Calgary Flames: Top 3 takeaways from huge Game 1 win over Jets

The Calgary Flames answered a lot of questions with a dominant 4-1 win over the Winnipeg Jets in Game 1 of their play-in round series.

Entering the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Calgary Flames had a lot of questions to answer after an unimpressive regular season. This came following an unimpressive showing in last year’s postseason, as they fell to the Colorado Avalanche in five games in the first round.

The Flames answered a lot of questions by beating the Jets 4-1 in game one of their best of five qualifying round. What did we learn from the sixty-minute matchup?

1. Winnipeg’s Injuries

In a series of unfortunate events, two of Winnipeg’s best players faced injuries that forced them out of the game.

Mark Scheifele

Jets center Mark Scheifele suffered what looked like a skate to the calf or potentially the Achilles. People were quick to go after Matthew Tkachuk since it was his skate who clipped the star.

The injury was reminiscent of that of Erik Karlsson back in 2013 against the Penguins. It was a scary moment for sure.

Patrik Laine

A cross-check from Flames captain Mark Giordano led Laine to a wrist injury. Both Laine and Schiefele will see a specialist today.

What if…

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With the stars injured, how much easier did the series get for Calgary? The Jets have a depleted defense and questionable offense, are the Flames now the favorites? Even if just one remains out the Flames have an advantage that they did not have prior to puck drop.

2. Goaltending

Flames head coach Geoff Ward made the call to go with Cam Talbot over David Rittich. Naturally, fans were questioning this move before the game started, and soon after Talbot let in the one and only Jets goal. Talbot stopped 17 of 18 shots on goal. I’d be interested in seeing if Talbot starts Game 2 or if Ward has some rotation planned.

3. Flames Special Teams

Calgary’s special teams get the gold star of the night in my eyes. They were responsible for three goals. A big thing to note here is Johnny Gaudreau’s man-advantage tying goal. It was his first postseason goal since May of 2015. Is the chip officially off his shoulder?

Tobias Rieder scored the second goal of the evening which I found slightly more impressive due to the fact that the Flames were shorthanded and he’s not someone we typically see scoring.

Sam Bennet is responsible for the third goal, capitalizing on the powerplay.

Ahead of last night, there was a heavy emphasis on special teams. The Flames could not afford to not play a tight-knit game.

Final Thoughts

The Calgary Flames have their work cut out for them. They’ve put a target on their backs by injuring the stars. I believe that the remainder of the series will certainly be more competitive than any of us anticipated.