Calgary and Dallas wasted no time obtaining acquainted in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
The 2nd-seeded Flames and seventh-seeded Stars faced off in Video game 1 of their 1st-spherical matchup in Calgary on Tuesday, and fists ended up flying prior to the initially time period finished.
The first melee begun with a punishing hit by Calgary ahead Matthew Tkachuk on Dallas defenseman John Klingberg guiding the Stars’ web as the opening frame came to a shut. That drew Klingberg’s teammate, Michael Raffl, about to obstacle Tkachuk, and the two exchanged a number of blows in a long battle.
Both of those Tkachuk and Raffl attained combating majors for their steps, and Raffl received an additional penalty for unsportsmanlike perform.
Meanwhile, Klingberg and Flames blueliner Rasmus Andersson commenced a further battle of their very own while Tkachuk and Raffl were being going at it. For every NHL procedures, Klingberg and Andersson each gained a activity misconduct penalty — an computerized ejection — for participating in a independent struggle soon after the unique altercation experienced started.
“He is performing a minor more durable than he is,” Klingberg said when asked about Andersson hitting him. “We’re going to go immediately after him.”
It built for pretty a spirited opening to the sequence by leaving each sides without the need of a key member of their blue line for considerably of the night time.
Klingberg experienced 47 details in 74 standard-season game titles for Dallas and carried the third-most minutes on the group at 22:13 for each recreation. Andersson was the Flames’ leader in ice time at 22:40 per activity, whilst introducing 50 points in 82 game titles.
Calgary took Activity 1 in a 1- shutout, with the contest’s lone score coming on a electric power-perform target by Elias Lindholm early in the initial period of time. Flames goaltender Jacob Markstrom stopped all 16 pictures he faced.
“Even warm-up was enjoyment, and I acquired goose bumps,” Lindholm stated. “The group was into it correct absent, and certainly, we had some good energy proper absent.
“I assumed the initial 10 or 15 minutes we played real well, and the next and third, also several penalties.”
Devoid of Klingberg, their energy-enjoy quarterback, the Stars went -for-5 with a guy gain.
Stars coach Rick Bowness stated his crew “bent a little but did not break” around the to start with 50 percent of the opening period.
“I assumed they were being going to operate us out of the rink, and they did not,” Bowness claimed. “We place up a superior fight.
“It truly is clear our electrical power engage in has to get clicking. That was a massive difficulty for us. We need to have additional pucks on the web. But the contend was there, the function ethic, almost everything was fantastic.”
The Connected Press contributed to this report.