Anatomy of a heartbreaker: How the Calgary Flames were eliminated Tuesday from playoff contention

Counted out so many times over the past six-plus months, the Calgary Flames were officially knocked out at 8:48 p.m. MT on Tuesday.

With the Minnesota Wild and St. Louis Blues both taking care of their own business, the Flames were eliminated from playoff contention with four periods remaining in their own season. The Wild and Blues clinched the wild-card berths in the Western Conference.



The Flames exceeded all expectations, but still wound up on the outside looking in. They needed some help on the out-of-town scoreboard — from either Utah Hockey Club or the Anaheim Ducks — to keep their hopes alive. Here’s how it all unfolded Tuesday .

.. 6:22 p.

m. MT As the Flames are gearing up for Tuesday’s pre-game warm-up, Blues captain Brayden Schenn stakes his team to an early lead in St. Louis.

The replay doesn’t leave a whole lot of optimism that Utah is up to the task of spoiler. While Blues rookie Jimmy Snuggerud was stopped on a breakaway, Schenn won the race to the rebound as defenceman Michael Kesselring ran out of gas on the backcheck. 6:23 p.

m. MT Double whammy. Just a minute after Schenn’s strike in St.

Loo, Minnesota’s Marcus Johansson wires a glove-side shot to put the hosts ahead at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. With the Wild-Ducks game being shown on the big screen at the Saddledome, you can hear a chorus of groans as fans file in.

6:29 p.m. MT Airdrie’s own Jake Neighbours doesn’t do the Flames any favours as he stickhandles past a couple of could-be defenders and sets up Pavel Buchnevich for a no-doubter, doubling the Blues’ lead in front of their home fans at Enterprise Center.

6:31 p.m. MT Finally some good news.

Alex Killorn buries a bouncing pucks as the Ducks pull even in Minnesota. 6:41 p.m.

MT The Flames are starting to wrap their warm-up, with a few forwards working on their deflections and starting netminder Dustin Wolf leaning on the boards by the home bench, when Snuggerud cashes his first NHL goal. Some on social media grumble that it seemed to be a kicking motion. 6:54 p.

m. MT There are jokes in the press-box that a Blues scout might need to sneak out of the Saddledome in a fake moustache. And he hasn’t even heard yet that Zack Bolduc has just given his squad a 4-0 lead.

7:14 p.m. MT A double whammy of another sort.

As the Flames sniff to open the scoring at the Saddledome, Yegor Sharangovich and MacKenzie Weegar each clank the post on the same shift. 7:17 p.m.

MT With some ears still ringing from those close calls, the Flames win a defensive-zone draw but Joel Hanley fails on the clearing attempt. Golden Knights forward Pavel Dorofeyev sends the puck toward the net and it deflects off at least one Flames player — and maybe too — and scoots past Wolf. 7:24 p.

m. MT Clayton Keller rips a slapper on the power-play as Utah at least spoils Jordan Binnington’s shutout bid. 7:29 p.

m. MT Flames forward Morgan Frost scores his first in two-plus months, lighting the lamp with a one-timer on the power-play. At the Saddledome, the scoreboard now shows 1-1.

Frost, meanwhile, snaps out of a 25-game goalless drought. 7:36 p.m.

MT Calgary’s leading scorer, Nazem Kadri, loses his check in the neutral zone and Golden Knights centre Nicolas Roy escapes on a breakaway. He capitalized with a flurry of dekes and a forehand finish. 7:44 p.

m. MT The crowd roars when an infant fan is shown on the big screen, displaying a sign that reads: ‘I want playoffs.’ 7:47 p.

m. MT With only 24 seconds remaining in a far-from-ideal first period, the Flames surrender another one. Brandon Saad does the dishing and Tomas Hertl polishes off a redirect.

8:10 p.m. MT In Minnesota, Ducks backstop Lukas Dostal has become Calgary’s best friend — or at least their best hope.

Dostal has already racked up 30 saves when the Quack Pack claim a 2-1 lead as forward call-up Sam Colangelo chips home a backhand on a two-on-one rush. 8:24 p.m.

MT By this point, most Flames fans have likely turned off their phone alerts for Blues’ scoring plays. So they may have missed Jordan Kyrou’s marker to make it 5-1. 8:33 p.

m. MT This part hurts the worst. With 20.

9 seconds remaining in regulation, Joel Eriksson Ek notches the tying tally in Minnesota. The Wild only need a single point to clinch their playoff berth, so they insert their soon-to-be-retired backup, Marc-Andre Fleury, for the sudden-death session. Thanks to a Matt Boldy bury, the legendary netminder nabs his 575th career win.

8:44 p.m. MT As the Saddledome hosts retreat to the locker-room after two periods, Kyrou pots his second of the night in St.

Loo. The Blues’ broadcast calls it the ‘icing on the cake.’ The Flames now know they will be officially eliminated in just a matter of minutes.

8:48 p.m. MT The final buzzer blares at Enterprise Center.

The Blues are in, while the Flames fall just short. [email protected].