Calgary Flames ease past Toronto Maple Leafs, 5-1 – NHL Recap
Calgary Flames got one step closer to reaching the top eight of National Hockey League (NHL) Western Conference after routing Toronto Maple Leafs, 5-1, on Tuesday, February 14, 2012, at Scotiabank Saddledome, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Right from the start to the end of the game, Flames were dominant on the rink, where Leafs got their fourth straight defeat.
Calgary is placed at ninth spot in the conference with 62 points after 57 games.
In order to qualify for the playoffs, Flames have to be among the top eight teams of the conference and they can do it easily if the victories continue to come.
Flames are just one point short of Phoenix Coyotes, who are ranked at eight spot.
Calgary’s Paul Byron said after the victory:
"Every point matters now, and we're trying to make up ground to get that last playoff spot. Tonight was a huge game for us, and I thought we played really well."
Calgary signalled deadly intentions for the Leafs quite early in the game.
At 4:43 in the first period, Alex Tanguay scored the first goal of the game after collecting the puck sent by Olli Jokinen.
It did not take a very long time for Flames to extend the lead.
After less than five minutes, Jokinen scored his 18th goal of the season, taking the score to 2-0.
Tyler Bozak provided some breathing space to the Leafs.
At 16:42, he scored a goal on a rebound on his second attempt after Joffrey Lupul had missed his shot.
The score from the Leafs late in the period led the fans into anticipating a thrilling clash for the rest of the game.
However, things did not turn out as they were expected.
Byron scored the only goal of the second period to once again give Flames a two-goal advantage.
Later in the final period, Flames added two more goals to completely humiliate the Leafs.
Blake Comeau scored at 15:09 in the third, while Jarome Iginla scored the final goal of the game at 17:44.
Leafs’ coach, Ron Wilson, said after the game:
"We have to find a way to get to the front of the net and get rebounds because there were rebounds. We got shots through. They did a pretty good job of boxing out. It's a combination. You've got to give them credit, and we still have to find ways to win
those battles in front of the net."
Toronto is placed at eight spot in the Eastern Conference with 62 points after 57 games and is presently on a four-game losing streak.
If the team continues to display the same game-play it could get eliminated from the playoff contention.
Toronto will now face Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday, while Flames will take on Dallas Stars on Thursday.
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