Even without Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan and Lance Bouma in the line-up, the Calgary Flames managed a 4-3 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs Tuesday night at the Dome.

Flames Coach Bob Hartley sorta, kinda, explains why he sat the trio.

"It was tough because you can't get three better young men. They're proud of representing this community. They're easy to coach. But, when you make a mistake you have to be accountable and you have to be fair to everyone."

The Flames got their goals instead from the likes of Marcus Granlund, Mikael Backlund, Michael Ferland and defenceman Dougie Hamilton with the winner.

Hamilton says he was happy to play a major role in the absence of the big three.

"Had a little bit of time and I got a good shot in a good spot. When you're kind of carried by Johnny's line, it's kind of nice we could step up and score. We made a lot of good plays."

The Flames head to San Jose Friday.