(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Johnny Gaudreau scored the overtime winner to give the visiting Calgary Flames a 4-3 roller-coaster victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Monday night.
After seeing a lead disappear in the final minute of regulation, the Flames won 23 seconds into overtime when Gaudreau blasted a one-timer for a power-play tally. Goaltender Jacob Markstrom made 30 saves for the Flames, who have now won four of five meetings this season. They'll face each other for the fourth consecutive time Wednesday in Calgary.
At the other end, Thatcher Demko stopped 23 shots for the Canucks, who have just one win in eight games and blew a two-goal lead in this one. Thanks to Calgary's penalty parade, the Canucks staked a 2-0 first-period edge, with Tanner Pearson first to hit the scoresheet. One second after their power play ended, Pearson from the slot deflected a Quinn Hughes point shot at the 3:51 mark.
Then, during a five-on-three advantage, Bo Horvat doubled the lead when he found an open spot in the slot and finished a perfectly executed three-way passing play at 14:44.
Milan Lucic put the Flames on the board with 24.3 seconds remaining in the first period to spark a comeback. Rasmus Andersson carried the puck from his point position all the way behind the net before sending a pass to the slot and Lucic buried the opportunity.
The visitors carried that momentum into the second period and drew even when Elias Lindholm scored just past the midway point of the frame.
Andersson intercepted a weak pass in the defensive zone and turned up ice for a rush that ended when he sent a cross-ice pass for Lindholm to bury.
Then came a lucky goal for Dillon Dube to give the Flames a 3-2 lead. After goalie Demko stopped the puck behind his net, Nate Schmidt tried to make a pass, but his effort went off Dube's stick and into Demko's feet before bounding into the net at 15:51 of the period.
Just as the Flames appeared poised to win, Brock Boeser tied the game 3-3 with 30.2 seconds remaining.
While the Canucks were short-handed but with the net empty, they won a face-off in Calgary territory and Boeser wired a long shot into the net for the equaliser.
Sharks nip Ducks behind Martin Jones' 26 saves
Logan Couture had a goal and an assist to lead the San Jose Sharks to a 3-2 win against the visiting Anaheim Ducks on Monday night.
John Leonard and Kevin Labanc also scored, and Martin Jones made 26 saves for the Sharks in their second home game this season after playing their first 12 on the road. Sam Steel and Max Comtois scored, and John Gibson made 26 saves in his 300th NHL game for the Ducks. The Ducks took a 1-0 lead 50 seconds into the game.
Anaheim forward Danton Heinen made a pass up the wall and Steel outraced Sharks defenseman Mario Ferraro to the puck just as it passed the San Jose blue line. Steel, who was a healthy scratch in Anaheim's previous game, tried to feed the puck back to Jakob Silfverberg coming through the slot, but it hit the skate of Ferraro and slowly slid through the pads of Jones for his first goal of the season.
The Ducks came in with the third-best penalty kill in the NHL at 87.2, but the Sharks scored on their first power play after Comtois sent the puck over the glass for a delay of game penalty.Leonard took advantage of a screen by teammate Ryan Donato and scored his first NHL goal on a wrist shot from the right circle to tie the score 1-1 at 9:43 of the first period. The Sharks moved ahead 2-1 at 4:48 of the second period. Labanc took the puck below the goal line and shot it back toward Gibson, who was guarding the near post. The puck hit Gibson's left arm, however, and was redirected into the net.
Couture extended the lead to 3-1 at 11:15 of the second period, intercepting a pass from off the wall from Ryan Getzlaf at the top of the left circle and scoring with a wrist shot for his team-leading seventh goal of the season.
Comtois scored his team-leading seventh goal of the season to make it 3-2 at two minutes of the third period. His shot went off the stick blade of Ferraro and was re-directed past Jones.
MENAFN16022021000067011011ID1101613212
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.