For the first time in more than three decades, the Edmonton Oilers and the Calgary Flames met in the playoffs on Wednesday and for the occasion they played a match worthy of the early 1990s, except that the players concerned do not necessarily want offensive backfires to become the norm.
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As expected, the reunion between the two Alberta clubs was sparking, with a few skirmishes taking place here and there on the Scotiabank Saddledome rink, where several of the visiting team’s jerseys were on full display. However, it was more the attack that fueled the fire. Calgary triumphed 9-6 but not without screwing up a four-goal lead. At the same time, the public was treated to its first post-season duel of 15 goals in 29 years.
Unaccustomed to this kind of offensive festival, especially since they had just played meetings of a completely different kind against the Dallas Stars in the first round, the Flames were far from living with the feeling of duty accomplished despite the favorable outcome. If they squander any more chances against Connor McDavid’s gang, the bill will be high.
“It ended 9 to 6 and it was not an ordinary game, admitted to the site NHL.com Blake Coleman, author of a double. Perhaps this is the culmination of what has been built in the last 30 years. There was a lot of enthusiasm and drive. But if our club wants to be successful, we have to do a lot of work.”
Indeed, escaping a 6-2 lead against such well-armed rivals up front is not a good idea. However, the Flames are normally reliable on defense and rely on Jacob Markstrom, one of the goaltenders in the running for the Vezina Trophy. However, none of that showed on the ice Wednesday.
“We probably played our 20 or 30 worst minutes of hockey all year, lamented Matthew Tkachuk whose brother Brady, captain of the Ottawa Senators, was very exuberant in the stands to encourage him. However, tied, it wasn’t the end of the world. You have to keep showing up. We can’t let the opponent win and the next goal [the Flames’ seventh, scored by Rasmus Andersson] was huge.”
Already seen
Those who still remember the regular season duels may have felt a sense of deja vu, as the last clash of the season between the two teams took a similar turn: Calgary won 9-5 on home soil. , March 26. The fact remains that almost everyone struggled to believe what was happening before their eyes.
“It was a strange encounter. We scored on our first two shots [against Mike Smith, who was replaced a few minutes later after giving up a third time] and there were surely six different games in one, “said the head coach of the Flames, Darryl Sutter.
The second meeting of the series is scheduled for Friday at 10:30 p.m. on one of the TVA Sports channels.
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