Former Flames captain, Mark Giordano, and his Seattle Kraken squad sank to the bottom of the Puget Sound with a 6-4 loss on Thursday night, unable to douse the red-hot Flames.
The first ever regular season meeting between the two teams was one that fans will not soon forget. It was a game where both teams fought tooth and nail for the ever so important two points.
The Flames also had their own personal motivations going into the game. The Thursday night matchup marked the first time the Flames would square off against their past teammate and captain during the regular season.
Former teammates turned division rivals. Mikael Backlund (right) grabs hold off Mark Giordano's stick (left) during their game on Thursday night.
Photo Credit: Steph Chambers / Getty Images
When asked about his previous team of 15 years and their success this season, Kraken captain, Mark Giordano, admitted that the Flames played a very defensively sound game.
“Right from their goaltending out, they don’t give up much. Their structure is what stands out and their playing a style of play that results in wins,” said Giordano.
“They’re a tough team to deal with right now.”
And of course, it was only fitting to have none other than Giordano open the scoring against his former team. The goal would be just his fourth of the season. To further add insult to injury, Giordano walked in from the left side of the blueline and buried his patented shot off the far-side post — a move his ex-teammates saw frequently in Calgary.
Giordano would go on to record two more points — a pair of assists — for a total of three points on the night. Thursday’s game was also his first multi-point and multi-assist game of the season.
However, Johnny Gaudreau, who was Giordano’s teammate for seven years, did not let his former captain bask in his accomplishments for long. With his 11th of the season, Gaudreau tied the game at one. Less than five minutes after Giordano’s goal.
When asked about Giordano’s performance in a postgame interview, Gaudreau kept focus on what the win meant for his own team.
“Honestly, he’s a great captain and I loved playing with him [in Calgary], but at the end of the day it’s another game and he’s on the other team,” said Gaudreau.
This was not the only time in the game where the Flames would need to rely on Gaudreau’s scoring touch. With his second of the night, Gaudreau once again tied the game up with a perfectly placed shot, short side and over the glove of Kraken goaltender, Chris Driedger.
Despite it being just the first game between the two teams, the intensity and battle level begged to differ. It was grueling and physical battle between the Pacific Division rivals where each whistle seemed to open the doors for a heated scrum or tussle.
The Flames did however end up edging out the win against the Kraken in the dying minutes of the third — only after they alternated goals with Seattle three times in a span of 43 seconds.
It was also a night of firsts for Flames prospect goaltender, Dustin Wolf. Wolf, who backed up Jacob Markstrom against the Kraken, was called up by the Flames on Thursday morning. While Wolf did not see any ice-time, it was first time the Everett Silvertip alumni was on the bench for NHL regular season action.
In an intermission interview with Sportsnet’s Ryan Leslie, Flames general manager, Brad Treliving, gave some praise to the young goaltender and the decision to call him up.
“This isn’t charity bringing him up here. He’s 14-0-2 [in Stockon],” stated Treliving.
Unfortunately for many Flames fans, this roster move seems to be a one-game situation as Dan Vladar should be back with the team in the New Year.
After a nineteen-day Christmas and COVID-19 outbreak hiatus, getting back into the win column was crucial for the Flames. The victory over Seattle snapped a four-game losing skid and will send the Flames into 2022 on a winning note.
With that being said, Flames forward, Matthew Tkachuk, felt the game against Seattle was not nearly the best his squad had to offer.
“It was ugly, especially late. That’s not the type of team we are — giving up four [goals] — but we found a way,” said Tkachuk.
Now, the Flames are now looking ahead to their yet another road trip where they are scheduled to play Chicago, Florida, Tampa Bay, and Carolina starting Jan. 2. The Flames were also expected to play the Winnipeg Jets on New Year’s Eve; however, it has been postponed until further notice.
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