The Calgary Flames host the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday afternoon at the Saddledome. The Flames have lost two games in a row and are looking to get back into the winning column. The Blackhawks, on the other hand, have won three straight, the team's first in two years. That streak ended as the Flames defeated the Blackhawks 6-4, preventing them from another comeback victory.
Blake Coleman, Jonathan Huberdeau and Connor Zarri each had a goal and an assist, while Connor Bedard had a goal and two assists. Dustin Wolf won his 10th game of the season, but Peter Mrazek lost his first game back from a groin injury.
game review
The first few minutes of the game looked like a pretty even period. Mrazek made an incredible save on Zari to chase the score to zero. It looked like the Blackhawks had a chance after that, but the momentum was heavily skewed toward the Flames. Huberdeau stole the puck from Seth Jones at the blue line and beat Frank Nazar on the ice for a shorthanded goal. 1-0 Flames. Just over a minute later, Nazem Kadri struck, beating Mrazek with a wrist shot on the run. The Flames went into the first intermission with a 2-0 lead.
Oh man, what a great save from Peter Marazek. #黑hawk pic.twitter.com/vOiCHOvXvu
— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) December 21, 2024
The Flames maintained their momentum in the first quarter. The Blackhawks looked like they might be in the game after Bedard scored his eighth point of the season to make it 2-1. But the Flames responded almost immediately, with Zari and Michael Coronato scoring to extend the lead. Then, with about two minutes left, Coleman fired a beautiful between-the-legs shot to extend the lead to 5-1. In the first two periods, the Flames were simply the better team.
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The Blackhawks have made a strong run after trailing in the third quarter all season long. This game is no exception. Tyler Bertuzzi scored twice to cut the Blackhawks' deficit to two with five minutes left. Then, with the goalkeeper pulling, Ilya Mikheyev scored, reducing the score gap to 5-4. In the end, it was too late, as captain Mikael Backlund scored an empty-net goal to seal a 6-4 victory for the Flames, ultimately halting the team's comeback.
What's next?
With today's win, the Flames now have a record of 16 wins, 11 draws and 7 losses. They surpassed the Vancouver Canucks and ranked fourth in the Pacific Division with 39 points. The Blackhawks fell to 12 wins, 20 draws and 2 losses, still at the bottom of the Central Division.
The Blackhawks next face the Minnesota Wild on Monday and the Flames enter a weeklong Christmas break before taking on the San Jose Sharks on Dec. 28.
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