Flames 3, Devils 2: Rookie Sean Monahan scored with 2:43 remaining in the third period to snap a tie as host Calgary extended its season-opening point streak to five games.
Defensemen Mark Giordano and Dennis Wideman each recorded a goal and an assist while Jiri Hudler set up a pair of tallies for the Flames (3-0-2), who rallied from a pair of deficits to register their third one-goal victory. Joey MacDonald finished with 19 saves.
After using the power play to tie the game twice, Calgary called upon its budding young star to put it ahead. On the eve of his 19th birthday, Monahan accepted a cross-ice pass from along the right-wing boards by Sven Baertschi and deposited the puck past Martin Brodeur from the bottom of the left faceoff circle for his team-leading fourth goal and a 3-2 edge.
Adam Henrique and Dainius Zubrus scored while Brodeur turned aside 26 shots for the Devils, whose season-opening winless streak reached five games (0-2-3). It is the longest such run for the franchise since the Colorado Rockies began the 1981-82 campaign with an 0-4-1 mark.
New Jersey scored the only goal of the first period, as Henrique buried a rebound in the slot after MacDonald stopped defenseman Andy Greene's shot from the top of the left faceoff circle. After Calgary pulled even on a one-timer from the left point by Wideman at 5:37 of the second, Zubrus beat MacDonald from the right point with 3:57 left to restore the Devils' lead. Giordano forged a 2-2 tie with a weak backhander from the top of the slot with 19 seconds to go in the period.
GAME NOTEBOOK: New Jersey RW Jaromir Jagr played in his 1,396th NHL game, passing former D Roman Hamrlik for most among Czech-born players. ... The Devils had an apparent goal waved off late in the second period as RW Michael Ryder was called for goalie interference. Giordano converted during the ensuing power play to knot the contest. ... New Jersey fell to 0-1-2 on its five-game road trip.
New Jersey | Calgary | |
Adam Henrique 1 | Points | Mark Giordano 2 |
Adam Henrique 1 | Goals | Mark Giordano 1 |
Damien Brunner 1 | Assists | Jiri Hudler 2 |
N/A | Power Play Goals | Mark Giordano 1 |
N/A | Short Handed Goals | N/A |
Martin Brodeur .897 | Save Percentage | Joey MacDonald .905 |
Martin Brodeur 26 | Saves | Joey MacDonald 19 |
Team | Shots | Goals | Power Play | Penalty Kill | Penalty Mins | Face Offs Won |
New Jersey | 21 | 2 | 0-2 | 2-4 | 8 | 23 |
Calgary | 29 | 3 | 2-4 | 2-2 | 4 | 30 |