Calgary 5, Vancouver 2
When: 9:00 PM ET, Friday, February 19, 2016
Where: Scotiabank Saddledome, Calgary, Alberta
Referees:
Ghislain Hebert, T.J. Luxmore
Linesmen:
Trent Knorr, Brandon Gawryletz
Attendance:
19289
By The Sports Xchange
CALGARY, Alberta -- Defenseman TJ Brodie definitely likes racking up assists, but he would much rather win games.
On Friday night, Brodie did both as he tied a career high with three points to lead his Calgary Flames to a 5-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks at the Scotiabank Saddledome.
"The main thing is that we won," said Brodie, who set up three goals to equal a feat he accomplished Nov. 2, 2014, during a 6-2 road win for the Flames over the Montreal Canadiens. "Sometimes the puck seems to bounce your way, sometimes it doesn't. Tonight it did."
Brodie, who has set up 11 goals in his past seven games to give him a career high 32 assists, passed along much of the credit for his recent success to his teammates.
"It's a team effort," Brodie said. "If guys are open, it's a lot easier to see the plays. Tonight we were moving our feet, we were playing smart and we were finding the pockets."
Center Mikael Backlund, right winger Michael Frolik and left winger Joe Colborne combined for six points as each member of the line contributed a goal and an assist.
"After a few shifts, you score and it helps the confidence," explained Frolik. "After we scored a couple more, it was one of those nights. Just make sure we keep going and keep carrying this on."
Defenseman Mark Giordano and right winger Josh Jooris also scored for the Flames (26-28-3), who halted a three-game losing streak to pull within one point of the Canucks (22-24-12) for fifth place in the Pacific Division.
Making his fourth straight start, Flames goaltender Jonas Hiller had 26 saves to improve his record to 9-7-1.
Right wingers Adam Cracknell and Jake Virtanen scored for the Canucks, who have lost four straight games, all by the same 5-2 score.
"You can't let the negativity take over," said Canucks goalie Jacob Markstrom, who stopped 28 of 33 shots he faced. "You've got to stick together as a team. We're in the same boat. Nobody wants to be in this boat, but the reality is we're all in it. We've got to find a way to get out of it. We've got to show up in practice and just work hard. That's what it takes. Wins are not going to come easy in this league."
Jooris scored the lone goal of the third period as he converted a nice feed from left winger/center Lance Bouma just past the three-minute mark. Rookie defenseman Jakub Nakladal also drew an assist for his first NHL point.
The Flames rebounded from a lackluster finish to the first period by scoring three times in the second to take a 4-2 lead.
"It's tough," said Virtanen of not being able to build upon a strong first period. "We're up by one goal there and they have one goal and tie it up and then have a little momentum going into the second period. We can't let that happen."
Backlund gathered a loose puck in front of the Canucks' net before lifting a shot over Markstrom's right pad at 2:07 before Frolik's shot from the slot deflected off defenseman Matt Bartkowski's skate and through Markstrom's legs at 5:34.
Giordano gave the Flames a two-goal lead with 25 seconds left before the intermission when he one-timed a pass from Brodie through traffic past Markstrom.
The Flames carried the majority of the play in the early going and were rewarded when Colborne took a nice drop pass from Backlund in the slot and snapped a shot to the top corner, blocker side behind Markstrom at 1:41 of the first period.
Although it took the Canucks until just past the six-minute mark of the first period to register their first shot on goal, they dominated the rest of the period and jumped out to a 2-1 lead.
Right winger Jannik Hansen set up Vancouver's first goal at 10:41 as he fought off a check from Brodie to poke the puck past Flames right winger David Jones into the slot for Cracknell, who one-timed a shot past Hiller.
Virtanen scored 5:06 later when he intercepted a clearing attempt by Flames defenseman Dougie Hamilton before cutting to the slot and wiring a shot to the top corner, glove side past Hiller.
NOTES: Calgary D Tyler Wotherspoon played his first NHL game after being called up from the Stockton Heat of the American Hockey League. ... The Flames placed D Ladislav Smid on injured reserve with an upper-body injury that he sustained in the first period of Wednesday's 5-3 loss to the Minnesota Wild at home. ... Calgary's scratches were LW Brandon Bollig, C Markus Granlund and D Kris Russell, the latter of whom is out with a lower-body injury. ... Rookie C Jared McCann made his return to the Canucks' lineup after sitting out Thursday's 5-2 loss at home to the Anaheim Ducks. ... Vancouver scratches were RW Linden Vey, C Alex Friesen and D Yannick Weber. ... The Canucks return home to face the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday, the same day the Flames face off against the Ducks in Anaheim.
Top Game Performances
Vancouver |
|
Calgary |
Adam Cracknell 1 |
Points |
T.J. Brodie 3 |
Adam Cracknell 1 |
Goals |
Mikael Backlund 1 |
Jannik Hansen 1 |
Assists |
T.J. Brodie 3 |
N/A |
Power Play Goals |
N/A |
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
Jacob Markstrom .848 |
Save Percentage |
Jonas Hiller .929 |
Jacob Markstrom 28 |
Saves |
Jonas Hiller 26 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
Vancouver
|
28 |
2 |
0-2 |
2-2 |
14 |
32 |
Calgary
|
33 |
5 |
0-2 |
2-2 |
14 |
33 |
Upcoming Games
-
Calgary will play their next game on the road against Anaheim. The Flames have a W/L % of .480 after a win and .438 after a loss.
-
Vancouver will play their next game at home against Colorado. The Canucks have a W/L % of .304 after a win and .429 after a loss.