The look on Calgary Flames goaltender seconds after the puck snuck past him in their overtime loss to the Vegas Golden Knights said it all on Saturday night. Every point feels like life and death for the rookie goaltender. And it might be factual for the Flames as the regular-season winds down and they continue their come-from-behind wildcard coup attempt.
It was a massive game — as they all are at this point — as one of two the Flames had ‘in hand’ over the Minnesota Wild. The Wild have struggled and the St. Louis Blues have blasted past them in the Western Conference standings. Starting the night five behind, the single earned by yet another Flames third-period comeback effort was enough to close their gap to four points with a head-to-head battle against the Wild just around the corner. And the Flames still have that one extra game in their pocket.
Yet it feels like fate has other plans. The frustration on Wolf’s face came after the winning goal banked off defenseman MacKenzie Weegar, then his own body as it seemed destined for the back of the net. The look could easily have been applied to the second no-goal call on teammate Blake Coleman this week on pucks that could only have been fractions of a millimeter short of fully crossing the goal-line. We won’t even mention the other recent scores called off for being kicked, or goaltender interference.
The same look could have been reserved for the post Nazem Kadri looks like he’s trying to hit in a soccer/football Ted Lasso practice showdown.
The hockey gods, if there are such things (spoiler, there are not) do not favor the Calgary Flames.
“It sucks. I feel like we haven't gotten any bounce to go our way, in a numerous amount of games,” Wolf told reporters at the Saddledome post-game. “I mean, how many times have the puck just sat on the line and just not crossed?
“But we got a point, and we got a good stretch here where I think we can make some ground.”
The forsaken are definitely keeping things interesting. On Saturday they were down 2-0 late in the second period, facing the prospect of going eight full periods against the Knights without a single goal to show for it. Then Joel Hanley connected on a Kadri assist with eight seconds left in the frame. Matthew Coronato scored the tying goal just 43 seconds into the third period and the Flames managed to hold on to force OT.
The winning goal, Reilly Smith’s second of the game, came with 29 seconds remaining in the extra frame. The Flames didn’t come all the way back in this one, but they continue to bare their teeth in the playoff war nobody pictured them in before the season began.
“We’re the underdogs. That’s the biggest thing. We came into the year with everybody saying we’re going to suck, and look at us now — we’re fighting for our lives to sneak in. And you know what, we’re going to get in.”