Los Angeles Kings Dethrone the Calgary Flames
Kings snap the Flames’ winning streak
Saturday night saw the dethroning of the Calgary Flames by the Los Angeles Kings who snapped the former's seven-game winning streak. Going into the All-Star Break, Calgary had won 5 games in a row and another two coming out against the Nashville Predators,
and recently demolished the decade-old jinx of losing to the Atlanta Thrashers. Los Angeles also broke their 6-year-old losing streak in Calgary, during which they had lost 10 consecutive games up until now.
The Flames lost to the Kings in their own Scotiabank Saddledome in downtown Calgary, in front of a sold-out crowd of over 19,289, in a long shootout 4-3. It was both a fierce and unmatched competition between the teams, something not expected from them when
playing against each other.
Both needed the win!
It was a match which both teams needed to win in order to clinch a play-off spot. Los Angeles did exactly that as they moved up in the Western Conference to the 8th position leaving the Minnesota Wild behind. Calgary has also moved up from the
12th to the 9th spot only behind LA by 1 point.
Calgary can hope for a win in their next game which is against the struggling Chicago Blackhawks while the LA Kings have to face the powerful Pittsburgh Penguins. It is only a matter of a few games which will make all the difference.
Justin Williams to the Kings Rescue
Luck was for sure on Justin Williams’ side in Calgary where he scored the lead taking goal at the end of the second period and helped assist 2 goals in the first. In the shootout, he disappointed the home crowd when his puck blasted into the net in the final
shot of the shootout.
"We haven't won here for such a long time so it felt good," said Williams, who has always admired the Flames. "This is always such a tough arena to play in. Calgary is always a really tough team to play at home."
Alex Tanguay helped keep the Flames ablaze
If Calgary had won, it would, without a doubt, have been because of him as he scored two goals and picked up an assist, one of them the only of the final period, allowing Calgary another chance at the win. He also was one of the shootout shooters to score
for Calgary. This was Calgary’s first chance to move into the playoff spot since mid-October.
"It was a hard fought battle, it could have gone both ways," Tanguay said about the loss. "When you go to the seventh round in the shootout, it's pretty much coin flip."
Bad luck for Calgary
Alex Tanguay was absolutely right when he commented on the shootout being a coin flip, as the last shooter (and last chance) for the Flames was Jay Bouwmeester, who shot the puck after a great drive confusing goalie Jonathan Quick, which hit his glove and
bounced behind him only to hit the goal post on top. It was something that you think would never happen but it did.
If Calgary hopes to confirm its play-off spot, they must concentrate on winning the big games. With less than 28 games left in the season and teams within 2-3 points of playoff range, it’s hard to tell who will be the elite 8 of the Western Conference.
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