On Thursday night against the Colorado Avalanche, Mikael Backlund was on the ice more than any other forward. In the biggest game of the season so far, Backlund was on the ice for 23:22, his highest total of the season. Much of the Swede’s icetime came against the Avs top line, and Backlund seemed to be on the ice whenever superstar centre Nathan MacKinnon was out there. But Flames goaltender Mike Smith kept the puck out of the net and Backlund impacted MacKinnon’s impact as much as you could expect. “I think (Backlund) was put in every situation, and he had a hell of a game,” Frolik said.

Source: National Post April 13, 2019 01:18 UTC