The Calgary Flames snapped a four-game home losing streak with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over the Washington Capitals at Scotiabank Saddledome on Sunday night.

1. BEST YET

Sunday’s game was the Flames’ best game of the 2017-18 season. All four lines and all three defence pairings played well. Mike Smith was really good again, but unlike in almost every other Flames win this season, he didn’t have to be great. From pretty much start to finish, the Flames outplayed the two-time defending Presidents’ Trophy winners. The final score flattered the Capitals.

2. STICKTOITIVENESS

Yes, that is actually a word, you can look it up if you don’t believe me (I did). The Flames played as close to a full 60 minutes on Sunday as they have in any of their first 12 games this season. Badly outshooting and out-chancing the Capitals, the Flames should have had a larger lead than 1-0 following 40 minutes. Calgary police could have charged the Capitals with loitering inside of Scotiabank Saddledome on Sunday. Still, the visitors caught a break when a T.J. Brodie clearing attempt hit one of the linesmen at the blue line and the puck bounced back to Oshie, who found Jakub Vrana alone in front and he squeezed the puck between Smith’s pads to tie the game at one.

To their credit, a Calgary team that hasn’t been playing with a ton of confidence this season, didn’t get discouraged. The Flames got right back to work, refusing to let a dangerous Capitals club gain any momentum after scoring the game-tying goal. Less than five minutes later, the Flames took the lead for good.

3. ALTERNATE CAPTAIN CLUTCH

The Flames have six wins this season and Sean Monahan has scored the game-winning goal in four of those games. The franchise’s all-time leader in overtime winners and co-leader in shootout-deciding goals, did it again on Sunday night. With that said, as much credit as Monahan deserves for scoring his team-leading sixth goal of the season and NHL co-leading fourth game winner of 2017-18, the real hero on the game’s decisive goal was his left-winger, Johnny Gaudreau.

Johnny Hockey was at his best on Sunday night. Gaudreau’s vision and patience and his perfect pass that led to Monahan’s tap-in is why that goal will be featured on highlight reels for a long time to come.

4. FANTASTIC FERLAND

Micheal Ferland has played some great games in his four seasons with the Flames and Sunday was certainly one of his best. In addition to scoring his third goal of the season, Ferland had five shots on goal and seven hits. He was a beast. While Ferland has had some good moments playing on the right side of the team’s top line, he sometimes forgets who he is and what he does best. Ferland has skill, but he’s not Gaudreau or Monahan.

To be effective on the Flames’ first line, Ferland has to be physical and show a willingness to do the dirty work. Ferland hits hard. Very hard. When he plays the way he did versus the Capitals on Sunday, his speed and physicality forces opposing defencemen to look over their shoulders and move the puck quickly to avoid getting hammered into the end boards, and that causes them to make mistakes. He creates room for the team’s top two offensive players and helps them spend more time in the offensive zone.

If Ferland can play that way consistently, he’ll spend a lot of time playing on the Flames’ first line, eventually making a lot of money doing so.

5. BRETT (NOT BART) RULES

While the sample size is small, 12 games into the season, Brett Kulak has clearly outplayed Matt Bartkowski. For some, the battle to be Michael Stone’s partner on the Flames’ third defence pairing might not mean much, but to me, it’s important – especially on the road.

Opposing teams have been picking on the pairing all season, even though I think Stone could be (should be) one of the better No. 5 defencemen in the NHL – it’s important that he has the right partner. Bartkowski can skate and his strength allows him to contain opposing players along the boards. The issue is he has made some poor decisions and has had trouble getting the puck out of his zone.

I’m not sure the Flames would have made the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season without Bartkowski. Signed midseason, he upgraded the team’s third pairing and helped them get to the playoffs. In 2016-17, the veteran was a better option than the inexperienced Kulak. But based on what I’ve seen so far this season, Kulak has been the better of the two players, and certainly has a higher ceiling. While there may be some ups and downs, I think the Flames should stick with the 23-year-old as Stone’s partner.

Investing in Kulak now, especially coming off of what may have been his best game as an NHLer, will likely pay off for the the team down the road.