For the second game in a row, Mikael Backlund’s new line has risen to the occasion.
Backlund has a long history of being at the centre of some very good line combinations for the Calgary Flames, often helping to boost the production of those skating alongside him.
Joe Colborne scored 19 goals in 2015-16 while playing on Backlund’s wing; one season earlier, Lance Bouma potted 16 while playing nearly half of his minutes with the Swedish centre. Colborne and Bouma combined to score 12 more goals in the rest of their NHL careers.
Flames coach Geoff Ward needed to shake up his line combinations after centre Derek Ryan suffered an injury last week.