It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.
The Calgary Flames weren’t very good for the first 20 minutes against the Vancouver Canucks on Monday night. But they took the game over in the second period and the Canucks seemed out-matched physically and emotionally as the Flames paced themselves to a decisive 5-2 victory over their North Division rivals.
The rundown
The Flames were simply not very good in the first period. They coughed the puck up, frequently. Passing plays fell apart in the neutral zone. They couldn’t bury the chances they did get.