‘What if?’: Flames dealt fatal blow with latest one-goal loss

By Anthony On Apr 11, 2023

CALGARY — His mind swimming in a state of shock and disbelief, Rasmus Andersson stood in front of the media to revisit issues he’s addressed so many nights this season.

Another lop-sided shot total, another one-goal loss, and a franchise-record 17th setback in extra time.

This time it proved fatal.

After running on hope for just over a month, a 3-2 shootout loss to the Nashville Predators Monday officially put an end to the Flames’ playoff hopes.

With one game left, they can no longer catch the eighth-place Jets.

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The sting and finality of it all had plenty to do with the opportunities squandered Monday, like all season long.

“We’ve been in so many games, and this is kind of the same feeling after what feels like most of the nights: ‘What if? What if?’” repeated Andersson.

“It’s a ‘do’ league.

“It’s not a ‘what if’ league.”

What if Darryl Sutter chose leading scorer Tyler Toffoli to participate in the four-round shootout over Nick Ritchie?

What if referee Chris Rooney doesn’t circle behind the net to interfere with a missed shot that ended up in Calgary’s net seconds later?

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What if Juuse Saros doesn’t stick out his pad in overtime to rob MacKenzie Weegar with one of 43 saves to be the latest netminding star to stymie Calgary?

At this point, it’s all irrelevant, as the Flames were unable to follow Winnipeg’s win with a triumph of their own.

Instead, a team of unknown, fresh-faced kids somehow managed to orchestrate the latest in a series of heists that saw them leap-frog Calgary in the standings, while simultaneously stomping out the Flames’ playoff dreams.

The Preds, a team that sold at the deadline and have most of their key players injured, are still mathematically alive.

The Flames, a team that was expected to challenge for the division title they won a year earlier, are dust.

“This year it feels like looking around this room we had the squad to do it, and that probably makes it more frustrating — we just didn’t do it,” said Andersson, whose club leads the league with 30 one-goal losses.

“Coming home tonight and waking up tomorrow you’re going to realize what an opportunity we missed. And now we can hardly believe it.

“It’s painful.”

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Asked if expectations were too lofty or weighty, he scoffed.

“We had more expectations on ourselves than the outside world,” said Andersson, likely unaware only the 2005-06 Bruins lost more one-goal games in a season (32) in the last 45 years.

“You don’t really pay too much attention to outside expectations.”

But, as he added, this is Canada, where you can’t escape the noise surrounding your team.

And now, they won’t be able to escape the criticism, debate and consequences of a season unfulfilled.

There will be changes, which could start in the front office shortly after the Flames play their final regular season game Wednesday with Jakob Pelletier and Matt Coronato in the lineup.

This city won’t have it any other way.

General manager Brad Treliving doesn’t have a contract, coach Darryl Sutter doesn’t have much support and the fan base doesn’t have much patience left for an organization at a major crossroads.

More on that to follow.

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On Monday it was all about going from the high of two comebacks, the agony of missing several good chances in overtime and the cruelty of being one shootout stop away from prolonging their season.

With the Flames up a goal after three shooters, Winnipeg native Cody Glass scored to extend the skills competition, setting the table for AHL call-up Tommy Novak to end it one shot later.

Sutter tried quelling the furor over the decision to select Ritchie by saying the veteran had scored a shootout goal earlier in the season on Saros, and that his shootout percentage was similar to Toffoli’s.

“That’s not the point, it had no bearing on the game,” said Sutter, who selected Jonathan Huberdeau (who scored), as well as unsuccessful shooters Nazem Kadri, Ritchie and Mikael Backlund.

“The difference (was) those great chances in overtime.”

We’ve seen it and heard it all before — missed opportunities.

For those who think it all sounds like a bit of an excuse, consider this whopper of a stat that underscores just how many points the Flames left on the table.

Fifteen times the Flames lost games in which they had 40 or more shots on goal, which is one away from an NHL record held by the 2021-22 Golden Knights that dates back to 1955-56 when the NHL started tracking shots.

Vegas also missed the playoffs that year.

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“We felt like we were in almost every game this year but just didn’t manage to get that goal when we needed a goal,” said Andersson, whose club got game-tying goals from Troy Stecher and Backlund.

“Tonight I had a wide-open net and (Tyson) Barrie just gets his stick on it at the last second and it misses.

“If you take half the overtime losses and shootout losses, we’re in (the playoffs) by quite a few points.”

Easily.

Over the next few weeks, the organization will dig deep into why the lads kept coming so agonizingly close, without winning on so many nights.

On this night, there were no answers.

“I don’t know what to say, it’s just really hard,” said Backlund, one of the few Flames to have a career season.

“We pushed for a long time.

“We fought all the way to the end and it’s an empty, hard feeling.”

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