Talbot makes 42 saves, Flames edge Wild

CALGARY --Cam Talbot made 42 saves to help the Calgary Flames win their fourth straight game, 2-1 against the Minnesota Wild at Scotiabank Saddledome on Thursday.

Talbot has won consecutive games for Calgary (24-17-5) after making 31 saves in a 2-1 victory against the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday.
"It's huge to keep this streak going," Talbot said. "We've got four more games before the (All-Star Game) break and we're trying to separate ourselves from the teams below us and catch the teams above us. We know these games are going to be huge coming up."
WATCH: [All Wild vs. Flames highlights]
Mats Zuccarello scored, and Alex Stalock made 35 saves for Minnesota (20-18-6), which is 1-3-1 in its past five games.
"We know that every game right now is almost like a playoff game until the end of the season," Zuccarello said. "We've got to get in. We're out of the playoffs right now. We're looking in. Every game matters, every day you've got to show up. I think everyone in here knows the urgency and is ready to go every day, but we're right there. We had a lot of chances. When you score one goal it's hard to win a hockey game."

Johnny Gaudreau gave the Flames a 2-1 lead at 9:38 of the second period after he kicked a pass from Sean Monahan to his stick and scored from the slot.
"[Monahan] fed it in the slot, bounced off a stick and I just got a quick whack on it and got him five-hole," said Gaudreau, who has six points (two goals, four assists) in the past five games.
Talbot preserved the lead when he stopped Wild forward Mikko Koivu on two chances at the edge of the crease at 16:20 of the second, and made a save on Kevin Fiala from the low slot with 1:19 remaining in regulation and Stalock pulled for the extra skater.
"There was a lot of action at both ends," Talbot said. "Stalock played a heck of a game as well. I thought we could have had a few more, but those games are always fun when the other guy is making the big save and you know you have to answer right back."
Derek Ryan scored 4:39 into the first period with a redirection of Noah Hanifin's shot on the power play to put Calgary ahead 1-0.
Stalock caught the Flames on a line change and sent a stretch pass to Zuccarello, who skated in and scored glove side on Talbot 38 seconds into the second period to tie it 1-1.
"On second look I saw them going for a full change and Mats is a smart player, he stayed," Stalock said. "The big thing is he finished. He made a great shot to beat a goalie that was on his game tonight. (It) gave us life. It was a heck of a hockey game. There were chances galore. Their guy stood on his head and won the game."

They said it

"Are we going to look back on Game 82 and say it was this Calgary game that cost us? I don't know. But there's a point where we have to go on a little run here. We go back home now; we've got some conference games. It's our chance." -- Wild goaltender Alex Stalock
"Chances for both teams. Goaltenders were playing well. That's a lot of fun. For me, personally, I'd like to see us score a couple more goals, but their goaltender played well and so did ours. It was a good game. Fun to play." -- Flames forward Johnny Gaudreau

Need to know

Talbot, who started consecutive games for the second time this season, is 5-2-0 with a 1.93 goals-against average and .944 save percentage in his past eight games (seven starts). … Monahan is two points from 400 in the NHL. … Wild defenseman Ryan Suter had his five-game point streak end. … Wild goalie Devan Dubnyk did not travel with the team to Calgary. He remained at home to tend to his wife, Jenn, who had a medical procedure Tuesday.

What's next

Wild: Host the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday (4 p.m. ET; FS-N, FS-WI, SNP, NHL.TV)
Flames:Host the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday (10 p.m. ET; CBC, SN, SN360, SN1, CITY, NHL.TV)