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 Left winger Johnny Gaudreau scored at 1:38 of the extra session to
lead the Calgary Flames to a 2-1 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks
on Friday at the Scotiabank Saddledome. It was their fifth win in as
my tries in three-on-three overtime games.
"A lot of guys in our locker room like it," said Gaudreau. "We've
got a fast D corps that are good with the puck and we've got a lot
of skilled offensive guys. We like it a lot."
Gaudreau made a quick move before roofing a shot past Chicago
goaltender Scott Darling to the blocker side to send the capacity
crowd at the 'Dome into a frenzy.
"I tried to just get a quick deke on him," said Gaudreau, who
notched his second overtime goal this season. "He's a big goalie and
he was making saves from outside the crease from us shooting on him
all night. I figured try to get him in close and try to get him down
and get the puck up."
Center Sean Monahan, who also scored for the Flames (8-12-1),
praised his linemate for his overtime heroics.
"He's fun to play with and obviously he puts it on display night in
and night out," said Monahan. "When he has the puck, it's on a
string and he's crafty with it. He can turn on a dime and he makes
plays. That's why he's so dynamic and such a good player."
Making his 10th straight start in net, goaltender Karri Ramo made 18
saves for the Flames, who avenged a 4-1 loss to the Blackhawks five
nights earlier in Chicago.
"It seemed like tonight they were clicking a bit better," admitted
Darling, who finished with 35 saves. "They're a good team. They
create a lot of offence. They've got a lot of good players on that
team. They made some nice plays tonight."
Defenseman Duncan Keith gave Darling credit for helping the
Blackhawks even get the game to overtime.
"He was the biggest reason why we got the one point," said Keith.
"He played great and kept us in the game."
Center Artem Anisimov scored for the Blackhawks (11-7-2), while
right winger Patrick Kane had an assist to extend his point streak
to a career-high 15 games.
The Flames had a great scoring chance seven minutes into the opening
period, but Darling was able to get a piece of a nice redirection on
net by center Matt Stajan. The puck fell behind Darling and was
trickling across the goal line before the Chicago goalie was able to
cover it up.
The Blackhawks had a great chance of their own about a minute later.
While lying on his belly, Ramo was somehow able to reach up with his
glove hand to swat away a backhand shot from the slot by center
Markus Kruger to keep the game scoreless.
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Monahan opened the scoring at 15:05 of the first when he picked up a
rebound in the crease and quickly backhanded a shot past Darling.
Defenseman Kris Russell took the initial point shot, while left
winger Mason Raymond provided a great screen in front of Darling.
Chicago tied things up 1:54 later when Anisimov swatted a rebound
past Ramo.
Calgary played the final two periods with five defensemen as Russell
didn't return after the first intermission because of an upper-body
injury he suffered in the first.
The Blackhawks outshot the Flames 8-4 in the second period but
weren't able to take the lead as Ramo turned aside everything
directed his way.
"They were starting to get a little bit of momentum," said Ramo,
whose best save occurred just after the 11-minute mark when he stood
his ground to stop a shot from the slot by right winger Marian
Hossa. "But we never gave up, that was the key."
The Flames came out skating in the third and took the first 10 shots
on net of the period rookie left winger Artemi Panarin finally got
one for Chicago with 8:21 to play in regulation.
NOTES: The Blackhawks and Flames also played last year on Nov. 20 in
Calgary and Chicago won 4-3. ... Although the Blackhawks skated to a
4-3 overtime win over the Oilers in Edmonton on Wednesday, C Teuvo
Teravainen played just 5:33 before leaving the game with an
upper-body injury. He did not play Friday. ... LW Andrew Desjardins
and RW Viktor Tikhonov drew back into Chicago's lineup to replace
Teravainen and RW Marko Dano (illness). ... The Blackhawks also
scratched D David Rundblad. ... After being a healthy scratch for
four straight games, LW Mason Raymond made his return to Calgary's
lineup to replace RW Jiri Hudler (illness). ... Also scratched for
the Flames was D Ladislav Smid. ... Although he is nearing a return
to action, Flames G Jonas Hiller missed his 11th straight game due
to a lower-body injury.
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