Although it was difficult to score while New York Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin was between the pipes, it was even more difficult for the Calgary Flames to score when the goaltender was pulled.
Almost comically, the Flames failed to score the insurance goal into an empty net several times in the final minutes. That would have ended what is now a 16-game streak with three or fewer goals scored.
In the end, it didn’t matter as they won a rather lopsided game 3-2 against the Rangers at the Saddledome, winning their third straight game with the end of Saturday’s four-game homestand against the Wild of Minnesota.
I say mostly because the Rangers controlled the game for about five minutes late in the second period – scoring twice on goals from Alexis Lafreniere and Will Cuylle to tie the game at 2-2 despite a lopsided 35 minutes.
That set up one hell of a finish, with Connor Zary breaking the tie midway through the final frame.
They pressed until the end to add another, but instead created something worthy of Benny Hill’s music playing in the background.
First, Matthew Coronato saw his attempt get stuck in the cracked plastic guard at the bottom of the net. He had to be fished out.
Then Jonathan Huberdeau, fresh from his 500th NHL helper fired a shot off the post from four feet away.
Nazem Kadri saw a shot blocked by Zac Jones, then Blake Coleman suffered the same fate. And as time ran out, with the Flames still putting pressure on the Rangers, Huberdeau almost received a puck in the face on MacKenzie Weegar’s one-timer from the point.
He missed – the net and the face – but not the Flames.
They scored goals from Coronato in the first period and another from Yegor Sharangovich in the second to take a 2-0 lead. Even though they lost the next two, they took a 37-19 lead on the shot clock in the third period.
We all know that the third period is the Flames’ best this season. They did not disappoint.
Zary launched a short sideways shot that found the top corner next to Shesterkin to end a long goal drought. The 23-year-old has gone six games without a goal and has just one in his last 16 appearances, but he has always looked dangerous in recent times.
His shot appeared to deflect high, but it still counted as the game winner.
“How many messages has it reached now?” “” the Flames goaltender asked reporters after the game at the Saddledome. “I don’t think this is how he planned it, but we’ll take it.”
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