'GOTTA DUST YOURSELF OFF'

Staggered. Shaken. Stunned.
As if they'd just stumbled out of a blind-side car wreck.

"I little bit, I guess, panicked,'' confessed Michael Frolik in the hard-to-wrap-your-head-around aftermath of one of the most bizarre finishes seen hereabouts in many a moon. "I just should've just cleared the puck from our zone.
"But I saw Brodes there. I tried to pass it to him. I passed it to his backhand. And you guys see what happened.
"An awful play.
"At this time of game you just turn and get it out. It's my fault, definitely.
"It's kinda on me."
From 2-1 up and looking solid to 3-2 down and chasing late, in the space of the time it takes to count to 10.
An ensuing empty-netter at 19:07 and the fairy-tale freight train of the first-year Vegas Golden Knights continues to roll on, 4-2 winners over the Flames on Tuesday at the Scotiabank Saddledome.
Ironically, among the most dependable of Flames, Frolik - marking his return after 11 games away due to that fractured jaw - fires the ill-advised pass backwards in the defensive zone that winds up needing attending to by his own goaltender, an understandably startled Mike Smith.
The rebound spits out to onrushing Golden Knights' left-winger Erik Haula for the easiest of finishes at 18:14.
Tie game, 2-2.
Compounding the misery, with the Flames still in 'What just happened …?' mode, right off the ensuing face-off lickety-split Jonathan Marchessault collects a chip off the boards, swings wide to the centre of the ice on Mark Giordano and air-mails a special-delivery poison dart past Smith short-side, at 18:24.
"Like the rest of you,'' conceded Flames' boss Glen Gulutzan during his post-game media availability, "I'm still a little bit in shock.
"I thought we played good for 58-and-a-half minutes. We had a good third. It's the first time we've lost in 50-some games leading after two.
"A lucky bounce."
Tough to pinpoint what was most difficult to digest: The Frolik pass or the immediate reaction of inaction that contributed to the game-winner.
"I mean, he's trying to hit the weak-side D there,'' said captain Giordano of the misplay on the equalizing goal. "A tough, tough bounce there, that one.
"But after that we've gotta clean it up, and it starts with me. We've gotta not let that game get into overtime.
"What was it, 10 seconds after, right off the draw? Unacceptable.
"It's a tough feeling right now. We feel like we should've got the two points in regulation then we give up two in reg and get none.
"It's about as tough a loss as we've had this year."
The twist ending condemned Calgary to its first loss in regulation play in 12 games.
"Even looking at the line change, I watched that play until the very end, obviously looking at the offside stuff,'' said Gulutzan of Marchessault's winner. "We had the guys out there, everybody was still fresh. I know there was a mistake (Frolik) but we've got veteran guys out there.
"They make another play, get a bounce off the wall, the puck's to a dangerous guy and he scores."
Hard to fathom, let alone accept.
After falling behind 1-0, the Flames bounced back on goals from Sam Bennett - his first in seven games - and an absolute beauty courtesy Matthew Tkachuk, slamming on the brakes behind the Vegas net and sliding back against the flow to tuck the puck in with Knights' goalie Marc-Andre Fleury completely bamboozled and off in Airdrie somewhere.
That lead held up until late in the third.
"I thought we were playing well against a good team that generates a lot off the rush,'' said Giordano. "Until the last couple minutes … they had some chances during the game, of course, but 2-1, I mean, it's pretty self-explanatory - we need points.a
"We should've won that game in regulation."
They'll have to snap out of Tuesday's daze of disbelief in short order. The Eastern Conference-pacesetting Tampa Bay Lightning, after all, are here to pay a call Thursday.
"Those hurt,'' acknowledged Gulutzan. "It stings.
"Games like this, they sting. They hurt. They hurt every guy, everybody here.
"This one's gonna sit a little bit. But you've gotta dust yourself off.
"The good teams can get back at it after a tough one like this and that's what we're going to have to do."