Flames move towards murky middle with win over Sabres

CALGARY – Three points.

That’s what currently separates the Calgary Flames from a playoff spot.

Yes, you read that right.

A bizarre, 7-4 win over Buffalo Monday broke their 30th-place tie with the Sabres, kickstarting an annual Christmas tradition that has Flames fans craning their necks to try seeing a path to the post-season.

Keep in mind, the Flames have played the most games of any team in the west, and still have six teams between them and the final wild card berth.

It’s more mirage than reality to even discuss the playoffs. 

But as part of the mental gymnastics Flames fans partake in annually, the view from their perch right now is that they are closer to the playoff cutline than they are to last place, for the first time this season.

To get there they beat the NHL’s biggest punchline the last decade, a team that put on full display how low the give-a-crap meter can register when the culture of losing runs as deep as Buffalo snow.

And with the Flames being almost equidistant between last and eighth in the west, it’s the perfect time to re-ignite the citywide debate over whether it’s best for the Flames to continue building on their current 7-2-1 run, or lean into the horrid start.

The reality is that the club will continue to do what it has been doing the last few years, continually injecting young prospects into the lineup while trying to maintain a competitive, winning culture in the room.

Of late, it has been working – lottery draft be damned.   

Monday morning started with news Hunter Brzustewicz had been summoned from the farm for the injured Jake Bean.

It’s the type of promotion fans can’t get enough of.

Twelve hours later, there was Brzustewicz’s former defensive partner, Yan Kuznetsov, pushing in the game-winner, like “a fire poker.”  

That’s three wins in a row for the Flames.

The first two were on the back of Dustin Wolf, and the latest was a result of what happens when more than a month without puck luck starts to even out.

The Flames needn’t apologize for the series of fluky goals scored Monday, starting with Yegor Sharangovich’s game-opener, which saw a MacKenzie Weegar point blast carom in off the inside of the Belarussian’s arm.

“Nice shot by Weegs – almost killed me, but nice rebound,” smiled the soft-spoken winger, who later added his sixth of the season into an empty net from 170 feet away.

“I think it’s a really big thing we take a W and win three games in a row. Now we have fun, everyone is smiling and we just keep going.”

Indeed, the mood around the team has improved considerably of late, as has their record.

The Flames have done well to find their game, returning to the structure that allows them to win close, low-scoring games with the help of two goaltenders in fine form.

Monday’s game was more pond hockey than anything else, but the Flames deserved credit for responding quickly every time the Sabres found the net.

They caught a big break when a Tage Thompson goal was negated by an offside challenge, and they also smiled and shrugged when a Rasmus Andersson point shot somehow found its way in despite the fact he broke his stick on the muted blast.

“It’s funny, because a lot of times you feel like you’re doing the right things and just can’t catch a break,” said Nazem Kadri, who finished off one great passing play and added two assists.    

“I think now we’ve stayed consistent and we’re starting to get some puck luck as well, which is great to see. It’s very relieving.”

Jonathan Huberdeau also scored for the Flames, converting an all-world pass from Matt Coronato on the power play. 

Sharangovich finished with three points, as his line with Kadri and Joel Farabee continues to improve.   

“I think he’s going to the net right now,” said Huska of the team’s most frustrating forward.

“He’s starting to skate with the puck more, and I think he has more confidence, composure, whatever you want to call it, right now with the puck. It doesn’t matter how they go in, they go in, but it goes in because it’s where he should be. And I do think that line has some chemistry now.”

Like it or not, the 12-15-4 Flames continue to dig out of the early hole that had people asking for Gavin McKenna Flames jerseys for Christmas.

The inevitable path back to the mushy middle continues.

More from Sportsnet

Canucks, Flames leading candidates to win the race to the bottom

Despite slow start, Flames’ MacKenzie Weegar still has Olympics in sight