Calgary Flames defenseman T.J. Brodie (7) celebrates his goal with teammates against the Boston Bruins during the overtime period at Scotiabank Saddledome on February 17, 2015. Calgary Flames won 4-3 in overtime.Sergei Belski
There was a fun statistic making the rounds of the Scotiabank Saddledome Monday night as the Calgary Flames were taking it on the chin from the Boston Bruins. In the previous 93 occasions when the Bruins opened up a three-goal lead on an opponent, they were money in the bank, winning 91 times. It was over – time to start heading for the exits.
Except, then it wasn't.
The Flames fell behind 3-0 Monday, but got it to 3-1 before the second period ended. Then they scored twice in the third to tie it, and won it with a miraculous fluky goal with 2.4 seconds remaining in overtime. The two points enabled the Flames to leapfrog the San Jose Sharks into third place in the Pacific Division standings, but more astoundingly, the victory marked the 10th time this season they had overcome a third-period deficit to win a game, the most in the NHL.
The Flames are the 2015 cardiac kids, a team that keeps patrons in their seats until the bitter end in a season where the endings have been mostly sweet.
"You always remember great comebacks, but as many comebacks as we've done? I've never seen anything like it," coach Bob Hartley said. "The magic tricks never run out. The rabbits keep popping out – I know they reproduce very quickly and I have no problems with this. Hey, it's fun.
"There's quite a vibe in the city right now. They talk about the players. They talk about the way we never quit, and it's a credit to our guys."
The Flames are making believers out of everyone, including management, which is now facing the $64-million question with the trade deadline approaching: Do you add players, or subtract?
Or maybe the best move is to stay the course, on the grounds that what the Flames have accomplished this season has a lot to do with team chemistry, so why risk altering that chemistry?
The Flames have been kicking tires on deals all season, but strictly with the big picture in mind: They're on a nice a run, but to deviate from the plan – of building with prospects, through the draft and in the minors – would be folly at this point in their development.
The team has one interesting bargaining chip up front – soon-to-be unrestricted free agent Curtis Glencross – but the offer would need to be significant for them to trade him. Otherwise, he's as useful as any other rental they might pick up – more, actually, because Glencross plays a hard two-way game, and has been part of the mix all year, which means he, too, is invested in this unexpected playoff push.
Belief is such an integral part of the equation of winning – the belief that the collective whole can overcome the absence of a single superstar forward. Calgary's best player this season has been defenceman Mark Giordano, a Norris Trophy candidate, but the team is in playoff contention because it has nine players with 10 goals or more. There isn't a Sidney Crosby or a Jonathan Toews to fall back on, so the alternative is scoring by committee.
"Not that it wouldn't be nice to have Toews and Crosby on your team," Flames forward David Jones said with a laugh. "But it's great because when other teams look at you, they see every line's a little bit dangerous, and they can't really cheat the game at any point with us. That's the key to a good team. If you look at the playoffs, the top lines kind of match against each other and then it's always that third or fourth line, the unsung heroes who break the deadlock. So it's great to have that kind of depth."
Jones is a former 27-goal scorer who once played for a lightly regarded Colorado Avalanche team that vaulted from 69 points in 2008-2009 to 95 points the next season and gave the San Jose Sharks an unexpectedly good test in the opening playoff round. Back then, Jones was a net-front presence on the Avs' power play. Here, he mostly plays with Mikael Backlund and Lance Bouma on Hartley's shutdown checking unit, but is that the second line, or the third?
Most nights, it's hard to say – and Hartley will move players up and down the lineup as he sees fit. Against the Bruins, top-liner Johnny Gaudreau switched places with fourth-liner Paul Byron in the third period, and Byron's energy helped set up the second goal in the comeback against Boston.
It's been that kind of year for Hartley. Maybe he needs to wear a top hat and tails behind the bench: Every game, he'll wave a wand, make an adjustment and presto, two unexpected points appear.
They will try to take this magic show on the road soon. The Brier takes over the Saddledome starting early next week, sending the Flames out of town for two weeks and seven games, likely the make-it-or-break-it portion of their season. They are a quality road team – 15-11-1 so far – and they'll need that to continue to keep pace in the tightly bunched Western Conference pack.
But it's been a good run so far and, with only 25 games remaining including Wednesday's date with the Minnesota Wild, Calgary figures to be playing meaningful games right to the end.
In September, who would have predicted that?