ANAHEIM — The Calgary Flames hit the road on a mission.
They hit the NHL’s holiday break in a playoff spot, accomplishing the goal that they’d mentioned over and over again for the past week.
The Flames climbed into the elite eight in the Western Conference with Friday’s 3-2 overtime triumph against the Anaheim Ducks, the capper on a successful California sojourn.
“We talked about it — have a good road-trip, which we did,” said Flames defenceman Rasmus Andersson, who picked the top shelf in sudden-death. “To come out with three out of four wins and seven of eight points, it’s a good trip. Now, we build and we keep going.”
First, though, they relax for a few days, find out what’s wrapped up under the tree, perhaps enjoy a splash of eggnog.
They’ll return to the rink for Tuesday’s tangle with the arch-rival Edmonton Oilers (7 p.m., Sportsnet West/Sportsnet 960 The Fan), the squad they just leapfrogged to pull into the second wildcard slot.
“You know what? This has been a grind for our team,” said Flames coach Darryl Sutter prior to a late-night flight home from Anaheim. “So I don’t know about a springboard. They need a break and tonight was just about digging down there a little bit.”
Michael Stone opened Friday’s scoring on a howitzer — this guy could fire a puck right through grandma’s fruit cake — and the Flames capitalized on a bit of good fortune for their other regulation strike. A second-period clearing attempt by the Ducks plunked referee Trevor Hanson on the leg and Trevor Lewis scooped up the loose puck and dished to Brett Ritchie, who deposited a backhander from the slot.
The Ducks did all of their offensive damage on the power-play — a back-door one-timer from Mason McTavish during a stretch of five-on-three and then a blocker-side bury by Jakob Silfverberg.
The Flames haven’t had a whole lot of success in bonus time, but Andersson ensured that they wound up on the smiling side of this one. His shot was an absolute beauty.
What was said during the celebration?
“Merry Christmas,” grinned Flames netminder Jacob Markstrom.
Very merry.
They made sure of it with back-to-back wins in San Jose, a single point in Los Angeles and then what Ritchie described as “a pretty greasy win” in Anaheim, a reference to the fact it didn’t need to be this close after they’d racked up 45 shots on net.
“We stuck with it throughout the games, whether we had good bounces or bad bounces,” Ritchie said, summarizing this four-game getaway. “Last night (in Los Angeles), we gave up two early ones in the third and we easily could have caved. I think that’s what was missing early on in the year, that ability to stick with it. You’re never out of it until it’s over.”
The chase for playoff spots is far from over, but the Flames (16-12-7) achieved their mission prior to this particular mileage marker.
“Obviously, we’ve been through some stretches where we haven’t been playing as good as we wanted to,” Markstrom said after a 21-save performance at Honda Center. “But we’re also having stretches where we play really good hockey, and we have to build on that. It’s going to be nice now to have a few days with the family and relax and get away for a bit, and then come back ready.”
AROUND THE BOARDS
The Flames are now 3-7 in games that remain undecided after 60 minutes … Andersson’s final stat-line in Anaheim — four shots on net, four blocked shots and the overtime winner in 27:37 of icetime. “It changes quick, right?” he said afterward. “Yesterday, I made a horrendous play on the overtime goal in L.A.. I let them play tic-tac-toe around me and they scored. Today, I scored but yesterday was probably my fault that they scored, so it goes both ways” … With about 10 ticks left in regulation, Flames defenceman Chris Tanev hit the deck for a crucial shot-block on Silfverberg … Washington Capitals superstar Alex Ovechkin tallied twice Friday, climbing past Gordie Howe on the NHL’s all-time goal-scoring charts. With 802 career notches, the 37-year-old Ovechkin now trails only Wayne Gretzky, who sniped 894. Can the Great 8 ultimately swipe this record from the Great One? “I hope so,” replied Flames rearguard Nikita Zadorov when asked about the fellow Russian. “That would be cool to see.” Zadorov was 10 when Ovechkin debuted with the Capitals and remembers marvelling at the highlight footage. “Right now, you could call his goals boring — all from that one spot,” Zadorov cracked. “But when he was young, he was killing guys on the forecheck. He would come from the left wing, put it between his legs, he would go around the defencemen all the time, lots of different goals.” Lots of goals, period.
OFF THE GLASS
Flames assistant general manager Chris Snow is home for the holidays. His wife, Kelsie, shared that terrific news Friday on Twitter, complete with a photo of Chris wrapped up in a hug from their two kids. The Snows have been an inspiration to many as Chris continues his battle with ALS. “We got our Christmas miracle,” Kelsie posted. “After two weeks in hospital and two times on life support, Chris is home” … Happy holidays, C of Red. If you need a hockey fix before Tuesday’s Battle of Alberta, a couple of Calgary’s prospects — Finland’s Topi Ronni and Sweden’s William Stromgren — will be in action on Boxing Day at the world juniors … Need a Christmas wish for these Flames? How about a goal for blue-liner MacKenzie Weegar, still shooting for his first on behalf of his new club? How about some credit for Lewis, who has quietly been among the most consistent performers all season? How about another opportunity for forward call-up Matthew Phillips, who has been scratched for six straight games?
wgilbertson@postmedia.com
Twitter.com/WesGilbertson
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