Flames defeat Rangers for third straight victory on road trip

NEW YORK -- Jacob Markstrom made 28 saves, and the Calgary Flames won their third straight game to start a five-game road trip, 5-1 against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Monday.

"Since we started 0-1-1, we needed to get some wins under our belt," Markstrom said. "We're just a hardworking team. I think we've been playing much better, not giving up many chances, and the chances they get, we're clearing the rebounds. Overall, it's not going to be super fancy, back and forth. We want more control and to come together as five. That's when we've been successful this year so far."
Andrew Mangiapane scored twice for Calgary (3-1-1), and Blake Coleman and Mikael Backlund each had a goal and an assist.
Mangiapane has scored 10 goals in his past 10 NHL games, five in the Flames' first six games this season and five in a four-game goal streak to end last season.

"Every game that I'm playing now, confidence is growing," said Mangiapane, who scored four goals in four games for Canada at the 2021 IIHF World Championship after last season. "I think maybe when I first came into the League I was a little shy, not looking to make a play, play it safe, chip it in. But now I'm just trying to play my game, play with confidence. You've got to play with confidence in this league, and right now pucks are going in for me."
Igor Shesterkin made 32 saves for New York (4-2-1), who had a four-game winning streak end.
It was the Rangers' seventh game in 13 days. They're tied with the Toronto Maple Leafs for the most games in the NHL this season.
New York had 20 giveaways, including nine in the first period, when Calgary had 15 shots on goal. Rangers coach Gerard Gallant said the Flames had 10 scoring chances from the slot in the first period.
"We just made so many bad turnovers in the first period, trying to make cute plays instead of the strong plays up the boards, and it really cost us," Gallant said. "Even though it was 1-0 after the first, we made a lot of turnovers, and [Shesterkin] had to be unbelievable in the first period. I think that really cost us the hockey game. Even though we got back in the third period and made it 2-1, the first period was a tough one to watch."
Chris Tanev gave the Flames a 1-0 lead at 18:50 of the first period, finishing off a 3-on-2 rush with a low, short-side shot from the right face-off circle for his first goal.
The Rangers' first of three giveaways in the second period led to Mangiapane's first goal that put the Flames ahead 2-0 at 2:09.
Patrik Nemeth had the puck below the goal line and fed it to Mangiapane in the right circle. The Flames forward turned and scored with a shot to the far side to extend his goal streak to three games.
"The puck just kind of came to me there, and I was just trying to get it to the net, it happened to go in for me," Mangiapane said. "Good job by our line to get in there and cause the turnover."
Kevin Rooney got the Rangers to within 2-1 at 5:25 of the third period. Markstrom made the save on Jacob Trouba's point shot, and Rooney scored from the top of the crease after New York forward Dryden Hunt tipped the puck.

The goal ended Markstrom's shutout streak at 105:25; he made 33 saves in a 3-0 win at the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday. He has allowed one goal on 62 shots in his past two games after giving up seven goals on 59 shots in his first two.
"I'm stopping some pucks in the past two games; I didn't do much of that in the first two games," Markstrom said. "We're playing great, and I'm playing better too. I wasn't happy with my performances at the start."
Calgary regained a two-goal lead when Coleman scored at 8:13. He roofed a backhand from the right hash marks to make it 3-1.
Backlund extended the lead to 4-1 with a high, far-side shot from the right circle at 11:32. It was his first goal.
"I thought both those goals were big goals," Flames coach Darryl Sutter said. "We responded in a good way."
Mangiapane finished the scoring with his second of the game to make it 5-1 with five seconds remaining.
"I just don't think we put it together for 60 minutes, unfortunately," Rangers center Ryan Strome said. "They're a team that plays pretty sound defensively, and as soon as there is a turnover, they strike. We made too many turnovers and fueled their offense a little bit."
NOTES: Strome played 19:07 and won 11 of 12 face-offs after missing the past four games in NHL COVID-19 protocol. … Rangers forward Ryan Reaves left the game at 3:29 of the first period after sustaining a lower-body injury. Gallant said he's day to day. Reaves returned to the bench for the start of the second period and stayed there for the rest of the game. … Flames forward Elias Lindholm's four-game goal streak ended (six goals).