Flames Visual Recap 80: Playoff hopes falter as Flames fall to Canucks in shootout

Earlier in the evening, the Winnipeg Jets, the team the Calgary Flames are chasing for a playoff spot in the Western Conference, won their game against the Nashville Predators. In order to keep pace, the Flames needed a big win against the Vancouver Canucks. Jacob Markstrom started in goal for Calgary, while Thatcher Demko tended the pipes for the Canucks.

The Flames did not get off to a good start in this contest. By the end of the first period, they were down by a pair of goals, one to rookie defenseman Cole McWard, and another to Elias Pettersson shorthanded. After failing to come back and win a game they were trailing in after 40 minutes until last week, the Flames were forced to come up with another comeback victory.

Fortunately, they had an incredible third period. Elias Lindholm scored just 38 seconds into the third frame, and Nazem Kadri tied things up with a great goal just a few minutes later.

But, that’s where the magic came to an end. Following what was probably one of the best overtimes in 3-on-3 history, the Flames were unable to beat Demko in the shootout, and Andrei Kuzmenko‘s goal stood as the shootout winner.

The Flames were only able to take one point out of a critical game, and have made things incredibly more difficult with just two games left on their schedule. It’s not over yet, but they’re going to need a lot of help from here on out.

Charts from the game are below.

Game events

Goals

Goal	Assists	Time	Score
Cole McWard	Dakota Joshua, Jack Studnicka	09:03 \| 1st	CGY 0 – 1 VAN
Elias Pettersson (SHG)	J.T. Miller	13:29 \| 1st	CGY 0 – 2 VAN
Elias Lindholm	Dillon Dube, Tyler Toffoli	00:38 \| 3rd	CGY 1 – 2 VAN
Nazem Kadri (PPG)	Noah Hanifin	06:06 \| 3rd	CGY 2 – 2 VAN
Andrei Kuzmenko (Shootout)	Unassisted	00:00 \| 5th	CGY 2 – 2 VAN