Calgary Flames At Winnipeg Jets November 18 – Game Recap

Photo Credit: Bruce Fedyck-USA TODAY Sports

With a six game losing skid in their wake, the Calgary Flames were in Winnipeg November 18 to take on the Jets. It’s been a long two weeks as a Flames fan, but we have powered through the tough losing streak in hopes of a win. And, yes, there was a pot of gold at the end of this rainbow.

It was all Flames in the first few minutes of the first period as they worked together like a well-oiled machine. The last half of the period looked a little unstable with a lot of giveaways, an abundance of turnovers, and too much Setoguchi for my liking, but Reto Berra looked good in net and made a few good saves to keep the game scoreless going into the second period.

The second period was a little more physical and full of surprises in the form of a short-handed goal by Lance Bouma and a another goal by Cammalleri. The Jets got one goal, ending the period with a score of 2-1 for the Flames.

The Flames looked a little shaky at the beginning of the third period but quickly regained their momentum. There was more physicality as Stempniak bumped into the Jet’s goalie, Montoya, taking the helmet right off the goalie’s head in the process, and then Byfuglien received a double roughing penalty for a scuffle that started with some pushing and shoving against Butler but ended up involving the entire line of Flames players. Regulation time ended in a 4-4 tie when the Jets evened the score with not even six seconds left.

Overtime solved nothing and the teams prepared for the ever-dreaded shootout. Colborne was up first and he scored to set the tone of the final countdown even though the Jets tied it up in the same round. This shootout was not going to end easily. It took eight players to earn the Calgary Flames the win when Sean Monahan faked out Montoya with a head bob before he buried the puck in the back of the Winnipeg net. The Flames six game losing streak had finally ended.

My 1 Star

Reto Berra. He looked solid in net during the entire game and always kept his body square to the puck (which had been a problem during his last game). He made stellar save after stellar save in every period to keep the Flames in the running with a very close game throughout.

My Thoughts

The offensive players looked a lot better on defence. Monahan and Galiardi were solid in front of their own net and fought for position to defend Berra.

The young players stepped up their game, while the veteran players looked at ease and relaxed. Considering that Baertschi has been benched on and off during the last few games, he put in a lot of effort both offensively and defensively. Wideman seems to have taken on the role of leader on the ice by staying composed and unfazed when faced with the most challenging situations.

It was three solid periods of hockey, which has been lacking during the Flames games for a while now. As long as they can keep up their momentum in every period instead of handing over the game by only playing 40 minutes, we might see them start to win a few more consecutive games.