Flames score six, pull away for win against Devils

CALGARY -- Matthew Tkachuk had a goal and two assists, and the Calgary Flames defeated the New Jersey Devils 6-3 at Scotiabank Saddledome on Wednesday.

Dillon Dube had a goal and an assist, fellow fourth-line members Milan Lucic and Brett Ritchie scored for the Flames (37-16-7), who have won three of four and 17 of 21. Jacob Markstrom made 30 saves.
"Didn't like parts of our game," Calgary coach Darryl Sutter said. "I didn't like the penalties, I didn't like the double minor, didn't like the too many men. Didn't like the second goal. Outscored our mistakes tonight."

Dawson Mercer, P.K. Subban and Yegor Sharangovich scored for the Devils (22-34-5), who have lost three of four.
"Obviously not the result we wanted as a team," New Jersey goalie Jon Gillies said. "We talked about it this morning and I thought we did a lot of good things tonight. The unfortunate part of that is you can do a lot of good things, but when breakdowns happen they're usually going to put it in the back of the net and that's what happened."
Nico Daws allowed four goals on 19 shots before being replaced midway through the second period by Gillies, who made 19 saves. Daws was also pulled midway through a 6-3 loss at the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday.
"I put Nico through a pretty tough test," Devils coach Lindy Ruff said. "Probably an unfair test for a young goaltender. Back-to-back, came out of the game. Physically playing back to back is tough. Mentally getting prepared for every game is tough. We've asked a lot of him, probably unfairly I've asked a lot of him."
Calgary scored three goals in 3:29 during the second period after the game was tied 2-2.
Dube put the Flames up 3-2 at 7:04 after Tkachuk fed him on the rush, and Tkachuk pushed the lead to 4-2 at 9:31 off a stretch pass by Erik Gudbranson.
"My linemates helped me out a lot tonight," Dube said. "I was in the middle skating, but it doesn't do much if your wingers aren't battling on the wall to get you the puck, so I think a lot of credit is on them too for being able to support me and find me in the middle."
Daws was pulled after the goal.

Lucic made it 5-2 at 10:33 when he deflected Rasmus Andersson's centering pass. It was the first shot Gillies faced and Lucic's first goal in 24 games.
"You never want to let in the first shot," Gillies said. "That was unfortunate for our team because I think I really need to come up with the save right after. You just can't have quick goals like that. I wish I could've come up with that one."
The three goals came after Subban tied it at 5:01.
Sharangovich cut it to 5-3 at 3:51 of the third period when he shot past Markstrom's glove from between the circles.
Johnny Gaudreau scored into an empty net at 17:30 for the 6-3 final.
Ritchie put Calgary ahead 1-0 at 9:43 of the first period when he scored through a screen. The goal was his first point of the season in his 30th game.
"We just said we want to play straight lines and be heavy on the puck and get on the cycle and play in the [offensive] zone as much as we can, and I think we did a good job of that," Lucic said.

Mercer tied it 1-1 at 16:21 from the high slot.
Andrew Mangiapane put the Flames ahead 2-1 at 18:22 with his 30th goal of the season when he shot past Daws' glove.
Daws, a 21-year-old in his first NHL season, started for the ninth time in 17 days.
"Tonight he just didn't have it, and that can be a product," Ruff said of Daws. "He's played a lot of games. He's prepared for a lot of games. He's developing as a young goaltender. He's given us good games. But the test has probably been a little bit too big for him."
NOTES: Calgary went 4-for-4 on the penalty kill, including a double minor after Ritchie was called for high-sticking at 9:38 of the third. ... The Flames have outscored opponents 64-28 while going 12-1-1 at home since Feb. 1. ... Calgary defenseman Chris Tanev's assist on Mangiapane's goal gave him an NHL career-high 21 points (four goals, 17 assists) in 60 games. ... Forward Mikael Backlund became the Flames leader in games played among players drafted by the organization (804). ... Devils forwards Pavel Zacha (upper body) and Andreas Johnsson (eye laceration) did not play after being injured against Vancouver. New Jersey used 10 forwards and eight defensemen. ... Devils forward Nico Hischier had two assists, giving him 16 points (eight goals, eight assists) in his past 13 games.