Flames assert identity on Stars in dominant Game 4 win

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In a must-win Game 4 at the American Airlines Centre, the Calgary Flames’ best players were their best players as the Flames dominated the Stars and tied their series at two games apiece.

Johnny Gaudreau turned in a fine performance. The star winger clearly was haunted by a breakaway late in Game 3 two nights earlier that could have tied the game. He went blocker side on Jake Oettinger and was denied. Two nights later and again partway through the third period, he was hooked by Stars blueliner John Klingberg and awarded a penalty shot. This time, Gaudreau deked out Oettinger to give the Flames their first two-goal lead of the playoffs.

“I had some good looks there throughout the night and he’s made some big saves on me,” Gaudreau said.

“I was a tad nervous to be honest with you. I felt like he had my number tonight. I had three or four really good opportunities tonight to put the puck in the net. It was nice to find the net there.”

Gaudreau was not the only one who was nervous.

“Nervous, no, but we know how skilled Johnny is,” Andersson joked.

“It was really nice to see him put it in the net and go up 2-0…then we just beared down in the end.”

“He’s good on breakaways,” head coach Darryl Sutter said after the game.

Gaudreau and linemates Elias Lindholm and Matthew Tkachuk combined for four points and as a team, Calgary fired 53 shots on Oettinger. The turning point of the game (and potentially the series) was a five-minute stretch in the second period where Calgary pinned Dallas in its own end for over three minutes and fired nine shots in that stretch. At its five-on-five best, Calgary dominates possession in the offensive zone, activates their defencemen while forwards cover for them, cycles, wins