CALGARY — Most of the Flames' dads were in the Saddledome Wednesday night, getting ready to join their sons for a vacation in California.
For two periods it looked like the car ride home would be awfully quiet.
After finding an opportunistic Red Wings team up 2-0 after four minutes and up 4-0 after the second, the Flames finally gave dads something to talk about positively.
A Joel Farabee a penalty in the eighth minute of the third match led to goals Matt Coronato And Mackenzie Weegar for six minutes, laying the groundwork for the type of comeback the Flames staged so many times last season.
This is what made the city fall in love with the undermanned squad.
Alas, despite constant pressure in the final five minutes, the Flames lost 4–3 and failed to break their record set in 1987, when they erased a four-goal deficit in the third to claim victory.
Nazem Kadri said there was a feeling on the bench that the team would inevitably make the long trek back into the game. For some reason, in the third period it felt exactly like that.
“Yeah, I don't really think any deficit is really too big,” said Kadri, who orchestrated Coronato's explosion before helping Vigar.
“I think there's always hope and I think that's certainly how we play. We've made it a game, but at the end of the day it's the result that matters.”
In a season where the Flames were in and around last place, the comebacks that became the team's calling card last season were few and far between.
However, Kadri insists his team still believes they can defy the odds.
“You guys have heard about character in this locker room, and character is not something that changes from day to day or year to year,” Kadri said.
“It's what you have or don't have. So I never, ever doubt it with this team.”
It would have been difficult for anyone at the Wednesday Dome to believe early on that they would have much hope of extending their three-game winning streak.
Only those who stayed late saw a glimmer of hope.
The Wings went up 1-0 a minute later when Alex DeBrincat deflected a first-time pass to the left from Patrick Kane in a hurry. They extended their lead three minutes later when a breakdown in their own area allowed Axel Sandin-Pellikke to once play the handsome DeBrincat past Logan Cooley.
No goals came from Cooley as the Wings managed to create a pair of Grade A chances and finished strong against Kadri's line.
The Flames' first shot still hadn't been called and fans had to wait nearly half the period.
However, the Flames players said afterward that they were still happy with their performance, which says a lot about how far the team has come in terms of confidence.
The Wings' third goal came in the second when Adam Klapka was robbed in his own zone, leading to another quick shot from DeBrincat.
Dylan Larkin then scored the fourth goal alone after Connor Zary did not cover Kevin Bahl's shot well enough.
However, the Flames insisted they were unfazed by the 4-0 scoreline.
“We believed we were going to come back and we almost did,” said Weegar, whose team beat the visitors 37-26.
“We had a lot of shots, a lot of great tries. The mood was still good. We were still positive. It's just that four goals came so quickly and they were in the back of the net. It's too bad because I thought the guys felt good here and we had legs and we could jump and you saw it a little bit third in that little comeback. Ultimately the deficit was too big to overcome.”
Weegar insisted the team would go to Los Angeles and San Jose with the dads and have a lot of positive emotions.
“We went 3-and-1 on the home plate,” Weegar said.
“It would be great if we could get away with at least one point or something in overtime. But there are definitely some positives to take away and now we're turning the page and having a little fun with the dads on the road.”
