3 reasons Calgary Flames won playoff series vs Dallas Stars

No. 3: Goaltender Jacob Markstrom put on a show for the Calgary Flames.

It was the battle of the goalies. As mentioned earlier, Stars Oettinger gave his all for his team. But, we cannot overlook just how good Jacob Markstrom was for the Flames.

Markstrom is nominated for the Vezina Award, which goes to the league’s best goalie during the regular season. He was able to put his award-nominated game to the test and passed with flying colours.

All season he was either breaking records or coming close to them. In this series he posted the highest save percentage in franchise history.

Yes, he did better than Stanley Cup-winning goaltender Mike Vernon and Stanley Cup runner-up, Miikka Kiprusoff.

He didn’t need to play like Oettinger. For most of the series, the Flames were in control. But you win in the playoffs with timely goaltending. And that’s what Markstrom provided for Calgary.

The Flames defensively collapsed a few times over the series. Some resulted in goals while others were great stops by Marky.

If Calgary wants to move on in Round 2, they’ll need to play better in front of their goalie. Tips and some terrible coverage in the defensive zone cost the Flames some goals. But when they needed him to shut down a breakaway chance or get the puck moving out of their zone, he stepped up.

Markstrom finishes round one with a 4-3 record, one shutout and one assist.

No. 2:  When it mattered the most, the Calgary Flames key players stepped up in a timely fashion.

All season long, Sutter preached about wanting secondary scoring. Guys like forwards Dillon Dube, Mikael Backlund, and even Tyler Toffoli needed to do better down the stretch.

All of a sudden the need wasn’t just secondary scoring. The need from Sutter was to have his star players show up, like Matthew Tkachuk.

The 40-goal scorer finally did what everyone was begging him to do:

A breakout pass from Markstrom to the stick of Gaudreau got the Flames on a rush to Oettinger’s glove side. Gaudreau glided to the slot and tucked the puck to Tkachuk who then sniped it top shelf over the shoulder for the game-tying goal.

It was Tkachuk’s first goal of the playoffs and couldn’t have come at a better time. But he wasn’t the only one with his first of the postseason.

Tyler Toffoli, who started hot with the Flames in February, finally got on the board.  His goal got Calgary on the board but it was short-lived as Dallas scored a few seconds after. Nonetheless, it was a much-needed “monkey off the back” moment for Toffoli.

Read more: Analyzing Tyler Toffoil’s tenure since trade from Canadiens

I’ve been a believer in ‘you don’t need to put up points to be productive.’

Though they were held off the scoresheet in Game 7, both the third and fourth lines played physically and kept Dallas at bay for most of the series.

Also, a special mention to forward Elias Lindholm. He started this series on a roll and was able to be a productive player on the top line.

No. 1: Assistant captain Johnny Gaudreau had himself a series for the Calgary Flames.

How do you describe what Johnny Gaudreau has done this season? Simple answer: you don’t. You just let his play do all the talking and you sit back and enjoy it.

In Game 7, with defenceman Chris Tanev out, Gaudreau had an extra letter placed on his jersey. He’d wear the ‘ A’ for the first time in his career. And he deserved it.

Johnny Hockey was the best player for the Flames all series long. He’s already surpassed his career-high in playoff assists with six so far, and he only needs two goals and one point to tie his postseason bests in goals and points. He did all this in just seven games.

The only two goals he scored were potentially franchise-altering. His first of the playoffs was a penalty shot in Dallas during Game 4. It gave the Flames a 2-0 lead and all the momentum in the third period. Calgary also tied the series 2-2 heading to the Saddledome for Game 5.

Gaudreau’s second goal of the series was the last and most important. He finally solved Oettinger in overtime to send the Flames to the second round.

There’s a lot of speculation about what he and the Flames will do this offseason. Thankfully, we can continue to push this conversation back a few more weeks.

But you know he’s out there proving himself to the organization and other teams. He’s always had the knock of “not a playoff performer.” The stats don’t lie there. However, every bad thing said about him now is irrelevant. He is that guy.

The Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers will continue their respective quests for the Stanley Cup on Wednesday night at the Scotiabank Saddledome.