from Eric Francis of Sportsnet,
In Saturday's warmup all the talk around Calgary was about Bennett and Blasty, as in Sam and the retro uniforms.
After being dominated by the Edmonton Oilers in the first period, the talk turned to the Flames burying themselves early, as they have done so often this year.
By night’s end the focus was on Backlund and the bounce back, as in Mikael and the way he may have helped turn the Flames' season on a dime.
Following an opening period in which the Oilers led 2-1 and outshot the Flames 17-3, it was Backlund’s newly-formed trio that spearheaded the team’s most emotional win of the season.
Not only did he work with Andrew Mangiapane and Milan Lucic to limit Connor McDavid (to two points) at one end of the ice, Backlund's line combined for seven points to cap an 80s style shootout with a 6-4 win.
“I thought that line tonight was huge for us,” said coach Geoff Ward, who finally got some of the secondary scoring his team was supposed to be all about.
Watch the game highlights below.
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