Ultimately, they couldn’t pull it off. Some will blame the referees for that.
The Winnipeg Jets capitalized Saturday on a late power-play, with Cole Perfetti potting the go-ahead goal with less than four minutes remaining in regulation as the visitors escaped the Saddledome with a 5-3 victory.
Flames centre Nazem Kadri was seething as he left the penalty box, giving Cody Beach an earful for a slashing call that he didn’t believe was justified, especially in the late stages of a tied tilt. Beach figured that Kadri deserved to sit two minutes for a chop to Neal Pionk’s hands as he carried the puck around his own net.
“We had a great game on our hands,” said Kadri, who was tossed with a 10-minute misconduct as he continued to voice his frustrations after Mason Appleton’s empty-netter. “It’s very unfortunate that’s what it had to come down to. I feel like you’ve gotta have some feel for the game. And especially when they’re coming off a five-on-three, to have that one called is upsetting.
“I think both teams were playing great. It was tremendous hockey out there. It was just a tremendous battle. And someone had a little too much decision on the game.”
The Jets departed Calgary with a still-perfect record, at 8-0-0.
The Flames, after a scorching start of their own, have now suffered back-to-back losses to fall to 5-2-1.
Kadri, Mikael Backlund and Rasmus Andersson each scored against the Jets, while Andrei Kuzmenko had a pair of assists and Dustin Wolf contributed 30 saves.
Here are three takeaways from Saturday’s showdown …
POWER-PLAY LACKS POP
Go ahead and blame the officials.
We certainly understand the frustration.
But be sure to point a finger at the Flames’ power-play, too.
The Jets were 2-for-4 on their man-advantage opportunities, with Nikolaj Ehlers getting lucky on a first-period pass attempt that banked off Andersson’s skate and Perfetti burying that blocker-side shot with 3:44 to go.
The hosts were 0-for-4 when they were up a man. Worse yet, they allowed a shortie.
You’re not going to beat the NHL’s top troupe when you finish minus-3 in the special-teams tug-o-war.
After a strong start, the Flames have gone three consecutive games without cashing on the power-play. After Saturday’s setback, head coach Ryan Huska noted that the return of Yegor Sharangovich likely created “a bit of disconnect” on the top unit. (It’s nonetheless great news for the Flames that ‘Sharky’ is now back in the lineup after missing the first seven games due to a lower-body injury.)
“I do feel like, at times, there’s a little bit of trying to do too much on your own,” Huska said, assessing the Flames’ recent funk on the power-play, which leaves them with a season-long success rate of 18.5%. “And then it does have a look almost of the play needs to be prettier or nicer than it needs to be. Just make a simple, quick and direct play, and I think we’ll have a more success.”
WOLF’S WIN STREAK SNAPPED
Wolf will be looking to start a new streak in his next start.
After notching seven straight victories, a string that dated back to the end of last season, the
e rising-star netminder was saddled Saturday with his first loss since April 4.
Nonetheless, this was another solid performance from the 23-year-old. What was particularly impressive was the way he shrugged off one of the weirder goals you’ll ever see. Dylan Samberg fired wide, but the puck took a wacky bounce off the back-boards and hit Wolf right on the numbers as he tried to locate that ricocheted rebound.
“I thought, after that, he just got better,” Huska said, stressing that Dan Vladar has been just as impressive when he’s been between the pipes. “I feel both our goaltenders have been that way — they have been resilient this year and they’ve been two of our better players.”
Wolf was at his best as the Flames survived a 90-second stretch with two players in the sin-bin in the third. During that sequence, he stoned Kyle Connor three times.
“That’s a momentum swinger,” Wolf said. “And if that penalty doesn’t get called (on Kadri) shortly after, I think we’re in good hands with momentum. It’s on our side. It’s unfortunate they get another power-play and they ended up scoring late in the game. That’s hockey for you.”
STARING IS CARING
If you’re sitting in a front-row seat and wearing enemy colours, be warned that you could wind up on Andersson’s highlight reel.
His stare-down celebration, it seems, is here to stay.
In Saturday’s second period, Andersson squeezed a sharp-angle shot past Eric Comrie for his fourth goal of the season. He was cruising past when he spotted a fan in a Jets jersey, slamming on the brakes to greet that woman with an intense glare. She was a good sport about it, responding with a good chuckle.
Andersson has also mean-mugged fans in both Vancouver and Edmonton and found a dude in a Pittsburgh Penguins sweater after his other home-ice tally.
What’s really encouraging is Andersson’s current scoring clip. The 27-year-old tone-setter is tied for the team lead with four snipes in eight outings so far.
Throughout his career, this workhorse defenceman has averaged a goal every dozens games or so. His single-season high is 11, his total in 2022-23, but he’s currently tracking to shatter that.
Andersson is also the first Flames’ blue-liner in a decade to hit double digits in points prior to Game 10 on the calendar. Last to achieve that feat was Mark Giordano in 2013-14.