Photo Credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports
Another rookie was added to the Flames line-up last night as Wideman and Hudler were added to the long list of injured players. Tyler Wotherspoon made his defensive debut against the New York Islanders in a comeback game that made it great to be a Flames fan.
Markus Granlund is proving his worth as he opened the scoring again last night early in the first. With an assist to Paul Byron and Joni Ortio, who made a long pass up the ice to Granlund in the neutral zone. The Islanders, Kyle Okposo, tied it up later in the second half of the period.
The Islanders dominated the second period as the Flames fell apart and couldn’t keep the puck out of the net or out of their own zone for that matter. A defensive breakdown by the Flames led to two goals by New York and a 3-1 lead by the end of the second frame.
But then the third period proved why it’s great to be a Flames fan. The opening few mins were tough to watch as the Flames fought for position on the ice and for puck possession. But by the second half of the period, the Islanders gave over their domination to the youth who made up most of the Flames roster. A spark of hope rose in the bellies of Flames fans everywhere as we watched Joe Colborne bury a feed from Mark Giordano and Mike Cammalleri to bring the score within one. A few minutes later, T.J. Galiardi threw the puck out front from behind the Isles net to Sean Monahan who buried it to tie the game.
With our defensive line back in form, Gio and T.J. Brodie got the assists on Colborne’s late period goal that took the Flames over the Islanders with a final score of 4-3. The Youth Movement is in full effect in Calgary as the comeback kids took over the third period and won after three goals in the final period.
My 1 Star
He sacrificed himself by blocking shots in the defensive zone, he was the catalyst to creating scoring opportunities in the offensive zone, and he notched himself an assist and 23:44 of ice time. While paired with Mark Giordano, Brodie is able to prove his value as part of the Flames defensive force. He’s naturally talented and works well within the Flames organization.
Go Flames!