For 4.5 period of the new NHL season the Calgary Flames were MIA. Well, the Calgary Flames minus Mike Smith. Badly outplayed in Edmonton in the season opener, the home opener looked about the same against the visiting Winnipeg Jets. Apart from stellar saves from Smith, the Flames were lacklustre, non-existent even. Couldn’t establish a forecheck, were half asleep, and ultimately went down 3-1 after the first period.
At this point the post game summary was going to be how every single forward, led by Troy ‘Cement Hands’ Brouwer, was scoring an F-.
Then the PP started to get things rolling, and the rolling never stopped.
After getting blown away by Connor McDavid, TJ Brodie had a bounce back game, in a big way. He was controlling play and anchoring the PP. Brodie was instrumental in the comeback, including 4 second period goals, and finished the night with 2 goals and 2 assists. To round out his evening, he had a chance for the hat-trick late in the third while being serenaded by fans.
The forwards found some spark after GG juggled the lines putting Gaudreau with Bennett and lazar. 5v5 this line clicked, looked fast and dominance, and made fans pine for more Lazar and less Brouwer. We can only hope this will be the case when Jagr factors in the lineup. He, by the way, didn’t play, but was in the house, waiting for his debut Monday.
The PP and the second period, along with Backlund’s early third period tally, gave the Flames 5 unanswered goals. Gaudreau and Brodie finished the night with four points each. Bennett looked strong, Monahan looked boring as he always does, the third line shut down Winnipeg, and the 4th line was a tire fire every time they took to the ice.
We’ll be seeing some lineup changes come Monday vs. Anaheim. Flames won a home opener for the first time in six seasons. Let’s see if they can win in Anaheim.