West coast road trip just what the doctor ordered for Calgary Flames

The west coast road trip, after losing three straight for the first time all season on home ice, came at a perfect time for a Calgary Flames team who simply needed to freshen things up. 

It’s the first time the Flames have gone on the road for more than a single contest since the start of February. And while home ice has treated Calgary ever so well, things became slightly stagnant in the last few weeks, a span that saw Darryl Sutter’s team lose four of seven at the Dome.

Rudimentary defensive mistakes started creeping into Calgary’s game, something Sutter simply won’t tolerate. Well, if the last two games on the west coast or anything to go by, that period of minor unrest looks to be behind them.

Playoff-like win in Los Angeles a perfect way to start road trip

Calgary executed a playoff-brand type of hockey in both encounters, particularly in the team’s 3-2 win in Los Angeles on Monday evening. The Kings are a tough nut to crack, but the Flames, through unerring discipline, opportunistic scoring from the top line and sound, timely goaltending, prevailed.

The Flames won the nip-and-tuck, one-goal contest, something that hasn’t come easy in recent months. Their record in one-goal games improved to 9-4-9. More importantly, the Flames looked playoff-ready.

Playing with poise, composure and dealing expertly with the hostile environment, Calgary showcased its ability to get down and dirty and loved every minute of it.

It’s the type of contest the Flames should get used to as the playoffs near. It also provided separation from the Kings in the standings, who have been putting relentless pressure on Calgary in recent weeks.

Flames conquer Anaheim in tricky contest

Thanks to some timely offence, a game-winning goal from an unlikely source and even more timely goaltending, the Flames triumphed 4-2 over Anaheim last night it what could have been a tricky encounter.

Michael Stone, in his 500th NHL game, unleashed a beast of a slapshot early in the third to score Calgary’s eventual game winner. Stone couldn’t have picked a better time to score his first in over a year. Unheralded heroes are a customary theme around this time of year in the NHL, and Calgary will need all the secondary scoring they can get if they are to play deep into the spring.

Elias Lindholm and Matthew Tkachuk got in on the act and Tyler Toffoli scored his second goal in 12 games to nicely round out Calgary’s scoring. As usual, Jacob Markstrom came up with some timely saves, particularly on Derek Grant and Dominik Simon early in the third to keep his side a goal ahead.

Johnny Hockey had another impactful game. The Flames superstar notched two more helpers and now has 97 points, two shy of his career best. He is also in fourth place in league scoring, two points ahead of Austin Matthews.

The Flames boast the league’s best record since Jan. 29 and are 35-1-2 when leading after two periods. When Calgary scores three or more goals, they have a record 39-6-2.