20240328_Kuzmenko

With a desperate foe clinging to their playoff lives on the other side, the Flames had to be on their toes and dial it up a notch.

And, boy, did they ever.

But sometimes, Lady Luck conspires against you.

Tied at three entering the third period, what was initially a back-and-forth, seesaw battle officially entered the Bizarro World with an absolutely heartbreaking series of misfortunes.

First, Andrei Kuzmenko should have been credited with his second-career hat-trick, but an incorrect call by the officials took the go-ahead goal off the board. Blues defenceman Matthew Kessel knocked the puck down with a high stick in front, but referee Carter Sandlak inadvertantly thought Kuzmenko did before plunging it home along the goal line. And because the contact was made prior to the goal, the play was not reviewable.

Brandon Saad scored only moments later to give the Blues a 4-3 lead.

Because, of course.

The craziness continued as Rasmus Andersson and Yegor Sharangovich combined to shovel home a loose puck that would have tied it only 23 seconds later, but that, too, was called back after a coach's challenge determined the play was offside.

All this, less than three minutes into the period.

With Kuzmenko scoring earlier in the game, Jonathan Huberdeau had Calgary's other goal, while MacKenzie Weegar had a pair of helpers and Dustin Wolf finished with 14 saves.

"I liked the way that we played tonight," said Head Coach Ryan Huska. "It seems funny that the score ends up 5-3, ‘cause I didn’t feel like it was that type of game. I thought we deserved a better fate tonight."

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      Watch the highlights from Thursday's tilt against the Blues

      Indeed, the Flames were absolutely dominant through the period, out-shooting the Blues 8-4 and ringing a pair of the iron, but they were unable to pot the equalizer.

      Pavel Buchnevich iced it with an empty-netter with 1:15 to play after a furious press from the visitors.

      The resolve the Flames showed after those two bad breaks - one, of course, being the right call - is truly impressive.

      It would've been easy to fold things up and allow St. Louis to cruise home with the victory.

      But if anything, they got better.

      That's the pride and the leadership - spearheaded by captain Mikael Backlund - on full display.

      "I thought we kept pushing, and that’s a good thing," Huska said. "You have to make sure that gets ingrained in you, that no matter what the situation is, you keep pushing. And I bet you, to a man, our guys were pleased with the way they pushed, and that’s what we want to see from them."

      The Blues opened the scoring with a beauty off the rush at 13:02 of the first. Jordan Binnington got the play started with a dandy outlet pass up the far wall, splitting the two Flames forecheckers and sending the homeside the other way with numbers. With speed down the wing, Alexey Toropchenko slammed on the brakes at the right circle and spotted the trailing Zach Bolduc through the middle. Bolduc took the pass and made a nice move to the backhand, sliding it five-hole on Wolf.

      The Flames knotted things up less than two minutes later, though, finally capitalizing on one of the many turnovers the Blues were guilty of in the game’s early going.

      Kuzmenko’s hard work on the forecheck led him stripping Justin Faulk of the puck six feet from his own net. Kuzmenko then briefly showed off the handles, getting Binnington to bite in tight, before scooping it under the bar for his first of the night.

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          Kuzmenko goes upstairs to tie the game in the first

          The Flames – who were clearly a more determined bunch after dropping the opener to the road swing 3-1 to Chicago – took their first lead with a powerplay goal at 18:37. 

          Huberdeau got a piece of the MacKenzie Weegar point shot to score his 11th of the season. Weegar, meanwhile, is now only one point away from matching his career high of 44 points, set during the 2021-22 season as a member of the Panthers.

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              Huberdeau's redirect gives the Flames a 2-1 lead

              The Flames dodged a bullet late in the period as Brandon Saad slipped in behind the defence and had a breakaway with a scant five seconds left on the clock, but Wolf got a piece of his sniper’s backhand try with the glove, preserving the 2-1 lead.

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                  The young 'tender sticks out the glove for a big save

                  The Blues evened things up early in the second, with Calgary native Jake Neighbours cleaning up a loose puck in front, after the initial shot from Colton Parayko arrived through a maze of traffic.

                  Buchnevich put the Blues up 3-2 at 8:54, after the Flames did well in killing off the first 3:28 of a high-sticking double-minor to Nazem Kadri.

                  But Kadri – undeterred – would later play a key role in getting in back.

                  His backhand from between the hashmarks was tipped home by Kuzmenko, giving the sniper his second of the game and 15th of the year to bring the visitors back level at 16:50.

                  Weegar picked up the other assist after setting up Kadri in the slot.

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                      Kuzy collects his second of the game with a nifty tip

                      The Flames held an 18-15 edge in shots after 40 minutes.

                      "I thought some guys made some really great plays and had some really good games," said Blake Coleman. "Obviously, we’re giving up too much. It’s just the way it’s been going right now. All we can do is continue to work hard, try to get better, (and) I know that’s what I’ll do and the rest of the guys as well."

                      The Lineup:

                      Forwards

                      Jonathan Huberdeau - Mikael Backlund - Blake Coleman
                      Andrei Kuzmenko - Nazem Kadri - Martin Pospisil
                      Connor Zary - Yegor Sharangovich - Dryden Hunt
                      A.J. Greer - Kevin Rooney - Matt Coronato

                      Defence

                      Joel Hanley - Rasmus Andersson
                      MacKenzie Weegar - Daniil Miromanov
                      Nikita Okhotiuk - Brayden Pachal

                      Goaltenders

                      Dustin Wolf - Starter
                      Jacob Markstrom

                      Scratches: Andrew Mangiapane (undisclosed, day-to-day), Oliver Kylington (undisclosed, game-time decision), Dennis Gilbert

                      They Said It:

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                          "I liked the way we played"

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                              "We made a good push"

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                                  "We deserved better"

                                  The Numbers Game:

                                  Shots: CGY 26, STL 19

                                  Powerplay: CGY 1-for-3, STL 1-for-3

                                  Faceoffs: CGY 36.7%, STL 63.3%

                                  Blocked Shots: CGY 11, STL 16

                                  Hits: CGY 22, STL 17

                                  5-on-5 Scoring Chances: CGY 18, STL 21

                                  5-on-5 High-Danger Scoring Chances: CGY 9, STL 7

                                  Up Next:

                                  The Flames return home for a two-game set, beginning on Saturday when they host the LA Kings for the team's inaugural South Asian Celebration Night. Puck drop is at 8 p.m. MT (get tickets). The short homestand will then wrap up on Tuesday, April 2 when the Flames welcome the Anaheim Ducks to town for a 7 p.m. MT faceoff (get tickets).