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Playing the Stanley Cup Champions last night, the Calgary Flames put on a strong showing in front of a home crowd as they lost 3-2 to the Chicago Blackhawks.
As I predicted earlier in the day, Calgary has historically played well against stronger opponents this year and last night was added proof to this theory.
Whether the Hawks simply did not give it their all or the Flames like to step up against top ranking teams is debatable, however the home team certainly played like they were a little hungrier for the win.
Calgary registered two goals from Matt Stajan and rookie Sean Monahan providing them with a 2-0 lead in the third period of the game. The second goal of the night for the Flames would come as a result of a drop pass from Jiri Hudler to set up Monahan for a nice wrister which would ultimately beat Raanta’s glove hand.
Unfortunately for the Flames, it wouldn’t take long for the Hawks to respond with a couple goals of their own as Patrick Kane and Patrick Sharp would tie up the game with two quick goals of their own. With what appeared to be a slightly deflated group after allowing the Hawks to tie it up, the Flames began to play a little sloppy and as we have seen all year round, were unable to hold on to the lead or keep the game tied for that matter in order to push it into OT.
With only 20 seconds remaining in the game, Kane would notch his second goal of the game off a weak backhand attempt and win the game. Reto Berra did not appear to see the shot all that well as it snuck under his arm and in the back of the net.
"Reto kept us in the game and he did everything he could, then stuff like that happens?" Baertschi said. "There are nights like that where you work really hard for it and you think you deserve it but in the end you walk out with a kick in the butt."
With two points for the night, Hudler would extend his point streak to 23 points in just 24 games getting off to his strongest start of his career thus far. The 29 year old winger has been quite good for the Flames this year since being acquired by Calgary as an UFA last summer.
Moreover, Sean Monahan is now tied with veteran Mike Cammalleri in goals with nine a piece for the year. The young centerman continues to display his skillset to the hockey world and is certainly making a case to be kept beyond the 45 game mark this year where the team will need to decide whether to keep him around for the full year or send him back down to juniors.
Outside of the game discussion, there has been some debate of late with respect to the Calgary Flames and Carolina Hurricanes over the possible acquisition of either veteran defenseman Tim Gleason or gritty forward Tuomo Ruutu.
While the Flames have no real need to acquire either player, the part that strikes me as interesting is the notion that Calgary could acquire a strong draft selection or prospect for doing the Canes a favor.
Being one of the few NHL teams who can afford to take on such a "salary dump", Calgary could be rewarded by said transaction and either Gleason or Ruutu wouldn't be so bad to have around for a year or two.
What do you think? Is it worth taking away the potential ice time of a young player or two for the chance of acquiring another prospect or draft selection?
Thanks for reading!