Flames stun Bruins on late, fluky OT goal

[February 17, 2015]  CALGARY, Alberta -- Bob Hartley channeled his inner Yogi Berra after his Calgary Flames won at nearly the last possible moment Monday.

"To use a famous phrase from a great baseball manager, it's not over until it's over," Hartley said. "I don't know what to say anymore. Those guys never quit."

Enhancing their reputation as a comeback team, the Flames scored two third-period goals to erase a deficit, then beat the Boston Bruins 4-3 on defenseman TJ Brodie's goal with two seconds remaining in overtime.

With a shootout looking likely, Brodie directed a shot at the net and watched as the puck bounced off the top of the cage, off Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask and in to give Calgary (32-22-3) its NHL-leading 10th win when trailing after two periods.

The Bruins (28-20-8) lost their fourth straight. Boston has three games remaining on a five-game western swing that continues Wednesday in Edmonton.

Bruins coach Claude Julien wasn't faulting Rask for the awkward game-winner.

"I thought he played a real good game, and a little bit of bad luck there on his part with pucks going in behind him," Julien said. "When things are tough, things are tough and you don't get the breaks. We've got to keep working ourselves out of this."

Right winger Jiri Hudler put the Flames in position for the comeback win, scoring twice in the third period to wipe out Boston's 3-1 advantage. The Bruins led 3-0 before Calgary right winger David Jones scored a second-period goal.

Brodie, whose turnover in the first period led to Bruins left winger Brad Marchand opening the scoring, was elated to get the overtime break.

"It's one of those lucky bounces, but I'll definitely take it," Brodie said. "Nice to get that after the giveaway in the first.

"That's definitely the biggest (goal) of my life, so far. Every game from here on in is a big game, especially with how tight the standings are, and the next one is gonna be bigger than this one. We have to come out better."

Flames goaltender Jonas Hiller was perfect after replacing starter Karri Ramo early in the second period, stopping all 16 shots he saw.

Marchand and defensemen Zdeno Chara and Torey Krug scored for Boston, and Rask made 23 saves.

Marchand got a piece of the puck on Brodie's game winner, finishing off a disappointing night.

"It's obviously a very frustrating goal," Marchand said. "I don't think we can blame it on that. We let the game go a long time before that. That just kind of ended it on a sour note."

The Bruins struck first courtesy an ill-advised, neutral-zone drop pass off the stick of Brodie, which center Patrice Bergeron turned into a two-on-none, feeding Marchand for an easy 1-0 lead just 6:48 into the game.

Midway through the first period, the Bruins doubled their lead, and once again it started with a Flames turnover.

After Calgary couldn't get the puck out of its own end, Boston defenseman Dougie Hamilton lugged it around the net and fed Chara, who blasted a point shot that beat a screened Ramo to make it 2-0 at 11:27.

Boston tacked on another less than a minute into the second period when Krug jumped into the play, picked up a loose puck and backhanded it past Ramo, who was promptly yanked in favor of Hiller after giving up three goals on 11 shots.

Late in the second period, Johnny Gaudreau got his stick up on Boston winger David Pastrnak -- his first career NHL penalty in his 57th game -- and was sent to the box for four minutes.

However, the Bruins' power play was in disarray, and Calgary was able to kill off the double minor, keeping Boston's lead at 3-1 entering the third.

Three minutes and 22 seconds into the final period, the Flames cut the deficit in half, with center Sean Monahan getting his stick on a loose puck in the slot and quickly feeding Hudler to make it 3-2.

A beautiful Hudler deflection tied the game with 5:09 remaining in the third period.

NOTES: The Bruins recalled G Malcolm Subban from AHL Providence on Monday. The 21-year-old is expected to join the team Tuesday in Edmonton. Bruins coach Claude Julien said Subban probably would get an opportunity to play, unlike his last call-up, when he rode the pine the entire time before being re-assigned to the minors. ... Coming into the game Monday, the Bruins were riding a five-game winning streak against Calgary, outscoring the Flames 21-2 in that span. ... After 17 games in the press box, Bruins D Matt Bartkowski returned to the lineup for the first time since Dec. 31. ... Boston scratched D Adam McQuaid and RW Jordan Caron. ... D Corey Potter, LW Brandon Bollig and LW David Wolf sat out for Calgary.

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