penswin

Job done.

And another tick in the win column for the upstart Flames, who overcame two third-period deficits and a heart-stopping six-round shootout to defeat the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3 at the Scotiabank Saddledome Tuesday night.

Rasmus Andersson, MacKenzie Weegar and Nazem Kadri scored in regulation time - Kadri's a last gasp equalizer with the Calgary net empty - and Justin Kirkland wrote another chapter in what's already been a magical October, scoring the shootout winner in his first-ever attempt in the NHL.

The Flames are now 5-0-1 to start the season, a six-game span that marks the longest point streak to begin a campaign since the club moved to Calgary 44 years ago.

Calgary controlled the play off the drop of the puck, outshooting Pittsburgh 7-1 by the time the first TV timeout rolled around.

Blake Coleman’s one-timer from the slot proved to be the toughest early test for Penguins keeper Alex Nedeljkovic, who denied Coleman again midway through the frame after the Flames winger was set up from behind the net by linemate Mikael Backlund.

With just over eight minutes left on the clock, the locals broke through.

Off an odd-man rush, the puck bounced to a streaking Andersson, who cut in from the left side and from in tight, popped his third goal of the campaign past Nedeljkovic, prompting a roar from the crowd, and a stare-down celebration directed at a visiting fan in Row 1.

Andersson scores - and then gives a Pens fan the patented staredown!

Wolf turned aside all 12 shots sent his way in period one, his best stop coming off a low snapshot from Cody Glass, who trickily shifted angles before seeing his effort kicked away by the Calgary netminder's right pad.

The Penguins tied the game 1-1 six and a half minutes into the middle stanza on a powerplay goal from Bryan Rust.

But Wolf remained unfazed, making a pair of highlight-reel stops later in the period: one came off a re-direct from Evgeni Malkin from in tight, the second on a Pittsburgh powerplay, when Rickard Rakell snuck through the defence, forcing a hard shot from the bottom of the right circle.

The Penguins outshot the Flames 13-6 in period two, but Calgary enjoyed a pair of high-danger opportunities while killing a late penalty.

Andersson clanked a shot off the crossbar on an odd-man rush with a wicked wrister from the high slot, then seconds later on a subsequent 2-on-1, hulking blueliner Kevin Bahl rumbled down the playing surface and tried to sneak a puck beneath Nedeljkovic, but the Pittsburgh goalie was equal to the task.

Rakell made good on his earlier chance 2:32 into the third, putting the Penguins ahead 2-1 on a shot that caromed into the Calgary net from a difficult angle.

The locals answered back five minutes later, evening the score at a pair of goals apiece.

Daniil Miromanov grabbed the puck at the right point, then fired it across the blue stripe to a waiting Weegar, who then hammered a slapshot from the left side that beat Nedeljkovic high.

The tally was Weegar's third of the season, and the sixth by a Flames defenceman in as many games to start the regular season.

Weegar scores a rocket in third to tie things up against Pens

The Penguins reclaimed the lead with 6:22 to play on a shot from Noel Acciari that floated into the cage.

But once again, Calgary battled back, with the net empty and time trickling away.

Andersson ripped a shot from the right point that struck traffic in the slot, the disc then bounced to Kadri, who made no mistake with a quick release that sent the Scotiabank Saddledome faithful into a frenzy.

Kadri scores with less than a minute to play in the third to force OT

That goal forced overtime.

And overtime settled no score.

And the shootout wound up being a six-round marathon.

Anthony Mantha and Andersson scored in rounds two and three, with Andersson's tally - a snapshot that glanced off Nedeljkovic's glove and in - had a chance to stand up as the winner until Rust equalized for the visitors.

In round six, the Flames turned to Kirkland, and Costco cashed in, drifting across the crease from left to right, snapping the puck home to give the home side a 3-2 lead in the breakaway competition.

That left it up to Wolf, who stayed with Pittsburgh shooter Malkin, denying him a game-extending goal, and securing Calgary's fifth victory in six games to begin the season.

Wolf earned his first career NHL shootout win, all part of a 35-save performance.

Andersson finished with two points to lead all Flames skaters; the Swedish blueliner now has eight points (3G, 5A) from the season's first half-dozen contests.

Weegar played a game-high 26:11, while Coleman led all Calgary players with five hits.

"No quit in this group"

The Lineup:

Forwards

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

DEFENCE

Kevin Bahl - Rasmus Andersson
MacKenzie Weegar - Daniil Miromanov
Jake Bean - Brayden Pachal

GOALTENDERS

Dustin Wolf (starter)
Dan Vladar

The Numbers Game:

Shots: CGY 25, PIT 38

Powerplay: CGY 0-4, PIT 1-4

Faceoffs: CGY 37.8%, PIT 63.2%

Blocked Shots: CGY 11, PIT 21

Hits: CGY 24, PIT 31

Takeaways: CGY 3, PIT 7

*5-on-5 Scoring Chances: CGY 13, PIT 23

*5-on-5 High-Danger Scoring Chances: CGY 6, PIT 13

*Courtesy of Natural Stat Trick

Highlights, interviews and analysis of the game

They Said It:

"It wasn’t pretty at times today, but we found a way"

"We’re trying to get wins"

"A great comeback win"

"It's the year of Kirky"

"He's a good person that's worked a long time"

Up Next:

The Flames continue their three-game homestand Thursday night, when the Carolina Hurricanes pay a visit to the Scotiabank Saddledome at 7 p.m. MT. CLICK FOR TICKETS

Related Content