New York. They were close to laying a great egg last night, but in the end, the Calgary Flames managed to pull off a victory over bottom team Anaheim – thus holding on to the Western streak.
“Holding on together and winning is the only thing that means anything right now,” says striker Tyler Tofoli.
In the weak position they’re in, the Flames are hammered to win all the games they play and in tonight’s home game against Anaheim the pressure is really heavy, because right before Winnipeg – the team they’re chasing for the last wild card spot – has unfailingly made it to New Jersey. Somewhat predictably with a score of 6-1.
In the event of a loss to the Ducks, the gap would have increased to four points and with only five games left to play, it could become almost insurmountable.
However, to the dismay of fans, for a long time it seemed like that was exactly what would happen. The Ducks, who belong to the true bottom tier of the table, led 2-0 at half-time and had a 4-3 advantage after 40 minutes.
In the third period, however, the home team continued to pull together and clawed their way to victory. It was secured when Michael Stone scored to make it 5-4 with just over two and a half minutes remaining.
“It didn’t go as planned at the beginning, we didn’t play well at all in the first two halves, but we stuck together and won and that’s all that matters now,” striker Tyler Tofoli said when he met the media afterwards.
Thursday night, flames and jets meet in Winnipeg. There and then a dramatic race can be determined.
Rasmus Anderson got an assist last night.
The Los Angeles Kings are ready for the Stanley Cup Game. They “clinched away” with a 4-1 win away to Vancouver last night.
– We knew we were going to succeed, but when you get that asterisk next to your name on the table, you still breathe easier, says coach Todd McClellan.
Elias Peterson produced no one-time points, but Adrian Kempe and Victor Arvidsson both had assists for the visitors.