It’s been just two days, but the Calgary Flames are undefeated in 2024. They were able to win their first game of the new year on Tuesday night, defeating the Minnesota Wild by a 3-1 final. It was a fantastic effort from Ryan Huska’s group, who was able to pick up their second straight win to improve to 16-16-5 on the season.
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It is worth mentioning that the Wild have plenty of injuries right now, as Kirill Kaprizov, Mats Zuccarello, Jonas Brodin, and starting netminder Filip Gustavsson were all out of the lineup. Nonetheless, it’s two points for the Flames, who remain very much in the hunt for a wild-card position. Here are the three main takeaways from Tuesday’s outing.
Multiple Slumps Snapped
Much has been made of Jonathan Huberdeau’s struggles as of late. The 30-year-old went through his biggest slump as a Flame recently, failing to record a point in 12 straight games. That changed on New Year’s Eve versus the Philadelphia Flyers, as he had an assist in what was a 4-3 victory for the Flames. In this one, he had an even bigger contribution.
Huberdeau scored the Flames’ second goal of the evening to snap an 18-game goal drought. Not only does he now have points in two straight, but the goal he scored in this one was one of the nicer tallies he’s had in a Flames uniform. Perhaps this can finally be what gets him going.
Huberdeau wasn’t the only Flame to snap a lengthy goal drought in this one, either. The Flames’ first goal of the night came off the stick of Andrew Mangiapane, who hadn’t found the back of the net in eight straight outings. He now has seven on the season, and is more than capable of going on an extended hot streak in the near future.
Markstrom Stands Tall
Through nearly the entirety of the first two periods, the Flames were all over the Wild. In fact, with only minutes remaining in the second frame, Jacob Markstrom had faced only 12 shots. That changed in a hurry, however, as he wound up kicking aside 29 of the 30 he faced by the time the final horn sounded.
The only goal allowed by Markstrom was one that he had zero chance on. In fact, he stopped what would have easily been a save of the year on Nic Petan, only to see Patrick Maroon capitalize on the rebound less than a second afterward. While the shutout would have been nice, this was a very good game from Markstrom, who was making his sixth straight start.
Penalty Kill Comes Up Big
While plenty has been discussed regarding the Flames’ horrendous power play this season, little has been made about how good their penalty kill has been. Entering Tuesday’s game, they had successfully killed off 84.2 percent of opposing team’s power plays this season. That number ranked fifth in the league.
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Their power play came up huge once again in this one, as they killed off all three of the Wild’s opportunities on the man advantage. Had they not done so, this game could have had a much different outcome, as the Flames’ third goal of the night came on an empty net as the Wild pulled Marc-Andre Fleury in hopes of evening things up.
Looking Ahead for the Flames
The Flames’ opportunity to win three straight will come this Thursday at Bridgestone Arena versus the Nashville Predators. It will be a massive outing for the Flames, as they currently trail the Predators by four points for the top wild-card spot in the Western Conference. They will then face the Flyers on the road on Saturday, before ending their week with a Sunday afternoon game against the Chicago Blackhawks.
