from Eric Francis of Sportsnet,
The Calgary Flames reconvened from a nine-day break in search of a spark - a reason to believe they have what it takes to finally come together as a group.
How perfect then, that as host of some of the world’s most iconic fights, it was Madison Square Garden where the lads chose to prove they’re ready to battle down the stretch.
In a wildly entertaining game befitting the world’s greatest arena, the Flames showed the type of character that galvanizes teams, steadying them for the challenge ahead.
They fought back from three deficits, bounced up and back from a trio of highlight reel hits, responded immediately with mite and left with a point and an exclamation mark on their season.
“It shows to everybody, and most importantly to us in the dressing room, we’re not going to back down from anybody, and we’re going to stand up when needed, and we’re just going to keep this momentum going.
“We showed a lot of good character out there.
“We showed we love each other, and we care for each other. A lot of guys stepping in, and stepping up – that was the positive for tonight.”
Watch the game highlights below
from Larry Brooks of the New York Post,
Maybe this was the moment everyone will point to when analyzing when it turned around for Alexis Lafreniere.
Because while Filip Chytil has been a skyrocket in the night and Kaapo Kakko has been a significant offensive-zone force over these past number of weeks, Lafreniere seemed to be the Kid who was still lagging behind.
Until overtime at the Garden on Monday against the Flames when No. 13 whipped one home off a blocked shot at 1:37 of extra play to lift the Rangers to a 5-4 victory in a wildly entertaining match featuring physicality, fights, numerous stark blunders and dizzying momentum swings with both teams coming off extended bye week and All-Star layoffs.
Three kids each with a capital K, no less, on a night when Chytil scored two more to escalate his spree to nine goals in the last dozen games.
What happens if Chytil, Kakko and Lafreniere should all arrive at about the same time? Well, it is going to cost the front office some serious coin, thats for sure. But it is also going to set up the Rangers for both the short term and the long term.
continued
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