Flames making strides, but will it be enough to keep group together?

Another third-period lead.

Another third-period collapse.

This is why Calgary Flames GM Craig Conroy will continue trying to assess his club for at least another month before deciding on a definitive course of action.

With every loss, it’s getting more and more evident his UFAs will likely need to be traded to augment his team’s ongoing retool.   

But as back-to-back heartbreaks in two of the NHL’s toughest buildings can attest, they’re close.

This group isn’t worth giving up on just yet.

One night after coughing up a two-goal third period lead for a late loss in Denver, the Flames took three separate leads, only to need a late goal themselves to send this one into overtime. 

It was in the extra frame Mark Stone was sent in alone by Jack Eichel to snap the winner over Dustin Wolf’s glove, giving the Vegas Golden Knights a 5-4 victory.

A gutsy loser point for a team that played without Chris Tanev, who left Monday’s game 15 seconds in with an injury the team deemed day-to-day as an upper-body ailment.

His departure, following a violent face-first collision with the glass, served as a reminder that every game Tanev, Elias Lindholm and Noah Hanifin play before the trade deadline comes with an inherent risk that a significant trade asset could be lost due to injury.

Then again, the longer you wait, the better the offers.

Conroy will have to trust his instincts, in terms of knowing when it’s time to start renegotiating for possible extensions or cashing in on the increased trade offers sure to flow his way after Christmas.

On Tuesday, he had to be proud of an effort that included some significant performances:

• Yegor Sharangovich extended his goal-scoring streak to three games with a pair that included a game-tying redirection with the goalie pulled and just one minute left on the clock.

It took some time, but the youngster acquired in the summertime deal for Tyler Toffoli is really settling in nicely on the top line, as his nine goals now lead the team.

He has points in four straight games and five of his last six.

“He’s kind of finding his game I think,” coach Ryan Huska told reporters afterwards.

“Players come over in a trade, it takes them a while to get adjusted to new settings, new teammates and the way we operate and do things around here. 

“And he’s got a good skill set, so I think he’s starting to feel comfortable with who he is on our team.”

• Wolf made a career-high 34 saves in a game in which he stopped Eichel and Chandler Stephenson on separate breakaways given up while his team was on the power play.

None of the goals he surrendered were egregious, as the 22-year-old rookie stood tall in a game his team was outshot 39-31.

“I thought his game was fine,” said Huska, who has started the youngster in net three of their last four games.

“He made some saves at some times for us. 

“He’d probably like to have one or two of them back, but I thought he gave us a good game tonight for sure.”

• Nazem Kadri also extended his goal-scoring streak to three games, adding a goal and an assist for the second straight night.

His redirection of a Connor Zary shot put the Flames up 2-1 early in the second period of a game that went back and forth all night before the hosts extended their lead atop the NHL standings to six points.

• MacKenzie Weegar opened the scoring six minutes in with his seventh of the season – a mark that has him just one short of his career season two years ago.

At this time last year he had yet to score.

It’s contributions from Weegar and the blue line that have helped the Flames rebound after an opening 10 games that threatened to derail their season.

He and Rasmus Andersson played 23 minutes apiece to spearhead a group that added callup Nick DeSimone earlier in the day in exchange for Matt Coronato, who was demoted.

“They should be disappointed – you’re playing to win,” said Huska, whose team plays its third road game in four nights on Thursday in Minnesota.

“But you can’t lose sight of the fact, to a man, they came to play and they stayed with it right until the very end.

“I’m not faulting or unhappy with the way we competed or worked tonight.”

The difference was special teams, as the Knights scored on two of four power plays and the Flames were shut out on two tries, as has been happening far too often the last month.

“Obviously back-to-back games in tough buildings and two tough teams, I thought everyone fought hard and gave everything in the tank,” said Blake Coleman on Sportsnet 960 The Fan.

“You’d like to hold that lead, but look at the positive, we left with a point.

“You could see the guys were battling with their legs, but it was a smart road game.

“We got some timely goals and we have to grow as a team and find a way to hold on to these third-period leads and even build on them.”