Kevin Bahl sat down Sam Colangelo with a big open-ice check tonight, giving the Flames' home crowd something to cheer about.
The clip shows Colangelo carrying through the neutral zone as Bahl steps up in his red sweater and sends the Ducks forward tumbling backward.
Gino Hard called it a huge one, and the replay backs him up completely.
The Flames defenseman came into tonight with a goal through four games, carrying a $5,350,000 cap hit.
Calgary needs a lot more of that. A winless team should be making every opponent uncomfortable, and this was a good start.
Cutting through the middle against Bahl is like jaywalking in front of a city bus. You might make it, but you're betting your whole night on it.
Colangelo, on an $850,000 deal, had a goal through his first two games.
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This huge Kevin Bahl hit had the entire Flames crowd roaring
Calgary came into the night at 0-4-0, having already given up 23 goals.
That's the kind of start where every big check feels like a statement, and the Flames badly needed one.
They've scored just 6 goals, though, so a big check alone won't fix what ails this group.
Anaheim arrived on the back half of a back-to-back after a 5-1 win in Winnipeg on Friday.
Leo Carlsson leads the Ducks with 7 points, and Beckett Sennecke has 6.
Cutter Gauthier adds 2 power-play goals, and the Ducks had allowed only 11 goals coming into tonight.
It's been a noisy day around the Flames, with Connor Zary's name surfacing in trade talk involving Vancouver.
Does Anaheim answer before the night is over, or let it slide until Tuesday?
Ryan Huska will take every bit of push he can get. Joel Quenneville, meanwhile, will want a response from his group.
The teams meet again Tuesday in Anaheim, so whatever happens tonight carries straight into the next one.
Colangelo will have three days to think about it. Bahl will have three days to watch it on every highlight package in Western Canada.
Should the Ducks answer Kevin Bahl's check when they host the Flames on Tuesday?
Also read on Markerzone.com:
Trade brewing between Canucks and Flames for Connor Zary per Elliotte Friedman
