LDN - Sports

Flames outlast Blackhawks in shootout

[October 25, 2016] CHICAGO -- Not so long ago, Chicago Blackhawks fans used to roar for Kris Versteeg.

On Monday night, Versteeg found himself on the opposite end of the fans' sentiments. As he wore a Calgary Flames sweater and stood at center ice in the shootout round, he heard boos rain down.

"I was laughing after I got booed," said Versteeg, who won two Stanley Cup rings with the Blackhawks. "It was pretty funny. You know, these fans have been nothing but amazing to me, and I thank them for everything. It was real fun."

Versteeg came through with the tiebreaking goal to lift the Calgary Flames to a 3-2 shootout win. His goal in the shootout's seventh round ended a streak of 13 consecutive misses by players from both teams.

Centers Sam Bennett and Sean Monahan scored during regulation for Calgary (2-4-1). The Flames scored two power-play goals, blocked 25 shots and committed only four turnovers in 65 minutes.

"I tell the guys this all the time: You are what you repeatedly do," Flames coach Glen Gulutzan said. "The challenge for us will be to duplicate this. We want to play this way so that every night, you're in a position to have success. Now, it's not going to go your way every night, but if you do certain things night in and night out, like the good teams do, then you'll always put yourself in a position to have success."

Right winger Patrick Kane and defenseman Brian Campbell tallied the Blackhawks' goals in regulation. Chicago (3-3-1) earned a point for the 13th consecutive meeting against the Flames.

Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said a slow start cost his team.

"We had a good third period and found a way to get a point," Quenneville said. "We could have had two."

Flames goaltender Brian Elliott turned aside 31 of 33 shots during regulation and did not allow a goal in seven shootout attempts. Elliott made a kick save against Blackhawks right winger Richard Panik on a point-blank opportunity in the final seconds of the third period.

Elliott (1-3-0) earned his first victory in net since joining the Flames during the offseason.

"I definitely wanted that one," Elliott said. "We haven't been playing like we wanted to, and the guys came out and had a heck of an effort. I just wanted to stop as many as I could back there."

Goaltender Corey Crawford stopped 29 of 31 shots for the Blackhawks.

A defensive blunder by Calgary allowed Chicago to even the score at 2 with 15:48 left in the third period. Flames defenseman TJ Brodie inadvertently redirected the puck into his own team's net. Credit for the goal went to Campbell, who was trying to pass to center Artem Anisimov.

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Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford (50) makes a save on Calgary Flames center Sam Bennett (93) during a shootout at the United Center. The Flames won 3-2 in a shootout. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

Calgary started the scoring with a power-play goal less than five minutes after the opening faceoff. Crawford stopped a rising wrist shot by defenseman Dougie Hamilton but could not corral the rebound, and Bennett swept the puck into the net for his first goal of the season.

Chicago evened the score at 1 on a one-timer by Kane at the 1:32 mark of the second period. Anisimov fed a cross-ice pass to Kane, who beat Elliott glove-side with a shot from the right circle.

The Flames scored again on the power play to grab a 2-1 lead midway through the second period. Monahan punched in a loose puck from the left side of the crease for his third goal in seven games.

"More importantly, we got our power play rolling," Bennett said. "We said earlier we needed to get more shots and get more bodies in front. It was good to start off well on the power play."

Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews said Crawford kept his team in the game.

"He made some huge saves in the first," Toews said. "It could have been a wide-open game from there. He's playing great, and we've got to do a better job supporting him."

NOTES: Blackhawks D Michal Rozsival made his season debut in place of D Michal Kempny, who was a healthy scratch for the first time this season. Rozsival, 38, has appeared in 942 games in 16 seasons with the Pittsburgh Penguins, New York Rangers, Arizona Coyotes and Chicago Blackhawks. ... Flames LW Matthew Tkachuk was a healthy scratch for the second straight game. Tkachuk, 18, is the son of Hall of Famer Keith Tkachuk. He was Calgary's first-round pick (No. 6 overall) in the 2016 NHL draft. ... Blackhawks D Trevor van Riemsdyk missed his second consecutive game because of an upper-body injury. ... Flames G Chad Johnson returned to the bench after starting three of Calgary's previous four games. ... Blackhawks LW Vinnie Hinostroza was a healthy scratch for the second game in a row.

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