CALGARY, Alberta — By 8:15 p.m., when the Stars’ 1-0 loss to the Flames in Game 1 began on Tuesday night, the city of Calgary had whipped itself into a feverish fury.
The “C of Red” overflowed into pockets of downtown Calgary by afternoon, Flames jerseys populating restaurants and dotting sidewalks. Noise from the far reaches of the Saddle — not even visible from ice level — wobbled the dangling press box with vibrations. Flames mascot Harvey the Hound and his handheld drum led a chorus of “Go Flames go” chants at least five times before the Stars registered a shot on net.
The Flames won the pregame. Then they won the game.
Elias Lindholm’s opening period power-play goal held up for Calgary, which rode its crowd through a dominant first period and held off the Stars in a penalty-filled Game 1. There were 10 combined power plays, two fights and two game misconducts on Tuesday night, as the Flames took a 1-0 series lead.
Game 2 of the best-of-seven first-round series is Thursday night in Calgary.
In his first postseason start, Jake Oettinger made 25 saves, keeping the Stars in the game early and continuing his steady play once Dallas found its footing in the second period.
The 19,289 at the Saddledome on Tuesday night gave the Flames the backing to dictate the opening 20 minutes.
At the end of pregame warmup, after all the Flames had departed the ice, fans booed Tyler Seguin, Alexander Radulov and Jason Robertson for the final minute they were on the ice. When Matthew Tkachuk hit John Klingberg just 12 seconds in the period, the building erupted. Every chance drew a reaction; every hit, adulation.
The Flames had the first nine shots of the game and outshot the Stars 11-3 in the first period. But that didn’t tell the whole story of Calgary’s performance.
Lindholm’s goal came five seconds into Jani Hakanpää's penalty for an illegal check to the head, as Lindholm won a faceoff, then opened up for a one-timer from the right dot that beat Oettinger on the glove side.
Only two of the Stars’ three shots were from the offensive zone, and neither were quality chances against Jacob Markstrom. The Flames, meanwhile, had 21 shot attempts and were eyelashes away from creating even more dangerous chances.
The period ended with a fracas at center ice.
After Tkachuk bowled over Klingberg (again), Michael Raffl tripped Tkachuk leaving the Stars zone. Tkachuk put Raffl in a headlock before the pair dropped gloves and Raffl fed him uppercuts. Moments after Raffl and Tkachuk’s fight, John Klingberg fought with Rasmus Andersson.
Both Klingberg and Andersson received game misconducts for a second altercation during a stoppage, and their nights ended after just 20 minutes.
Five minor penalties disrupted the game flow in the second period but allowed the Stars to stem the Flames siege. They weathered a 20-second Flames 5-on-3 power play. They watched Blake Coleman’s goal get negated by his interference penalty.
For both teams, Tuesday was a welcome sight after each club missed the playoffs last year, then sat through three off days before starting their playoff runs.
“You go to bed last night, you’re excited,” Stars coach Rick Bowness said before the game. “You wake up this morning, you can’t wait to get to the rink and be around the guys and just feel it. Love it.”
Calgary’s fans loved it, too. Then so did the Flames.
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