The situation in Calgary on Tuesday night was set for a patented Chicago Blackhawks rally and win. With the game tied, 2-2, and five minutes left on the clock, it seemed all set.
Perhaps in earlier years, but not on Tuesday. The Flames’ Matthew Tkachuk broke the tie and help send Calgary to a 5-2 win.
Jacob Markstrom made 19 saves in the Flames win.
“First game back for this three-game homestand, it’s nice to really grind this one out when we definitely were battling all over both countries the last few weeks,” Tkachuk said.
Calgary improved to 12-3-5.
“There wasn’t much left there, was there,” Flames head coach Darryl Sutter said. “You could see right at the start. It was one of those games where you’re physically there, but not quite sharp mentally.”
Brandon Hagel and Reese Johnson were the Chicago strikers.
“The consistency of playing a certain way is not there yet, but it’s getting there,” Chicago head coach Derek King said. “I know these guys, going in there after the game they were disappointed. As the season has gone so far, that’s a positive that they are upset about it.”
The Hawks dropped to 6-11-2.
Dillon Dube and Milan Lucic also hit for goals for the Flames.
“It was probably the toughest stretch of our schedule, playing nine games in 15 days, starting in Calgary, ending in Calgary, so it just felt like one big, long road trip, but I think we did a good job of managing our energy, managing our rest, being fresh in all nine games,” Lucic said.
Calgary’s Trevor Lewis and Johnny Gaudreau added empty-net goals to make the 5=2 final.
Marc-Andre Fleury made 34 saves in the Chicago loss.
“It’s obviously nice to contribute,” Johnson said. “I think I want to be able to do that more, get some greasy ones in front of the net, but obviously we want to come out of that with two points.”
You must be logged in to post a comment.