Coro-nation

MONTREAL — What a way to start a road trip.

And what a night for Matt Coronato.

The Flames forward scored twice, including the overtime winner, as the Flames rallied to nip the Canadiens 3-2 in Montreal to kick off a three-game road trip on a winning note.

Connor Zary also scored for Calgary, who took full advantage of Video Coach Jamie Pringle's keen eye, challenging a Canadiens goal for offside in a move that provided a seismic shift to the game, all while prompting a memorable comeback.

Dustin Wolf was the story of the first period, turning aside 17 Montreal shots, and several of his saves rated highly on the difficulty scale.

He stretched out his left pad to deny a Juraj Slafkovsky rebound effort on an early Flames penalty kill, then went into the splits while sliding across his crease a few minutes later to turn away a David Savard one-timer.

Calgary put 10 shots of their own at the Canadiens net in period one, their best opportunity coming with just over two minutes left. Anthony Mantha found himself in alone on goal from the Montreal blue line, but his backhand effort was thwarted by Montreal netminder Sam Montembeault.

At the 4:20 mark of the second period, the Flames struck first.

Daniil Miromanov’s point shot hit a body in front of the net, and the puck landed on a waiting Zary’s stick.

And he made no mistake, ripping the puck past Montembeault for his third goal of the season.

A few minutes later, Zary played distributor, dropping the puck to linemate Andrei Kuzmenko in the high slot before driving the net. Kuzmenko wired a puck that was destined for the top corner of the net, but Montembeault - and his glove - were equal to the task.

Montreal tied the game at 1-1 on a powerplay with 3:37 remaining in the second period through Brendan Gallagher, but the Flames continued to press in the later stages of the frame.

Blake Coleman danced around a Habs defender before dishing to Mikael Backlund at the top of the left circle, but the captain’s wrister was parried away by the Montreal ‘keeper.

Calgary outshot Montreal 13-5 in the second period.

The Flames got their first powerplay of the contest in the third period, but it was the Habs who took advantage on a short-handed rush, Joel Armia cashing in on a 2-on-1 opportunity, giving the hosts a 2-1 lead.

Then came Pringle's shining moment.

Gallagher scored to put the hosts up 3-1, but thanks to a keen eye from the video room, it was determined upon review that Montreal's Josh Anderson brought the puck into the zone in an offside position, negating the marker, and giving the Flames a second life.

And they used it to the best of their ability.

Coronato tied the game with just under three minutes left in regulation time thanks to some dogged determination. The Calgary forward twisted his way away from a check on the left wing, then from the circle snapped the puck past Montembeault.

Then came overtime.

And then came another chance for Coronato to shine.

He did so off the drop of the puck, skating left, and dodging a discarded stick at the blue line before patiently wiring the decider into the Canadiens net seven seconds into extra time.

And he set a franchise record in the process, scoring Calgary's fastest overtime goal ever - and missing out on a share of the NHL record by only a second.

Wolf finished the night with 21 saves, while Kadri, Miromanov and Blake Coleman all found the scoresheet with assists.

The Lineup:

Forwards

Connor Zary - Nazem Kadri - Andrei Kuzmenko
Jonathan Huberdeau - Yegor Sharangovich - Anthony Mantha
Blake Coleman - Mikael Backlund - Matt Coronato
Ryan Lomberg - Justin Kirkland - Martin Pospisil

Defence

MacKenzie Weegar - Daniil Miromanov
Kevin Bahl - Rasmus Andersson
Tyson Barrie - Brayden Pachal

Goaltenders

Dustin Wolf (starter)
Dan Vladar

The Numbers Game:

Shots: CGY 36, MTL 23

Powerplay: CGY 0-1, MTL 1-3

Faceoffs: CGY 42.6%, MTL 57.4%

Blocked Shots: CGY 13, MTL 22

Hits: CGY 29, MTL 25

Takeaways: CGY 7, MTL 6

*5-on-5 Scoring Chances: CGY 27, MTL 31

*5-on-5 High-Danger Scoring Chances: CGY 10, MTL 9

*Courtesy of Natural Stat Trick

They Said It:

Up Next:

The road trip continues Thursday at 5 p.m. MT in Boston, then wraps up with a Saturday matinee in Buffalo.

Calgary's next home action is set for for Nov. 11 at 6:30 p.m. MT against the Los Angeles King. TICKETS