Just two days after a dominating performance in a 3-0 win over the Vancouver Canucks at the Scotiabank Saddledome, the visitors came out in the rematch Monday night like, not surprisingly, a team with something to prove.
The Canucks were 1-2 on the season and not happy with the performance they put forth in the shutout to their hated rivals.
They threw everything they had at the Flames, leading 16-4 in shots and 1-0 on the scoreboard after a first period they totally controlled.
But that's when the script flipped.
The shots from that point on: 28-11.
Three goals in the second period powered the Flames to a 5-2 victory as they improved to 2-0-1 on the season, collecting five of a possible six points in their first three outings.
Johnny Gaudreau, Mikael Backlund, Elias Lindholm , Mark Giordano and Rasmus Andersson scored, while former Canuck Jacob Markstrom continued to be stellar between the pipes for his new club, making 25 stops - notably early when the surge came after the opening whistle.
The Flames PK - which has been superb so far this season - was put to the test early.
Milan Lucic was sent off for tripping 2:32 into the game, giving the Vancouver powerplay a chance for redemption after being blanked on four attempts Saturday night.
One of the biggest talking points from that Flames weekend win was their shot-blocking. Also newcomer-and-former-Canuck Chris Tanev stood out in that category, but as head coach Geoff Ward said Sunday, he needs and wants his entire team to have that same philosophy.
They demonstrated it early on the initial kill, Giordano's stick being broken as it ate a puck when the captain got in front of a blast.
When a few pucks did find their way to the net - including one great blast from Quinn Hughes through traffic - Markstrom stood tall.
However, it was a long-distance blueline shot from Jake Virtanen that appeared to deflect off the body of Juuso Valimaki and change directions to go high short-side that got Vancouver on the board at 10:17.
The assist went to J.T. Miller, who joined the Vancouver lineup today after being sidelined due to Covid-19 protocol.
A rare Giordano giveaway in his own zone led to Adam Gaudette getting a chance in tight but Markstrom made another big save. The shots were 12-3 for the visitors at that point.
With 2:44 left in the period, Valimaki was sent off for holding giving the Canucks PP another crack.
Again, they got nothing for their efforts.
With time winding down, Thatcher Demko - getting the start for Vancouver after Braden Holtby took the loss Saturday - misplayed the puck, the biscuit dribbling across the crease in front of the open net and Lindholm not able to gather it quick enough beside the left post to put it home.
The pressure led to a delay of game call on Brock Boeser for putting the puck over the glass with five second left in the period.
The Flames weren't able to get any shots on net during the advantage to start the second and with one tick left in the PP, Lucic was sent off for tripping.
Again, nothing doin'.
The kill, though, energized the Flames and they hemmed the Canucks in their zone, generating a handful of chances and three straight shots, including a feed from Gaudreau to Sean Monahan in the slot.
They kept the pressure on and during an ensuing rush, Elias Pettersson grabbed Andrew Mangiapane and was subsequently sent off for holding but the powerplay was unable to beat Demko.
After tying the shots up at 17, the Flames finally got a goal on shot 18.
Gaudreau scored his second of the season on a nice give-and-go play down low with Monahan that finished with No. 13 putting the puck in short-side at 12:05.
