ve got to keep it coming,” he said following practice at the ‘Dome.
“It’s about carrying momentum, but also resetting for the next game, coming out with the same kind of energy, and playing with the same pace that we did last game.”
Backlund opened his 2023-24 account with a pair of goals against the Kraken, while Rasmus Andersson also found the scoresheet in the form of an empty-net goal that sealed Seattle’s fate.
For the Flames blueliner, one win is great, but two - or more - is what his group is after.
“You can’t be one and done in this league, we’ve got to get on a run here, especially after losing six in a row, we’ve got to get on a little run here, play some good hockey,” Andersson said.“We’re playing some tough teams here over the next few weeks.”
The weight of that recent six-game losing streak has been flung from Calgary shoulders and tossed aside like yesterday’s news.
Huska is glad to see it in the rear-view mirror, but cautioned against complacency with three more contests on the calendar this week.
“(The win) allows them to breathe a little bit,” he said. “It’s heavy, and there’s no hiding, and when you’re not getting the results, the players feel it, the staff feels it, it’s heavy.
“The challenge now is, you take that newfound energy and you don’t think it’s going to come easy the next game.”
The mood is better, the team feels better, and for Backlund, the next challenge is to remain on toes against a Nashville team that took all three meetings against the Flames in 2022-23.
“Today (at practice), I could tell guys were more upbeat,” Backlund noted.
“It’s a nice feeling to win again, now we’ve got to push each other to win games.”
