Flames Takeaways: Rare goalie letdown stops momentum in loss to Jets

Goaltending is the biggest reason the Calgary Flames have been able to claw their way into a playoff position. On Sunday it let them down. Eric Francis weighs in on the Flames’ loss to the Jets.

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Jan 26, 2025 - 20:58

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Flames Takeaways: Rare goalie letdown stops momentum in loss to Jets

Goaltending is the biggest reason the Calgary Flames have been able to claw their way into a playoff position.

On Sunday it let them down.

Ryan Huska said as much, albeit diplomatically, after a 5-2 loss in Winnipeg.

“I actually thought we played a pretty good road game,” Huska told Flames TV following a game in which his tired squad trailed the West’s best Jets 2-1 late in the first period.

“There were certain situations where I felt like we could have used a save tonight, which isn’t something we have said a lot this year.

“We just weren’t able to keep them out of our net like we needed to tonight.”

This isn’t to suggest the loss was on Dan Vladar, as the odds were stacked against him by virtue of their game in Minnesota less than 24 hours earlier.

However, it is fair to say he was victimized on at least two goals the Flames haven’t generally allowed this year.

The first was Gabriel Vilardi’s first of the night, which extended the Jets lead to 3-1 in the final minute of the second period. His snapshot in off the far post beat Vladar cleanly and stopped the momentum the Flames appeared to have after MacKenzie Weegar’s power-play goal minutes earlier.

Two bad penalties in the third — a too-many-men infraction and an unnecessary Martin Pospisil hook in the offensive zone — allowed the league’s best power play to break the game wide-open with two more goals.

The final dagger was a Mark Scheifele one-timer from the high slot that beat an off-balance Vladar between the wickets.

Making just his second start in the last three weeks, Vladar was placed in yet another tough position by playing the second half of back-to-backs for the sixth time this season.

He’s 1-5 in those starts and has now lost six in a row, allowing 24 goals in that span.

While he’s been a victim of poor run support all year, the reality is he’s lost 15 of his 21 starts this season while Dustin Wolf has won 18 of his 27.

It’s a pretty safe bet to suggest Vladar will continue to play spot duty as long as the Flames remain in playoff contention.

Weegar on call?

It was announced Sunday that Vegas defenceman Alex Pietrangelo has withdrawn from playing in next month’s 4 Nations Face-off due to injury, opening the door for Weegar to be his potential replacement on the right side.

Weegar is a right-shot defenceman, who has spent the majority of his career playing on the left side.

Weegar’s effort as the tourney’s top defenceman for Canada at the Worlds in 2023 demonstrated the versatility of the Flames veteran.

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He certainly possesses a more complete game than Edmonton power play specialist Evan Bouchard, who has more points than Weegar.

Weegar is one of just four players in the NHL with over 100 hits and 100 blocks.

Weegar’s power play blast Sunday in Winnipeg was his sixth goal of the season (and 25^th point), putting him one point ahead of talented Islanders youngster Noah Dobson.

Others in the mix would include right-shot defencemen like Aaron Ekblad and Drew Doughty, the latter of which is skating with the Kings and appears ready to make his season debut following ankle surgery in the fall.

The Canadian team has until Feb. 11, one day before the tourney, to announce Pietrangelo’s replacement, but would likely make an announcement much sooner than that.

4 Nations Face-Off

With the inaugural edition of the 4 Nations Face-Off fast approaching, be sure to catch up on all the latest news about the highly-anticipated best-on-best event. Puck drops on Feb. 12, 2025, on Sportsnet.
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