Wow, this game could very well go down as the poster boy of the 22-23 Flames. Badly out work, out shoot and out chance their opponent yet find a way to lose in OT. Not to mention losing the special teams battle and Vladar giving up a softie on the first shot.
Overall, thought every line came to play tonight especially Walker Duehr and the 4th line who looked extraordinary. Weegar and Andersson looked outstanding. Huberdeau won quite a few 50/50s and made some nice plays. Ditto for Pelletier. Dube scored a huge goal. The Backlund line was good as usual. Not a fan of the penalty he took though. Not sure what Zadorov was thinking with that hit though. Took himself and his teammate out of their PK structure to deliver an unnecessary open ice hit. Lastly, I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen a player with a worse shot selection in overtime than Nazem Kadri. I think I’d rather he dump the puck back in his own zone to reset their breakout than watching him continuously shoot low percentage shots from 50 feet out leading to dangerous counter attacks.
I don’t know if the Flames end up making the playoffs or not. But I think it’ll depend a lot on how the Winnipeg Jets play down stretch here. They’ve lost a lot of games recently and have dropped into a wild card position. That April 5th date could be a big one if the Jets continue to struggle. They also have a couple games against the Oilers and if they don't turn into 3 point games, then the Flames might still have a chance assuming they can take care of their own business.
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