[sureLoss]

Colborne almost went in for the extra attacker instead of Backlund
http://flames.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=766656

With Karri Ramo racing to the bench on a delayed penalty call in overtime’s infancy, Mikael Backlund swapped a glance with Joe Colborne that might as well have read, ‘Have a seat. I’ve got this’.

Turns out he did.

Jumping over the boards just a few minutes into the extra session -- Calgary’s first of the playoffs, first since April 16, 2009, and their first on home ice since April 22, 2007 -- Backlund promptly ended the game 4:24 into overtime, sailing a shot by Frederik Andersen to lift the Flames to a 4-3 win in Game 3 and usher his club back into the series.

The perfect time, he’d admit, to score his first ever NHL playoff goal.

“That was something I’ve been dreaming of, something I’ve told myself before the third period I was going to do, too,” Backlund said. “I’ve got to go in with that mindset if I want to play well. That’s what I was just trying to tell myself. It was an amazing feeling. It’s hard to describe.”

It might not have happened if not for a quick exchange between Backlund and Colborne.

With the referee’s arm raised in the air and Ramo dashing to the bench, Colborne was ready to jump on to provide Calgary with a sixth attacker. A look over at Backlund, and recalling the protocol for such a situation, he yielded.