Despite winning the first game of the first Battle of Alberta playoff series in 31 years against the rival Edmonton Oilers, the Calgary Flames find themselves on the brink of elimination three games later.
The Flames nearly evened the series on Tuesday when they came back from a 3-0 deficit — tying the game on a bizarre 132-foot short-handed shot from their own zone by Rasmus Andersson with 9:04 left in the third that somehow completely fooled Oilers goalie Mike Smith.
But Edmonton stormed back with the second goals of the game by Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Evander Kane to win the game 5-3 and take a 3-1 stranglehold on the second-round series.
Despite the loss, the Flames are taking some solace in how they battled back to make a game of it.
"I like how we played," said Flames head coach Darryl Sutter. "I know we’re in a hole, but it’s like saying we had to win on the road, now we have to win at home.
"We hung around tonight and we’re not going to go away easy and if they thought they were going to beat us easy, that wasn’t the case."
When it comes to Calgary’s chances to bounce back from a 3-1 deficit, the numbers are not kind.
Calgary is 0-9 when trailing a series 3-1, while in the history of the NHL teams are 296-31 in that sticky situation.
Don't tell that to the Flames players, though.
"There's a reason why we play seven (games)," said Calgary forward Mikael Backlund. "That quote has been said a lot this playoffs, but that’s the truth. We know we played well today. I think the game could have gone either way.
"We know we’re really strong at home and we have to start that one game at home and we know we are strong at home."
Flames defenceman Andersson said he sees no reason his team can't rattle off three wins in a row just like the Oilers have and still win this series.
"We believe in our group," he said. "Every single person in our locker room believes in it. There's no reason why we can't win three in a row, but it all starts with the next game. We've got to win that one and we've got to take care of home ice. It starts with one and we take it from there."
Meanwhile, the Oilers are 14-1 in series where they capture victories in three of the first four games.
Game 5 takes place on Thursday in Calgary.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 24, 2022
Exposure to synthetic ‘forever chemicals’ often polluting the environment has been linked to the most common type of liver cancer, according to a recent study.
An Ontario nurse is facing charges in connection with the alleged assault of a two-year-old boy with “significant medical limitations” in Niagara Region.
Ontario MP Pierre Poilievre remains the heavy favourite to be the next Conservative party leader but he trails opponent Jean Charest for support among Canadians as a whole.
With inflation rising at its fastest pace in nearly 40 years, the cost of everything from food to gas has skyrocketed. Canadians across the country are feeling squeezed, but big families with multiple children are at times shouldering much of the higher costs — and changing demographics and consumer patterns have left some of them more exposed to inflation than in previous generations.
A new study found that people with regular menstruation cycles and those who typically do not menstruate either experienced a heavier flow or breakthrough bleeding after being vaccinated against COVID-19.
At the age of 13, Wyatt Sharpe has interviewed the prime minister, a premier, party leaders and cabinet ministers -- and he's not even in high school yet.
Donald Trump was being questioned under oath Wednesday in the New York attorney general's long-running civil investigation into his business dealings as a flurry of legal activity surrounds the former U.S. president.
The ingredients in a 2,300-year-old ancient Chinese chemistry formula have finally been identified, revealing new secrets about metallurgy in ancient China.
If Edmonton does go ahead with a new gondola over the North Saskatchewan River, a local businessman has a grand idea for what to surround it with on the southern edge of the valley.
Six of the seven United Conservative Party candidates vying for the party's leadership will discuss education spending, policy and the future of teaching in Alberta with teachers from across the province Wednesday afternoon.
Patients and doctors alike are feeling the effects of a turbulent health-care system, where clinic closures have B.C.'s physicians weighing their options as their orphaned patients plead to be seen by a shrinking number of general practitioners.
Several police officers were allegedly assaulted Tuesday in the Downtown Eastside, amid heightened tensions in the neighbourhood as crews were dismantling a tent city.
A state of emergency remains in place in central Newfoundland due to out-of-control forest fires, but a major highway that had been closed for days has been reopened, allowing supplies to be delivered to stranded communities.
With less than a month to go before kids are back in school, Vancouver Island families are preparing for September. But, the price of school supplies and clothes this year is going up.
Five unions representing more than 5,000 UVic staff have reignited a petition asking the university to reconsider a planned change from annual to monthly parking passes.
Ontario is set to introduce legislation today to give large municipal leaders so-called strong mayor powers as a way to get housing built more quickly.
The Progressive Conservative government has said that recipients of the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) will start receiving their five per cent increases in September.
Tenants living at the Mont-Carmel seniors' residence say they're concerned their landlord is not obeying a court ruling that states the building must primarily house people of a certain age.
Major health care unions in Quebec are claiming victory following a ruling that states the Health Ministry 'negotiated in bad faith' when offering bonuses to employees without consulting union representatives during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Three incumbent Ottawa city councillors are just over a week away from another term at city hall, even though the election isn't for another two and a half months.
Ontario is set to introduce legislation today to give large municipal leaders so-called strong mayor powers as a way to get housing built more quickly.
St. Mary’s General Hospital in Kitchener has added a touchscreen self-check-in kiosk into its emergency department. in hopes of streamlining patients through the triage system.
One lane of Highway 144 has reopened between the Greater Sudbury communities of Lively and Chelmsford d after a head-on crash between a transport and a pickup truck early Wednesday morning.
A new study found that people with regular menstruation cycles and those who typically do not menstruate either experienced a heavier flow or breakthrough bleeding after being vaccinated against COVID-19.
Ontario MP Pierre Poilievre remains the heavy favourite to be the next Conservative party leader but he trails opponent Jean Charest for support among Canadians as a whole.
