The Calgary Flames have won their fourth game in a row after a clash with the New York Islanders by a score of 5–2. There were plenty of storylines heading into the game that mostly surrounded an imminent trade for defenceman Chris Tanev.
The Flame that would make the most headway on the ice though would be MacKenzie Weegar as he scored a hat trick and took sole position of the most goals scored by a defenceman this season. Truly immaculate vibes.
Weegar continues to roll
Weegar’s tremendous season continued against the Islanders as he potted goals 13, 14, and 15—his second goal of the game proved to be the game-winner.
I have talked about Weegar so many times at length this season but this guy never fails to impress me with his play on the ice. For his first goal, he went on an end-to-end rush and then threw a shot on Islanders goalie Semyon Varlamov from a distance that fooled the netminder, giving the Flames a 1–0 lead. Late in the second, the Flames fourth line put on a forechecking clinic which ended in Walker Duehr throwing a pass to Weegar in the slot, and Weegar blasted a slap shot home for his second of the afternoon. To cap it all off, Weegar scored an empty-net goal on a feed from Jonathan Huberdeau that gave him the hat trick—the first of his career.
Weegar has become the sixth Calgary Flames defenceman in franchise history to record a hat trick and only the second to do it on the road. The last time a defenceman scored a hat trick on the road for the team, they were playing as the Atlanta Flames.
It was a remarkable game and it’s been a remarkable season for Weegar. Put this man in Norris Trophy conversations.
Jacob Markstrom was rock solid once again
Jacob Markstrom also had himself an afternoon as he backstopped the Flames to another victory, and he was nothing short of spectacular in this one. Markstrom stopped 35 of 37 posting a 94.6 save percentage in this one, he also had an assist on Weegar’s first goal, and he even tried going for a goal twice! He has been on some kind of heater as of late.
Markstrom has single-handedly brought the Flames within striking distance of a playoff spot, and if this continues, the Flames may actually have a legit shot of getting there. What a turnaround he has had since last year.
Jonathan Huberdeau continues to cook
While he still may not be living up to the bill of a $10.5 million per year contract, Huberdeau has been much better since he snapped his month-long pointless streak back on New Year’s Eve. With a goal and an assist today, Huberdeau now has 16 points in his last 16 games.
He has been much more noticeable on a nightly basis and honestly, it is so great to see him having fun again. He seems like he’s playing at a different level with his new linemate Andrei Kuzmenko, and they are playing as well as we probably thought they could in just their third game as linemates—we really do love to see it.
Keep the good time going, shall we?
The Flames are playing some really entertaining hockey as of late, and while they were probably bailed out by their goaltender in the last two, the type of hockey they are playing is much more fun than it was earlier this year.
There are plenty of people to thank for that, most notably the kids and the newcomers, but everyone is pulling their weight. If this continues, the Flames very well could be in the playoff hunt for the rest of the season. I still think their best is yet to come.
