*** 2021-22 Playoffs Opening Round: Dallas Stars (WC1) at Calgary Flames (P1) - (CGY WINS 4-3) ***

[Toronto Jules 65]

1 minute ago, FireDillabaugh said:

I predicted this one being the only sweep in these playoffs with Calgary in 4.  I thought even the Preds would at least win 1 game, and play better than they did.  Shows how little I know...  It's why I don't bet on hockey.

 

But, seeing how Calgary has played so far, not sure they can take down Colorado.  Especially if they get Kuemper back.  Markstrom has played great.  But, there's a lot of offense on that roster that hasn't shown up like they should in this round.

It is hard to take the offensive team of Colorado. I just feel the Stanley Cup Playoffs are a bizarre little tournament that never goes to plan. Everyone knows what Colorado do and the same can be said for the Panthers, but they could be out in the first round to Washington. 

 

The Stanley Cup playoffs are a totally different set then the regular season so that is why I always mix it up a little bit. 

 

I also being a Canadian want to have two teams from Canada in the Stanley Cup Finals. Toronto beating the Flames in 7. 

[OccamsRazor 13,192]

1 hour ago, Toronto Jules said:

It is hard

 

Poor Rick how is he suppose to concentrate with this type of distraction...

 

 

A secret Flames fan running interference?

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 11 by OccamsRazor

[Toronto Jules 65]

Also the Flames play a physical type game which if it does come down to them playing against the Avalanche that could give them some trouble. 

[Villella McMeans 89]

11 hours ago, FireDillabaugh said:

I predicted this one being the only sweep in these playoffs with Calgary in 4.  I thought even the Preds would at least win 1 game, and play better than they did.  Shows how little I know...  It's why I don't bet on hockey.

 

But, seeing how Calgary has played so far, not sure they can take down Colorado.  Especially if they get Kuemper back.  Markstrom has played great.  But, there's a lot of offense on that roster that hasn't shown up like they should in this round.

Haha don't worry man I though Calgary should sweep them too or at least win in 5, but I did pick Colorado to sweep though...I'm not worried about Colorado though for Calgary because their defence shouldn't be an rough as Dallas.

[Villella McMeans 89]

11 hours ago, Toronto Jules said:

It is hard to take the offensive team of Colorado. I just feel the Stanley Cup Playoffs are a bizarre little tournament that never goes to plan. Everyone knows what Colorado do and the same can be said for the Panthers, but they could be out in the first round to Washington. 

 

The Stanley Cup playoffs are a totally different set then the regular season so that is why I always mix it up a little bit. 

 

I also being a Canadian want to have two teams from Canada in the Stanley Cup Finals. Toronto beating the Flames in 7. 

I'm wanting Calgary beating Toronto in 7 for the Cup haha

[Villella McMeans 89]

6 hours ago, Toronto Jules said:

Also the Flames play a physical type game which if it does come down to them playing against the Avalanche that could give them some trouble. 

That what I'm thinking too

[Brewin Flames 747]

Flames use 3-goal third period to top Stars 3-1 in Game 5

 

 

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ByAP

Updated: 3 hours ago

 

CALGARY, Alberta -- — Mikael Backlund, Andrew Mangiapane and Trevor Lewis all scored in the third period, leading the Calgary Flames to a 3-1 victory over the Dallas Stars on Wednesday night to take a 3-2 lead in their first-round playoff series.

 

Jacob Markstrom made 20 saves for the Flames, who can win the series Friday in Dallas. If necessary, Game 7 would be back in Calgary on Sunday.

 

“It feels a lot better than if we were down, but we know it’s going to be a really hard game” Backlund said. “Of course, we feel confident and excited going there. It’s a big game.”

 

Jason Robertson scored the lone goal for Dallas, and Jake Oettinger stopped 29 shots.

 

Robertson, who had a team-leading 41 goals in the regular season, scored his first in the playoffs at 13:21 of the second period to put the Stars ahead 1-0. He drove in from the boards and wristed a shot that deflected off Markstrom’s glove and then off defenseman Noah Hanifin into Calgary’s net.

 

But the line of Backlund, Mangiapane and Blake Coleman struck in the third.

 

“We knew they were going to come hard," Robertson said. “We tried to minimize their speed to the neutral zone and we didn’t and it cost us.”

 

Mangiapane circled out from behind the goal line and centered the puck for Backlund’s redirect by Oettinger to make it 1-1 at 6:49 of the third.

 

“I haven’t scored much down the stretch here," Backlund said. "It felt really good to put the puck in the net and such a big goal as well.”

 

The Flames took the lead when Backlund was in the neutral zone and fed a backhand pass to Mangiapane at the Stars’ blue line. Mangiapane took three strides in and beat Oettinger’s glove with a high shot at 13:20.

 

“It was loud,” Mangiapane said of the Saddledome crowd. “It was great even when Backs scored. You could hear the building erupt. I think the fans were waiting for a goal. Our whole team just fed off that energy from the fans.”

 

Lewis sealed it with an empty-netter with 58 seconds left.

 

Neither team scored on their two power-play chances and are 2-for-19 in the series.

 

“We’re going to look at some stuff from this game and get ready for the next game and it’s not over yet,” Dallas' Roope Hintz said.

 

Flames forward Johnny Gaudreau took a deflected puck in the side of the head at the Stars’ blue line. He went to the dressing room for treatment late in the period, but was back in the game in the second period.

[OccamsRazor 13,192]

1 hour ago, Villella McMeans said:

I'm wanting Calgary beating Toronto in 7 for the Cup haha

 

Wow Leaf Nation would collectively collapse and need medical attention...

[Math 793]

What?!?! Another third period collapse after taking the lead?!?! Holy smoke, that's a true and authentic shocker. This never happens with Stars. Never.

 

[Toronto Jules 65]

11 hours ago, Villella McMeans said:

That what I'm thinking too

I think that just might slow down a little of the offense that the Avalanche has. I am not sure they will be able to shut them down, but they might be able to slow them down enough to make it a very close series and possible pull it out. 

[Hockey Junkie 482]

On 5/11/2022 at 3:21 PM, Math said:

I'm absolutely delighted that Bowness finally decides to split up the line that's responsible for half of the Stars' goal, both in regular season and in the playoffs, for game #5. That's the spark so desperately needed to put back this fantastic offense in business. 

Dallas is finished tonight!!  Calgary will move on

[Math 793]

50 minutes ago, Hockey Junkie said:

Dallas is finished tonight!!  Calgary will move on

 

Wrong. The leadership of Benn and Suter will finally pay off. They just need to avoid taking the lead before the third period (or maybe a 14-goal lead, I'd be satisfied with that). I'm not even worried.

[Toronto Jules 65]

I think Dallas and their defense will continue to keep them alive tonight, but the key word there is tonight. I don't see the Stars going back to Calgary in game 7 and winning two in a row. 

[FireDillabaugh 225]

Expect Zadorov to get at least a game suspension.

[Math 793]

And the usual $5,000 fine.

 

 

[Villella McMeans 89]

Man Calgary fell down harshly...they didn't play tough and ended being pylons after tying the game at 2...frigging Zadorov tries to pick fights when it's too late he shoulda been dropping the gloves when it matters at start of game...nobody had enough emotion except Johnny Hockey...yeesh...ALL I KNOW IS IF THEY BETTER BRING BACK THE WIN ON SUNDAY FOR SUTTER IF THEY KNOW WHAT GOOD FOR THEM

Edited May 14 by Villella McMeans

[Brewin Flames 747]

Wild-card Stars force Game 7 against Calgary with 4-2 win

 

 

---

ByAP

Updated: 3 hours ago

 

DALLAS -- — Joe Pavelski and the Dallas Stars were skating with urgency in the third period. If not, it could easily have been their last one of the season.

Miro Heiskanen scored the go-ahead goal late in the second period and the Stars recovered after blowing an early two-goal lead, beating the Calgary Flames 4-2 on Friday night to force a deciding Game 7 in their first-round Western Conference series.

 

“The message was we’ve got to have a good third. We haven’t always had good thirds at times with the lead, and we wanted to kind of try to turn that,” Pavelski said.

 

“The other night, they came out hard in the third and we didn’t handle it well enough. And tonight was one of those situations where I think everyone bought in. We took a step in the right direction of doing it.”

 

Calgary was in position to close out the wild-card Stars after a 3-1 home win in Game 5 on Wednesday night, when the Pacific Division champions scored all of their goals in the third period.

 

This series instead is going back to the Saddledome for a deciding Game 7 on Sunday night.

 

“A hell of a game. We couldn’t get the equalizer," a rather-terse Calgary coach Darryl Sutter said.

 

The first goal in these playoffs for Heiskanen came on a 40-foot shot with a bunch of traffic in front of Flames goalie Jacob Markstrom. That came with 2:28 left in the second period, in which both teams scored twice.

 

With their season on the line, the Stars didn't give in during the third period.

 

“We went after them instead of sitting back. ... That was one of our better third periods of the year, and it was a timely one,” Michael Raffl said.

 

“That was NHL playoff hockey at its best. That was a great hockey game," coach Rick Bowness said. "Both teams, both goalies, were great.”

 

Calgary will host a Game 7 for the first time since 2006, when it lost its first-round series to Anaheim. This is the third consecutive playoffs that the Stars will play a Game 7 — they beat Colorado in the second round in the NHL bubble in Canada two seasons ago, and lost at St. Louis in a second-round series that went the full distance in 2019.

 

“We have a confident group,” Pavelski said. “Every game’s been tight, been competitive and fun to play in."

 

Roope Hintz and Raffl also scored for Dallas, and Tyler Seguin added an empty-netter in the final minute. Jake Oettinger, their 23-year-old goalie who had never started a playoff game before this series, stopped 36 shots.

 

Markstrom also had 36 saves.

 

Calgary tied the game at 2 with 8:01 left in the second period on a goal by Mikael Backlund, which came 1 second after the end of what officially went down as another unsuccessful power play in this series when both teams have struggled with a man advantage.

 

That made the Flames 0 for 2 on the power play in the game, to match Dallas at 2 for 21 in the series.

 

The Stars made it 2 for 22 midway through the third period when Joe Pavelski had an almost point-blank shot that ricocheted off Markstrom’s skate that was on the line.

 

Backlund’s third goal of the series came on a slap shot that Oettinger had deflected before it bounced off Heiskanen and into the net. That was about four minutes after Johnny Gaudreau’s nifty crossing pass to Michael Stone for the easy tip-in.

 

“They get two, and we climb back. It’s a tight game but I’d say that 3-2 goal late in the second was tough,” Flames center Elias Lindholm said. “Obviously, we’d like to win this game, but it’s a new day tomorrow and a game on Sunday, and that’s why we fought so hard all year to have home ice on Game 7."

 

The Stars had a 2-0 lead about six minutes into the second period when Raffl finished off a wild play in front of the net.

 

Joel Kiviranta was trying to follow up his own shot, even reaching back after skating past the net, while two Calgary skaters and Markstrom all went down on the ice. Defenseman Christopher Tanev was one of the ones down, and tried to push the puck away with his hand before Raffl was able to stuff it just inside the post

 

Hintz got his second goal of the series with 5:08 left in the first period, right after Oettinger withstood a flurry of shots at the other end.

Matthew Tkachuk and Gaudreau, both 100-point and 40-goal scorers in the regular season, got off quick shots in succession that had Oettinger scrambling and diving across the crease.

 

Once the Stars had the puck going the other way, Pavelski had a drop-back pass for the charging Hintz, who sent a quick wrister under the legs of Markstrom.

 

Tkachuk took a backhander off his knee early in the first period that ricocheted off the post.

 

GAME 7 HISTORY

 

Calgary is 5-7 in Game 7s, but has lost six of the last seven it has played. The only Game 7 victory for the Flames since 1990 was in the first round against Vancouver in 2004, before they then advanced to the Stanley Cup Final and lost to Tampa Bay in the seventh game.

 

Dallas is 6-8, including a Game 7 win over Colorado in the second round of the 2020 playoffs, when the Stars went on to make the Stanley Cup Final in the postseason played in a bubble in Canada because of the pandemic.

[Villella McMeans 89]

Hopefully Lucic chases Benn around and Zadorov and Gudbrandson getting into some fights in the first period...the emotion and anger Calgary plays with the better... FIGHT TO WIN FOR FCK SAKES YOU FRIGGIN SUTTER BOYS

[Hockey Junkie 482]

17 hours ago, Math said:

 

Wrong. The leadership of Benn and Suter will finally pay off. They just need to avoid taking the lead before the third period (or maybe a 14-goal lead, I'd be satisfied with that). I'm not even worried.

Flames will finish off you pretenders in game 7

[OccamsRazor 13,192]

4 hours ago, Villella McMeans said:

Hopefully Lucic chases Benn around and Zadorov and Gudbrandson getting into some fights in the first period...the emotion and anger Calgary plays with the better... FIGHT TO WIN FOR FCK SAKES YOU FRIGGIN SUTTER BOYS

 

 

Has there been a better save these playoffs???
 

 

[Toronto Jules 65]

15 minutes ago, OccamsRazor said:

 

 

Has there been a better save these playoffs???
 

 

That was a toe save. 

[OccamsRazor 13,192]

Just now, Toronto Jules said:

That was a toe save. 

 

And a timely one...

 

[Math 793]

Well, I had other plans for Sunday evening, apparently it will be hockey. The Stars decided to be a pain in the ass until the very end. While being great, Öttinger did not steal this one: The Flames started very well, but thing got even since and the Stars really started to get in control from the second period. I'm not saying that because of the outcome but we had to wait until game #6 to finally have a fun game and not the boring 90s trap we've seen so far.

 

1 hour ago, OccamsRazor said:

Has there been a better save these playoffs???

 

I'd say Öttinger's save against Toffoli (or Tkatchuk ?) in game #4. Though Markström did hell of a save, Pavelski played it quite lazy.

 

The Stars are undefeated when Nat "boobs" Gauvreau is behind Bowness, let's send her in Calgary for that game #7.

[OccamsRazor 13,192]

4 minutes ago, Math said:

Nat "boobs" Gauvreau

 

There natural?? Not enhanced? Wow.

 

Impressive.

 

5 minutes ago, Math said:

The Stars decided to be a pain in the ass until the very end.

 

 

All pressure is on the Flames.

 

Will it crush them?

 

Seems Stars are playing with house money.

[FireDillabaugh 225]

https://www.tsn.ca/no-suspension-for-flames-nikita-zadorov-for-hit-on-luke-glendening-1.1799572

 

Absolutely ridiculous.  Should have been a penalty called on the play and a suspension.  League and officials drop the ball once again.

Edited May 14 by FireDillabaugh