Trailing after two periods of a should-get game, skating on home ice against a Pacific Division foe, the Calgary Flames are desperate for a boost.



Yet there is no sign of Mark Giordano.



No. 5, famously difficult to keep off the ice during even optional practice sessions, is unable to take any shifts at the critical juncture of a prime-time match.



Worried? Well, yeah.



“He’s our leader, so if you’re not concerned, you’ve got a problem,” Michael Stone said of losing the captain to a lower-body injury Tuesday at the Saddledome. “He’s a big part of our team — probably the biggest part of our team. It’s tough to see him leave the game there.”



Said Matthew Tkachuk: “He’s our best defenceman, probably our hardest worker, one of our best, if not best, player each and every night. Yeah, it’s definitely a big hole, but guys in this room are capable of filling that, just by...