Flames End Homestand With Setback To Jets

A late third-period goal from Cole Perfetti proved decisive, as the Flames fell 5-3 to the Winnipeg Jets Saturday at the Scotiabank Saddledome.

Mikael Backlund, Rasmus Andersson and Nazem Kadri all collected goals for the homeside in the see-saw affair, but the Jets used a pair of powerplay goals to their advantage as Calgary concluded a three-game homestand.

It took only 28 seconds for the locals to solve Jets goalie Eric Comrie. After a goalmouth scramble, the puck came back to defenceman Kevin Bahl in the left circle. He zipped a pass down low to Backlund, who then pulled out his protractor and rifled the puck into the net from an extremely sharp angle.

But the lead was short-lived.

Nikolaj Ehlers replied a minute and a half later on a Winnipeg powerplay, then Kyle Connor put the Jets in front 2:23 from the break on a short-handed rush.

Momentum shifted in favour of the homeside in the middle frame.

Calgary outshot Winnipeg 12-4 in the period, coming close to tying the game on a couple of occasions including on a golden Anthony Mantha chance with about seven minutes left. The forward was sent in on goal alone after a buttery saucer pass from Kadri, but the puck rolled off the toe of his stick as he tried to stretch it around Comrie’s right pad.

But patience paid off with 2:32 to go in the period, and again, the Flames used their trigonometry skills to their advantage.

From the right corner, Andersson sent a puck goalward, and lo and behold it clanked off Comrie’s mask and into the back of the net, prompting another staredown celebration toward an unsuspecting Jets fan in the front row.

Dylan Samberg helped the Jets reclaim the lead 1:01 into the third period, but the Flames were not fazed by the one-goal deficit.

And just over three minutes later, the home faithful were again brought to their feet. After gaining the Winnipeg line, a Calgary centring pass bounced off bodies, then fell in the high slot to Kadri, who quickly snapped the puck past Comrie’s blocker side.

Then came time to buckle down.

And the Flames had Wolf to thank.

He made four huge stops on a 90-second 5-on-3 penalty-kill, including a robbery of Gabe Vilardi on a one-timer from just outside the blue paint.

Winnipeg finally broke through on their third powerplay of the period, Perfetti giving the visitors a 4-3 advantage with a wrist shot from the right circle.

Mason Appleton salted the game away with an empty-net marker with just over a minute to play.

Andrei Kuzmenko finished the contest with two assists for Calgary, while MacKenzie Weegar led all skaters with a game-high 27:07 of ice-time, and seven shots on goal.

The Lineup:

Forwards

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

Defence

MacKenzie Weegar - Daniil Miromanov
Kevin Bahl - Rasmus Andersson
Joel Hanley - Brayden Pachal

Goaltenders

Dustin Wolf (starter)
Dan Vladar

The Numbers Game:

Shots: CGY 30, WPG 35

Powerplay: CGY 0-4, WPG 2-4

Faceoffs: CGY 53.4%, WPG 46.6%

Blocked Shots: CGY 18, WPG 17

Hits: CGY 31, WPG 18

Takeaways: CGY 7, WPG 6

*5-on-5 Scoring Chances: CGY 16, WPG 14

*5-on-5 High-Danger Scoring Chances: CGY 6, WPG 5

*Courtesy of Natural Stat Trick

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Up Next:

The Flames hit the road for a pair of games, beginning Monday night in Las Vegas at 8:00 p.m. MT. Calgary's next home action is set for Friday, Nov. 1 against the New Jersey Devils. TICKETS