Never Quit: How the Flames Stayed Alive

I didn't think there was anything else that could be said about the Calgary Flames. Or perhaps, I didn't think there was anything else I could say about them. When I wrote about the Flames a little less than three weeks ago, I described them as a group of up and comers and journeymen who had come together to defy all logic and all advanced stats to become the NHL's best story. What more needed to be said than that? What more could be used to describe the insurmountable of heart Bob Hartley's band of misfits has? I didn't think it was possible. And then, last night happened, and now there's a whole bunch of new words to use. The cardiac kids of Calgary did it again.

Johnny Hockey

For the first two games of their second round series with the Anaheim Ducks, the Flames didn't look like themselves. The heart, grit, spunk, whatever you want to call it that they showed against Vancouver disappeared into the abyss, neutered by the constant buzz saw of Anaheim's attack. Jonas Hiller, the former Ducks goalie who I predicted would be Calgary's most important player, was yanked from a disastrous Game One and hasn't been seen since. Bruce Boudreau thoroughly outcoached Hartley. Pretty much everything that could go wrong for the Flames went wrong, and worse, they looked completely outmatched by a Ducks team that seems to be on a mission. I sadly had given up hope going into Game 3, and though the Flames fought harder and played better than the first two games, it looked like the Ducks were destined to pull ahead 3-0 and send Calgary into a hole there was no climbing out of. It especially looked that way after the referees inexplicably disallowed what would've been a game tying goal by Sam Bennett, an eerily similar play to the non goal by Martin Gelinas that would've won the Flames the Stanley Cup in 2004.

And yet, when any other team would've crumbled, the Flames rose. As myself and the close to 20,000 in the Saddledome prepared ourselves for a loss, those cardiac kids on the ice rallied around each other, something I'm pretty sure no other team would've done in the same situation. That's why with nineteen seconds remaining, following some luck and two incredibly dumb Ducks penalties, Johnny Gaudreau (yup, Johnny Hockey) found the back of the net to tie the game up. It's why in overtime, following yet another dumb Ducks penalty (the Ducks had a ton of dumb penalties in the latter half of this game), Mikael Backlund fired an excellent shot through traffic and off the wonderfully named Clayton Stoner to give Calgary an improbable win. In total, it took ten minutes, a bad call, three penalties and a whole lot of heart for the entire complexion of the series to change, and for me to wake up the neighbors from celebrating.

Backlund's game winner

Now, one could definitely argue the Ducks were the biggest reason for their own defeat. The two penalties that led to Johnny Hockey's game tying goal were mind blowing if your coach Boudreau, bordering on unnecessary (a delay of game penalty) to just plain stupid (a retaliation penalty that prevented a Ducks powerplay with two minutes left, which basically would've ended the game). And though he had been good the first two games of the series, Frederick Anderson finally turned back into Frederick Anderson, letting in 4 goals on just 21 shots and being fortunate to have not given up more. This was not the Ducks of Games 1 and 2, and they definitely helped dig their own grave. But to put their loss solely on them is to take away from yet another Flames masterpiece of glory and grit. It also takes away from how much it took for the Flames to overcome their toughest obstacle yet; the goal that wasn't.

It's one thing for a team to come back from bad play or a bad call; hell, it's one thing for a team to come back from a disallowed goal. But what about coming back from a bad call that emulated one of the most painful moments in franchise history? I remember vividly the disallowed goal from eleven years ago that prevented the Flames from winning the Cup; it's a moment that stings to this very day in Calgary, and one that arguably the team and its fans had never quite recovered from (this year is the first time since 2004 Calgary has been to the second round). Last night's non goal by Bennett not only recalled that moment, it played out almost exactly the same, with the puck appearing to barely get past Anderson the way it appeared to barely get past Nikolai Khabibulin eleven years ago. To be robbed yet again on a similar play? I didn't think they could come back from it, and I'm pretty sure the crowd didn't believe it either.

Goaltender Karri Ramo has been excellent against the Ducks

And that's where the beauty of this team comes in. Faced with a 3-0 hole and faced with having their playoff hopes dashed by yet another bad no goal call (and don't tell me it played no part. Everyone in that arena was thinking about 2004 when the play was being reviewed), the Calgary Flames didn't fold. What they did was rally. They gutted, they gritted and the fought their way back into the game, and in the end stole Game 3, saved their season and exercised the ghost of eleven years ago. The final ten minutes of last night's game was the first time I'd seen the Flames team I saw topple Vancouver last round. Sure it wasn't pretty, it probably wasn't played to the liking of advanced statisticians and it probably made Ryan Lambert sob uncontrollably because he apparently hates every nice thing in the world. So what? Advanced stats aren't worthless, but they don't mean everything. Calgary won last night because they wanted it more, they needed it more and they fought harder for the victory than Anaheim did. And they did it with more adversity than any of their players have faced before. Depending on what happens next, last night was the peak of this Calgary season. The symbol of what they are, and that their tagline, Never Quit, is more than just a tagline.

I guess the question now is what happens next? And like a few weeks ago, I just don't know. As hard as I am rooting for the Flames, I think any smart fan can tell that Anaheim is better team. They have more top talent, they have more experience, they're just better right now. The Ducks should win this series. But they also have a shaky goaltender and no experienced backup (unlike the Flames), a history of choking in the playoffs, and a head coach in Boudreau who has never been out of the second round. The Ducks also now have to face the reality that they were 20 seconds away from a 3-0 series lead, only to blow it despite having the bounces going their way. That, and the Flames' never say die attitude will give them a shot. It may not be the best shot, and last night may end up being the last great stand for this inspiring group of cardiac kids. But there is life yet, and if last night is any indication, the Calgary Flames aren't ready yet for this ride to end. I'm not either.

Turns out, there was a lot more words to write about them after all. 

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