Mikael Backlund’s OT winner caps Flames’ Game 3 comeback
There was no doubt about the game-winning goal in Game 3 for the Calgary Flames.
Mikael Backlund’s wrister at the 4:24 mark in overtime finished off a wild 4-3 comeback at Calgary and got the Flames back in their second-round series against the Anaheim Ducks.
With the Calgary win, the series is now 2-1 in favor of Anaheim.
This came not long after Sam Bennett’s possible third period game-tying score was called no-goal. The call on the ice was no goal. There was no super conclusive review that showed the puck completely crossed the line – in spite of a million Twitter gifs that claimed otherwise even though none showed the puck conclusively crossed the line.
Johnny Gaudreau tied the game at 3-3 with 19.5 seconds left, which meant Bennett’s goal probably did cross the line, since that is totally ‘Hockey God justice. Gaudreau’s goal came on a 5-on-3 after Sami Vatanen was called for delay of game by chipping the puck into the stands.
Backlund’s goal came on a delayed penalty.
For those who were stark raving mad at the referees for the Bennett no goal, our own Ryan Lambert pointed out what created the Gaudreau goal:
This stems from Matt Stajan running Ducks goaltender Frederik Andersen, and then Simon Despres being called on the even-up penalty.
The Flames will still play the ‘underdog we got robbed’ card, though Anaheim also has a case.
That all doesn’t matter much for the victor Flames, but it’s a big deal for the Ducks. The only way Calgary could get back in this series was a super emotional win, and a soul-crushing loss for the Ducks. The way it played out with Bennett, the no-goal call, Gaudreau’s game-tying goal, an overtime win … this was the worst possible scenario for the Ducks.
Plus Andersen wasn’t great with 17 saves on 21 shots on goal. If Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau goes to John Gibson in Game 4 … yeah then unnecessary panic will have set in and we’ll really have a series.
The Ducks are the better and more veteran team and outscored the Flames 9-1 in Games 1 and 2. Momentum doesn’t often carry from game-to-game. But Calgary is clearly back in this series.
– – – – – – –
Josh Cooper is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @joshuacooper
MORE FROM YAHOO HOCKEY
