Calgary Flames season 21/22

[thegx.ca]

1 hour ago, Brewin Flames said:

Just a crazy game...but a win is a win.

 

 

 

...yeah was expecting tight Sutter style game...but like you said - a win is a win

[Brewin Flames]

Game # 66

 

Flames 1 AVS 2

 

Colorado beats Calgary 2-1 in clash of West division leaders

 

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By AP

Updated: 4 hours ago

 

CALGARY, Alberta -- — Valeri Nichushkin scored two power-play goals and Darcy Keumper stopped 44 shots as the Colorado Avalanche edged the Calgary Flames 2-1 Tuesday night in a matchup of Western Conference division leaders.

 

“Gutsy win by our group,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. “I thought our team was highly committed on the defensive side of things.

“Power play steps up at the end gets us a big win.”

 

Central Division-leading Colorado (47-14-6) won the season series 2-1. The Avalanche did so without Nathan MacKinnon (lower body), their leading scorer who was hurt in a third-period fight with Minnesota’s Matt Dumba on Sunday.

 

Nazem Kadri took MacKinnon’s spot on the Avs’ top line with Nichuskin and Mikko Rantanen. After going winless in his two previous starts, Kuemper improved to 31-9-3.

 

“Definitely a credit to the depth of the team,” Kuemper said. “The willingness and ability for guys to step up their game and make up for the guys that are missing.”

 

Tyler Toffoli scored for Pacific Division-leading Calgary (40-18-8). Jacob Markstrom (31-13-7) stopped 28 shots. The Flames are 2-2-0 on a six-game homestand that continues Thursday against Los Angeles. The Kings are second in the Pacific, seven points behind the Flames.

 

With the score tied 1-1, Colorado capitalized on a tripping penalty to Elias Lindholm halfway through the third period. Mikko Rantanen spotted Nichushkin in front and sent a perfect pass across the slot that Nichushkin steered behind Markstrom.

 

Colorado’s power play has been lethal of late. The unit converted 2 of 3 chances and moved to 15 for 36 over the Avalanche’s last 12 games (41.7%).

“Power play, we need them to step up,” Bednar said. “It’s going to be tight.

 

“That’s how it works down the stretch and into the playoffs. It’s hard to find space and create scoring chances 5 on 5 and when you get one or two (power plays), you’ve got to try to capitalize on them.”

 

Calgary’s penalty kill struggled for a second straight game. The Flames have surrendered five power-play goals in their last two games.

“That’s two games with very soft, individual mistakes,” Flames coach Darryl Sutter said. “First one tonight, puck should go down the ice, forwards had two cracks at it.

 

“The second is just a straight read by the defenseman. Those are mental mistakes. Very simple.”

 

Mikael Backlund, part of the Flames' top penalty-kill pairing up front, said it’s up to Calgary to rebound next game.

 

“We know it can be better,” he said. “And we know we’ve been really solid all year.

 

”We’ve had one or two games during the year where similar to this, we let too many in, and we rebounded and we play really solid after that.”

Chris Tanev said the Flames must get back to working harder.

 

“We were killing well until obviously letting three goals in a period against Edmonton and tonight was all special teams and they got two and we got one and that was the difference in the game,” Tanev said. “We’ve got to bear down on our clears, on our entries, and back to outworking PPs that are out there.”

 

Calgary entered the game 4 for 12 with a man advantage in the previous four games. But the Flames could only convert one of six chances against Colorado, including two opportunities in seven minutes of the third, both on Kadri penalties. The latter came with 16 seconds remaining.

 

The Flames opened the scoring at 9:31 of the second, capitalizing on a two-man advantage. They secured the 5-on-3 when Nichushkin got his stick into the hands of Rasmus Andersson 18 seconds into the first power play.

 

The Flames controlled possession, but weren’t able to generate any good chances initially. But eventually Andersson sent a pass across that Toffoli one-timed inside the goalpost from 30 feet.

 

Matthew Tkachuk also assisted on the goal, giving him 12 points (four goals, eight assists) during a five-game point streak.

 

The lead lasted less than five minutes as the Avalanche responded with a power-play goal. With Milan Lucic off for interference, Colorado tied it at 13:46 when Cale Makar’s shot deflected in off Nichushkin, who was screening Markstrom.

[thegx.ca]

Close game against Colorado team without their 2 best players and Calgary still lost after out playing them too...

[Brewin Flames]

Game # 67

 

Flames 2 LA 3 SO

 

Andersson's shootout goal lifts Kings over Flames 3-2

 

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By AP

Updated: 3 hours ago

CALGARY, Alberta -- — Lias Andersson scored the deciding goal in the shootout, Cal Petersen made 26 saves and the Los Angeles Kings edged the Calgary Flames 3-2 on Thursday night.

 

Alex Iaffalo and Viktor Arvidsson scored in regulation for Los Angeles, which moved within five points of Pacific Division-leading Calgary. The Flames have three games in hand.

 

“A gutsy, gutsy win,” said Arvidsson, whose 19th goal at 15:38 came just over two minutes after Calgary had taken its first lead of the night. “The team doesn’t quit. It’s just who we are. It’s in our DNA. It’s a good quality to have this time of year.”

 

Johnny Gaudreau and Erik Gudbranson scored for Calgary, which lost consecutive games for the first time since early January. After a stretch of winning 15 of 17 home games, Calgary has won just two of its last six (2-2-2) at the Scotiabank Saddledome.

 

"We weren’t very good tonight, I don’t think,” Gaudreau said. “They’re a desperate team trying to catch us in the standings, so we’ve got to be ready for a little pushback there in the third.”

 

The Kings and Flames meet again in Los Angeles on Monday night.

 

“It’s desperate times for a lot of teams, it’s desperate times for us," Gudbranson said. “We’ve got to be the more desperate team every night.”

 

Andersson was Los Angeles' second player in the shootout and scored by squeezing a shot through Jacob Markstrom’s pads as he cut in off the wing. The goal stood as the winner with Petersen denying Mikael Backlund, Matthew Tkachuk and Gaudreau.

 

“It was huge to come back. We’re running on fumes,” Kings coach Todd McLellan said. “Somebody asked me on our Zoom call today about the heart of our team. With these types of wins, the heart just gets bigger and stronger as we go along.”

 

After giving up six goals in his last start, Petersen rebounded with a terrific performance to improve to 19-11-1. During one stretch in the first period, he kicked out a pad to get a toe on Backlund’s shot, then stretched out his glove to deny Blake Coleman on the rebound.

 

In the second, he stopped Oliver Kylington on a 2-on-1 and seconds later got his shoulder on a dangerous shot from the slot by Tyler Toffoli.

 

Los Angeles dominated overtime, outshooting the Flames 6-0 but couldn’t solve Markstrom. Four of the shots came on a power play when Elias Lindholm was sent off for holding.

 

Down 1-0 after 40 minutes on Iafallo's goal in the second period, Calgary tied it 1:36 into the third on a power-play goal by Gaudreau. The play capped off an eventful sequence for the left wing.

 

He was crunched into the boards from behind by Kings defenseman Sean Durzi, drawing a cross-checking penalty. Then on the power play, Gaudreau turned the puck over to Alex Iafallo, only to chase him down and steal it back again.

 

Shortly after leading the Flames back up ice again, Gaudreau converted Noah Hanifin's rebound for his 31st goal.

 

The Flames surged ahead at 13:33 on a rare goal generated from the fourth line. Milan Lucic and Sean Monahan combined to get the puck back to Gudbranson at the point and his shot through a crowd eluded Petersen.

 

But the Kings countered just over two minutes later with Arvidsson burying a shot inside the post. He broke through the slot and was neatly set up on a backhand pass from behind the net by Phillip Danault, who had his back to the play.

 

“I turned around and saw Phil alone behind the net,” Arvidsson said. “I tried to find a spot and he found me right on the tape.”

Edited April 3, 2022 by Brewin Flames

[thegx.ca]

So disappointing couldn't hang on to lead for more than few minutes...

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

 

From Sportsnet Canada:
Flames will feel Sean Monahan's absence both on and off the ice (sportsnet.ca)

 

Looks like Sean Monahan will be having hip surgery that will shelve him for the rest of the season, which obviously, would include the playoffs.

Could this hip thing be what has held him back all year?
He was pretty putrid out there, looking NOTHING like the top six guy he was supposed to be.

If so, the Flames could see a revitalized Monahan at the start of next season (how the rest of the team will look should be interesting as there are many pending UFA's)....OR, could post surgery Monahan find he is a shell of his former top six self and never quite regain that form?

We will see...

Edited April 2, 2022 by TropicalFruitGirl26

[Brewin Flames]

Meh, he's been invisible most nights anyway, so let him get better and back to 100%

[Brewin Flames]

Game # 68

 

Flames 4 Blues 6

 

Walker breaks tie late in 3rd, Blues beat Flames 6-4

 

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By AP

Updated: 2 hours ago

CALGARY, Alberta -- — Robert Thomas scored for the third straight game and set up Nathan Walker’s go-ahead goal late in the third period to lead the St. Louis Blues over the Calgary Flames 6-4 on Saturday night.

 

Justin Faulk had a goal and two assists for the Blues. Ryan O’Reilly also scored for St. Louis (38-20-10), which returns home after earning five of six possible points on its Western Canada road trip. Ivan Barbashev and Brandon Saad added empty-netters.

 

“It was a real gutsy win by us,” coach Craig Berube said. “You come in this building on a back-to-back night, you better battle and you better have a gutsy win because that’s a very good team over there, and they just keep coming.”

 

Villle Husso, who stopped 25 of 27 shots in playing 47-plus minutes Friday in relief of Jordan Binnington during a 6-5 overtime loss at Edmonton, was back in net for the Blues. He made 39 saves to improve to 19-6-5.

 

St. Louis is third in the Central Division, three points back of the second-place Minnesota Wild and four points up on Nashville.

 

Brett Ritchie, Johnny Gaudreau, Noah Hanifin and Dillon Dube scored for Calgary (40-19-9), which is 0-2-1 in its last three games after going 2 1/2 months without losing two in a row. The Flames went 2-3-1 on their homestand.

 

“Some lost coverages that we had in the wrong situations,” assistant coach Kirk Muller said. “It’s important right now because these games are all real tight, low-scoring games. Every shift matters. Every little detail matters.”

 

Jacob Markstrom made 19 stops for Calgary. His record fell to 31-14-8.

 

After a two-month stretch in which 21 of the Flames’ last 26 games have been at the Saddledome, they leave Sunday on a four-game trip that begins Monday in Los Angeles. It will be their first road trip longer than a single game in two months.

 

“Probably a good time for a road trip,” Flames forward Milan Lucic said. “As much as we love playing in Calgary in front of our home fans, it’s nice to get away and freshen things up a bit.”

 

The Kings, second in the Pacific Division, climbed within three points of the Flames, who hold three games in hand.

 

Walker put the Blues ahead 4-3 at 18:04 of the third. Thomas carried the puck into the Flames end along the side boards, stopped and curled back, and sent a pass into the slot where a wide-open Walker fired in his seventh goal of the season.

 

“He made a hell of a play,” Walker said. “I just tried to get open in the middle there and tried to get the puck on net.”

 

Down 3-2 after two periods despite owning a 28-10 edge in shots, Calgary kept pressing in the third, eventually tying it at 10:43 when Hanifin poked the puck into the net from a scramble in front.

 

But during that frenetic sequence, Ritchie ended up having his leg pinned underneath Blues defenseman Robert Bortuzzo, and he was down on the ice in obvious pain as the Flames celebrated the tying goal. Ritchie had to be helped off, and there was no update on his condition postgame.

 

After each team scored twice in the first, the second period was scoreless until 13:35 when Faulk broke in undetected from the blue line and one-timed a setup from David Perron.

 

Keeping the game close was Husso, who showed his athleticism early in the period by going post to post to thwart Milan Lucic after he was set up by Ryan Carpenter. Lucic found himself on another 2-on-1 shortly after, but again was denied by Husso.

 

“Lot of pressure by them. They’re a good team. We knew they were going to come out hungry and they did. We got fortunate and scored first, which helped,” Berube said. “Huss had to be really good for a lot of shots at him.”

 

St. Louis opened the scoring 54 seconds into the game when Thomas deflected Faulk’s point shot out of mid-air and past Markstrom on the first shot of the game.

 

Calgary dug in after that, though, piling up the next 10 shots on goal, one of them being Ritchie’s second goal of the season at 4:47.

 

Ritchie was not even supposed to play, but was inserted when Calle Jarnkrok, after taking warmups, was ruled out with a non-COVID-19 illness.

 

The Flames took their first lead at 12:49 when Gaudreau picked the top corner on a partial breakaway, but the Blues tied it before the end of the period on the power play.

 

Brayden Schenn spotted O’Reilly in open ice and he quickly sent a perfect pass that was quickly off O’Reilly’s stick as he sent a shot inside the far post for his 16th goal.

Edited April 3, 2022 by Brewin Flames

[thegx.ca]

Their goalie was better than ours...thinking Markstrom needs a break he been letting in soft goals last few games...

[thegx.ca]

Calgary better kill LA tonight...thinking shutout for Markstrom...

[Brewin Flames]

Game # 69

 

Flames 3 LA 2

 

Gaudreau scores twice, Flames get key 3-2 victory over Kings

 

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 By AP

Updated: 3 hours ago

 

LOS ANGELES -- — Johnny Gaudreau had two goals and an assist, and the Calgary Flames extended their lead in the Pacific Division with a 3-2 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Monday night.

 

The win gives the Flames a five-point advantage over the Kings atop the division and avenged a 3-2 shootout loss to Los Angeles last Wednesday in Calgary. The Flames have played three fewer games than the Kings.

 

“It's a big one for us to start the (four-game road) trip off the right way," Gaudreau said. "We didn’t play the best game the last time we played LA, so we knew we had a lot better in us. We took a couple too many penalties in the third, but the penalty kill came up big.”

 

Elias Lindholm also scored and Jacob Markstrom stopped 27 shots as Calgary snapped a three-game losing streak.

 

Adrian Kempe had two goals and Anze Kopitar had two assists for Los Angeles, which had earned at least a point in five of its last six coming into the game. The Kings have 86 points and are only one point in front of the Edmonton Oilers for second.

 

Cal Petersen finished with 30 saves for Los Angeles.

 

“This one was heavier and harder I thought than the one in Calgary, little more physicality both ways," Kings coach Todd McLellan said. "They didn’t make those critical mistakes. They made some, but we didn’t capitalize. Fine line between the two teams tonight, just on the short end.”

 

Gaudreau scored 10 seconds into the game for Calgary’s fastest opening goal since 1987. The All-Star left wing then gave the Flames a 3-2 lead at 14:08 of the second period when he beat Petersen on a backhand after Ryan Carpenter forced a turnover deep in the offensive zone.

 

Lindholm tied it 65 seconds earlier when he buried it from the slot after Gaudreau fed him from behind the net.

 

Gaudreau — who has five multigoal games this season — has a goal in three straight games. He also has 30 points (14 goals, 16 assists) since March 1, which is tied with Edmonton's Connor McDavid.

 

“Johnny was on fire tonight. It was awesome. You know, he’s been really good lately. And hopefully that will get the rest of the line going,” Flames coach Darryl Sutter said.

 

Kempe had his seventh multigoal game of the season. The Swedish center has scored 31 times for the first 30-goal campaign of his career and he is the first Los Angeles player to reach that mark since Kopitar in 2017-18.

 

Kempe made it 1-all 13:56 into the first period on a one-timer from the right faceoff circle after getting the pass from Kopitar. Kempe then put the Kings ahead with 54 seconds remaining in the period on a snap shot into the far side of the net.

 

“His physicality, his pace, his shot have showed up night after night. And we haven’t had a 30-goal scorer here since I don’t know when? And he’s there now, so it’s progress for our organization. It really is,” McLellan said of Kempe.

 

Los Angeles had a chance to send it into overtime after Calgary's Matthew Tkachuk got a double-minor, high-sticking call with 2:03 remaining. The Kings pulled the goalie and had a two-skater advantage, but couldn't get it into the net.

 

MILESTONE MARK

 

Kopitar has 61 points (18 goals, 43 assists), marking his 13th 60-point season to pass Marcel Dionne for the most in franchise history.

 

QUICK START

 

Gaudreau's goal was the second-quickest after the opening faceoff this season. The New York Islanders' Anthony Beauvillier scored nine seconds into their March 24 game against Detroit.

 

 

After the Flames won the opening faceoff, Gaudreau was able to grab the puck deep in the offensive zone and banked in a wrist shot from the corner. It was the fifth time in franchise history they have scored within the first 10 seconds.

 

“I didn't see a lot. I think the goalie tried to rim it a little bit harder, missed maybe and then I just kind of fired it at the net front,” Gaudreau said. "I didn’t know it went in.

 

“A great start, you couldn’t ask for a better start.”

[thegx.ca]

Tonight hoping for Markstrom shutout against Terry-less captain-less toughguy-less Ducks

Edited April 6, 2022 by Villella McMeans

[Brewin Flames]

Game # 70

 

Falmes 4 Ducks 2

 

Flames get unlikely boost from Michael Stone, beat Ducks 4-2

 

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By AP

Updated: 4 hours ago

 

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- — Michael Stone got his first goal of the season and an assist in his 500th NHL game, and Elias Lindholm scored his 36th goal in the Calgary Flames' 4-2 victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday night.

 

Tyler Toffoli also scored and Johnny Gaudreau had two assists for the Pacific Division-leading Flames, who have won two straight after their first three-game losing streak since January. Jacob Markstrom made 26 saves, and Matthew Tkachuk added an empty-net goal with 35 seconds left.

 

“We stuck with it,” Stone said. “We were on our heels a little bit early, gave up a bunch of chances, but we stuck with it. Those are the kind of games we're going to have to play now.”

 

The high-flying Flames got an unlikely offensive boost from Stone, their 31-year-old depth defenseman. He hadn’t produced a multi-point game since Oct. 17, 2018, but he picked up the second assist on Lindholm’s opening goal before he scored on a slap shot with 9:32 to play.

 

“It was nice," Stone said. “I had I don't know how many chances. I think I hit every defenseman on their team at least once. It was nice to finally hit the net.”

Trevor Zegras and Adam Henrique scored for the Ducks, who have lost 13 of 14 games since March 6. Anaheim has lost seven straight at home during that stretch.

 

“We hate losing here,” coach Dallas Eakins said. “It doesn’t feel good, and it eats at you. I’m proud of how we played. We played hard. We created enough chances to score more goals. We didn’t get rewarded.”

 

Anthony Stolarz stopped 24 shots as Anaheim remained competitive with another playoff bound opponent, but again failed to earn a point.

 

“I thought overall, our game was better than it has been,” Henrique said. “They're simple things, but simple things that go a long way. It was better tonight, but still not getting the job done.”

 

Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf was a scratch with a lower-body injury in the first game since he announced his decision to retire at the end of the season. The 17-year veteran has missed much of the past month with his injury, but he intends to travel on Anaheim's upcoming road trip, and he hopes to be healthy for his final home game April 24.

 

Calgary got on the board in the first period when Gaudreau, who leads the NHL in even-strength points, got the puck behind Anaheim's net and made an exceptional backhand pass into the slot for Lindholm.

 

Toffoli slipped through Anaheim's blue line in the second period and roofed his 19th goal of the season, including 10 in 25 games since joining the Flames from Montreal.

 

Zegras answered for Anaheim late in the second when he got the puck in front from Vinni Lettieri, did a pirouette to his forehand and beat Markstrom through a minuscule opening for his 18th goal. Lettieri's assist was his first NHL point since Jan. 26.

 

After the Ducks failed to capitalize on numerous scoring chances in the third, Stone was left all alone for a hard shot that ricocheted in off the bar for his first goal in a season spent mostly as a scratch.

 

“The first thing I always think is (to) hit it as hard as I can, because that's what I'm halfway decent at,” Stone said.

 

Henrique kept the Ducks close with a power play goal with 8:07 to play, but Anaheim couldn't equalize before Tkachuk put his 33rd goal of the season into an empty net. Gaudreau got an assist for his 97th point of the season.

 

“It's fun winning again in consecutive nights,” Markstrom said. “We had a rough stretch, but now it's good.”

[thegx.ca]

Keep it going strong Sutter Boys

[Brewin Flames]

Game # 71

 

Flames 4 Sharks 2

 

Lindholm scores twice, Flames beat Sharks 4-2

 

Lindholm pads Flames' lead

Elias Lindholm slings it in for the score as the Flames pad their lead to 3-1 vs. the Sharks.

---

ByAP

4 hours ago

 

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- — Elias Lindholm scored twice, Matthew Tkachuk added a goal and two assists, and the Calgary Flames beat the San Jose Sharks 4-2 on Thursday night.

 

Trevor Lewis also scored for Calgary, which won its third straight game. Dan Vladar made 31 saves to earn his 10th win.

 

“What a game from him,” Tkachuk said of Vladar. “I thought he was awesome tonight and he was probably the main reason we won.”

 

Nick Bonino and Logan Couture scored for San Jose, which lost its fifth in a row. James Reimer made 32 saves before leaving with an injury in the third period following a collision with Couture in the crease. He was able to skate off under his own power.

 

 Kaapo Kahkonen stopped all five shots he faced in relief.

 

“It’s tough to win games when you’re only scoring one and two,” Sharks coach Bob Boughner said. ”We’re trying to battle hard and trying to get that puck luck and something to happen offensively for us."

 

Tkachuk opened the scoring for Calgary at 7:19 of the first period with his 34th goal of the year to tie his career high.

 

Bonino answered with his 10th a little more than seven minutes later, but Lewis put the Flames back in front with his fifth of the season in the final minute of the opening period.

 

Lindholm made it 3-1 with 6 1/2 minutes left in the second period with his team-leading 37th of the year. Couture tallied his 23rd on the power play at 5:24 of the third to bring the Sharks within one.

 

Lindholm added his 38th with an empty net in the final minute to secure the win.

 

“Really good effort," Flames coach Darryl Sutter praised. “I think overall, the game, not necessarily (just) the third period.”

 

CLOSING IN ON 100

 

Flames LW Johnny Gaudreau picked up two assists to give him 99 points for the season, matching his career high. He could become the ninth Calgary player ever to reach 100 points and the first since Theo Fleury in 1992-93.

 

“I’m super excited about where our team is at this year,” Gaudreau said. “A lot of players are playing really well this season. It’s been a lot of fun to be a part of this group and I’m looking forward to the rest of the year.”

 

END OF AN ERA

 

Thursday morning, the Sharks announced that general manager Doug Wilson was stepping down after 19 seasons because of a medical issue that placed him on leave in November.

 

“While I have made great progress over the last several months, I feel it is in the best interest of the organization and myself to step down from my current duties and focus on my health and full recovery,” Wilson said in a statement. “I look forward to continuing my career in the NHL in the future.”

 

Wilson, 64, guided the Sharks to the playoffs 14 times, including five trips to the conference finals and a Stanley Cup Final appearance in 2016.

 

Joe Will has taken over since Wilson went on leave and will continue in the role until San Jose hires a full-time replacement.

 

Game notes

Lindholm is the first Flames player to score at least 38 goals in a season since Jarome Iginla, who scored 43 in 2010-11. ...

[thegx.ca]

Sutter Boys get revenge against Sharks finally

[Brewin Flames]

Game # 72

 

Flames 4 Seattle 1

 

Noah Hanifin sets up Flames in 4-1 win over Kraken

 

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By AP

Updated: 5 hours ago

 

SEATTLE -- — Noah Hanifin had four assists and the Calgary Flames beat the Seattle Kraken 4-1 on Saturday for their fourth straight victory.

 

Blake Coleman, Trevor Lewis and Michael Stone scored off primary assists from Hanifin. He also had a secondary assist on Tyler Toffoli's short-handed, empty-net goal to cap the scoring, and Jacob Markstrom made 27 saves. Karson Kuhlman scored for Seattle, and Philipp Grubauer stopped 25 shots.

 

“Before we came on the road we weren’t really happy with where we were,” Hanifin said. “The last week at home, the last couple of games, we didn’t play our best. I think just getting out of Calgary, going on the road, getting kind of some fresh looks was good for our team. And, obviously, these were big points for us tonight.”

 

Coach Daryl Sutter said Calgary was looking for a little respect, and it's 4-0 run up the coast should provide a little.

 

“You know it was a tough game today,” Sutter said. “It’s was the fourth game in the past five and a half days. There’s a lot of work involved in that.”

 

The teams will conclude the home-and-home series Tuesday night in Calgary, which is 3-0 against the Kraken this season. Seattle has lost four of its last six.

 

Coleman opened the scoring 3:55 into the first period, deflecting Hanifin’s shot from the blue line past the screened Grubauer. Kuhlman tied it 1:05 later, one-timing Morgan Geekie’s pass from behind the net over Markstrom’s stick.

 

Hanifin made a deep run late in the first and found Trevor Lewis camped out in the crease with a quick pass that Lewis buried with 16.5 seconds left in the period for a 2-1 lead.

 

“That’s a tough goal to give up,” Seattle coach Dave Hakstol said. “We've got to be -- I use the word stiffer -- just plain and simple. We can’t give that goal up.”

 

Stone made it 3-1 with a power-play goal at 8:39 of the second period. Hanifin hit Stone with a cross-ice pass that he buried with a one-timer from the left faceoff circle.

 

Calgary iced the game late in the second by killing three Seattle power plays, including 54 seconds of a 5-on-3 advantage.

“We get down by a couple, and from that point on the guy in net became the difference in the hockey game in my opinion,” Hakstol said of Markstrom.

[thegx.ca]

Seattle without Gio are easy pickings

[Brewin Flames]

Game # 73

 

Flames 5 Seattle 3

 

Tkachuk hat trick powers Flames past Kraken 5-3

 

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By AP

Updated: 3 hours ago

 

CALGARY, Alberta -- — Matthew Tkachuk scored three goals for a career-best 37 this season, and the Calgary Flames rallied to beat the Seattle Kraken 5-3 on Tuesday night.

 

Noah Hanifin had a goal and an assist, and Andrew Mangiapane also scored for Calgary (45-19-9), which had four unanswered goals in the third period to earn its fifth straight win.

 

Outplayed through 40 minutes, coach Darryl Sutter juggled his lines and switched his goaltender, the Flames responded quickly in the third period.

 

Johnny Gaudreau had two assists and reached a career high with 101 points. He had the primary assist on Tkachuk's second goal.

 

“It’s cool,” Gaudreau said. “I just made a little pass down to Chucky and he tried to go seam to (Elias Lindholm) and it bounced right back to him and fired it in the net. It was a big one.”

 

Dan Vladar (11-5-1) started the third period in goal and stopped all seven shots he faced in relief of Jacob Markstrom to pick up the win. His best stop was a blocker save on Karson Kuhlman on a short-handed breakaway. Markstrom stopped 12 of 15 shots.

 

Ryan Donato scored his career-best 15th goal and Victor Rask and Adam Larsson added scores for Seattle (23-44-6), which was swept in the four-game season series. Chris Driedger (7-12-1) had 26 stops for the Kraken.

 

Down 3-1 after two periods, the Flames scored twice in the opening six minutes of the third to pull even.

 

On a 4-on-3 power play, Tkachuk’s attempted pass across the top of the crease hit Larsson and came right back and he swatted in his second goal of the game.

 

Gaudreau's career best had been 99 points in 2018-19.

 

Tkachuk turned to Gaudreau and gave him a big hug after the milestone point as the Saddledome crowd roared. His parents, Guy and Jane, who just arrived in Calgary for the first time since before the pandemic, hugged and celebrated with family members in the crowd.

 

“I’m sure my mom and dad were pretty excited. They hadn’t been out here in probably three years,” Gaudreau said. “My dad’s probably going to tell me I didn’t play the best game, but he’s going to be happy for me and it’s exciting to have him here.”

 

Gaudreau is the seventh player in franchise history to get 100 points and first since Theoren Fleury in 1992-93.

 

“I know us, as linemates and teammates, would be lying to you if we said we weren’t trying to get it for him and thinking about it for most of the last couple of games when he’s sitting at 99,” Tkachuk said. “It’s pretty cool to be linked to that with him, so that’s very cool for me and it just speaks to the year he’s having ... and we’re not done yet.”

 

Hanifin ripped a slap shot into the top corner on a power play at 14:10 of the third for the game-winner. He has seven points (one goal, six assists) in the last three games.

 

Tkachuk capped off his game with an empty-net goal in the final minute.

 

“You’ve got to win third periods,” Sutter said. “They’re not always going to be great, but you’ve got to try and win the third period. Win the third period, you’re going to win hockey games.”

 

Tied 1-1 after 20 minutes, the Kraken scored the only two goals of the second period to surge in front 3-1.

 

Seattle took its second lead of the night when Rask one-timed a setup from Kole Lind from in front.

 

The Kraken took a two-goal lead late in the period when Larsson’s low shot squeaked through Markstrom’s pads.

 

Seattle opened the scoring at 14:13 of the first period on a perfect set-up from rookie Matty Beniers, making his NHL debut.

 

Beniers got the puck at the sideboards and zipped a pass across the slot that was one-timed past Markstrom by Donato

.

“I was excited about how it went,” said the 19-year-old Beniers. “I was playing with two great players. They made it pretty easy on me. I thought we did a good job tonight. Just tough. You want to come out with that win.”

 

Calgary tied it less than three minutes later when Noah Hanifin’s point shot was deflected out of mid-air by Tkachuk.

 

Beniers, a Hobey Baker finalist and second-overall pick in the 2021 NHL draft, signed with Seattle on Monday, shortly after Michigan lost to Denver on Thursday in the semifinal of the NCAA Frozen Four. In 61 games over two seasons with the Wolverines, he had 67 points (30 goals, 37 assists).

 

His night began with the customary rookie solo lap before the rest of the Kraken took the ice for warm-up. He then spent the night centering the club’s top line with Donato and Jordan Eberle.

 

“His hockey sense and his ability to know and understand what’s around him on the ice showed to be excellent tonight,” Kraken coach Dave Hakstol said. “Most importantly, I thought he just really showed good poise throughout the entire day, on the ice, off the ice.”

[Brewin Flames]

Solid win...good for JG

 

 

[thegx.ca]

Sutter Boys almost blew it...they played pretty badly even Markstrom let in bad goals...but at least they salvaged a win

[Brewin Flames]

Really liked Matty Beniers game...kid's gonna be ok.

 

Thought the flames were sloppy at times, but going down 3-1 lit a spark.

[Brewin Flames]

Just now, Villella McMeans said:

Sutter Boys almost blew it...they played pretty badly even Markstrom let in bad goals...but at least they salvaged a win

 

 

After they went down3-1, then they woke up.

[Brewin Flames]

Game number 74

 

Flames 1 VGK 6

 

I’ll update the recap as soon as possible

Edited April 15, 2022 by Brewin Flames

[thegx.ca]

What a mess tonight for Calgary...after Lucic took that dumb penalty going after Kolesar seemed like Calgary was more concern with going after someone who wasn't going to fight anyways and that cost them all night...should win game first get revenge later yeesh...