Calgary @ Utah preview
Delta Center
Last Meeting ( Jan 2, 2025 ) Utah 5, Calgary 3
The Calgary Flames will be looking to build off yet another comeback victory and keep their playoff hopes alive when they visit the Utah Hockey Club on Tuesday in Salt Lake City.
The Flames (35-26-12, 82 points) arrive in Utah after erasing a two-goal deficit in the third period en route to a 3-2 shootout win over the Colorado Avalanche on Monday.
"There's no quit in this locker room. We've been doing it all year," said forward Ryan Lomberg, whose tally at 10:57 of the period began the comeback. "We know what we're capable of. We know if we play the right way, we can beat anybody any night. It's about having that internal confidence."
Calgary is five points behind the St. Louis Blues for the Western Conference's second wild-card spot, with two games in hand, and with nine games remaining in the regular season.
The Flames are a long shot to catch the red-hot Blues or the Minnesota Wild -- who sit in the first wild-card spot with 88 points -- but refuse to go away without a fight.
"Belief, belief, belief that's all we've got," goaltender Dan Vladar said. "We might not have the strongest team on paper, but I think we have the strongest team deep inside our hearts."
Although the Flames know they need help on the out-of-town scoreboard to reel in a playoff position, they have confidence they can build on the 5-1-1 mark they have put together in this run.
"As I've said so many times this year, I'm proud of this group. We know what we want to accomplish and we are still hunting" Vladar said.
Utah is kicking off a five-game homestand needing a miracle run and plenty of help to make the Stanley Cup playoffs.
The club (33-29-12, 78 points) is nine points back of the playoff pace, but kept those slim hopes alive with a crucial 5-2 road win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday that snapped a three-game winless skid.
In those three losses, Utah scored only two goals and surrendered 15, including the eight allowed in a shutout loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning last Thursday.
A 2-1 overtime loss the Florida Panthers the next night was a turning point.
"We had a pretty embarrassing effort in Tampa, to say the least," forward Alexander Kerfoot said. "Given where we're at in the season and looking at what we're trying to accomplish, it was unacceptable. I thought that flying to Florida against a team like that at home, competing the way we did, was a step in the right direction. You're not going to win every game. And just because you go out there and compete doesn't mean results are going to follow you, but that was a great response."
The offensive outburst came due to a simplified game, which was a focal point.
"We created good traffic in front of their net and got some dirty goals, some deflections," coach Andre Tourigny said. "We made it tough for their goalie. ... I'm happy about that part."
A playoff berth is unlikely, but as long as they have a chance, Utah's players insist they will keep fighting for wins and see the end result.
"All we can do is control what we can control," Kerfoot said.
--Field Level Media