Gaudreau scores hat trick, Flames defeat Lightning

CALGARY -- Johnny Gaudreau scored a hat trick for the Calgary Flames in a 4-1 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Scotiabank Saddledome on Thursday.

Gaudreau has scored 13 points (six goals, seven assists) in a seven-game point streak. He is fourth in the NHL with 77 points (26 goals, 51 assists) in 57 games.
"Just opportunities," Gaudreau said. "On that first power-play goal, he (Andrei Vasilevskiy) was out of his net, he wasn't on the post and I tried to bank it off his [rear end]. The second one was just pure luck, I just threw it right back in front of the net and it went off his hip or something and then it bounced in."
Jacob Markstrom made 30 saves for the Flames (35-15-7), who have won three of their past four games and 15 of 18. Rasmus Andersson had two assists.
"It's always fun to play the teams that are in the top (of the standings), and Tampa is a team that has been at the top for a long time," Markstrom said. "But you know, it still is two points; nothing more, nothing less."

Alex Killorn scored, and Vasilevskiy made 28 saves for the Lightning (37-14-6), who have lost two in a row in regulation for the first time this season. They haven't lost three straight since Dec. 30-Jan. 2.
"Teams go through that stuff," Tampa Bay captain Steven Stamkos said. "It's 50-whatever (games) into the season and this is the first time we've lost back-to-back games. That's pretty good. Teams go through tough stretches all the time.
"We're going through a little bit of a bump right now. We'll correct it, but it's process over outcome at this point."
Gaudreau scored his second of the game to put Calgary up 2-1 at 19:00 of the second period when he banked a shot from below the goal line off Vasilevskiy, and Mikael Backlund made it 3-1 at 19:52 on a redirection of Erik Gudbranson's shot.
"You never want to give up a goal, let alone two, in the last minute of a period," Lightning forward Corey Perry said. "It's just little mistakes here and there and it's costing us right now. Teams are capitalizing on those. That was the ballgame tonight."
Gaudreau completed the hat trick at 13:44 of the third period on a one-timer from Elias Lindholm behind the net for the 4-1 final.
"Those are momentum goals, all of them," Calgary coach Darryl Sutter said. "You need those out of your top guys. You don't just score on the rush as the season goes on, you've got to score on O-zone play and forecheck play. They scored a power-play goal and then they scored deep goals. They've got to do that. Top players have to do that. That's what the top guys do in this league.
"He's a top player in the League. How's he not a top player in the league? He has a chance of winning the scoring race on a good team. Top guys play on good teams. It makes a difference. That's what their job is."
Gaudreau gave the Flames a 1-0 lead at 7:35 of the first period with a power-play goal on another bank shot from below the goal line.

Markstrom made a save in the slot against Ondrej Palat at 12:31 after Palat took a pass from the corner from Nikita Kucherov.
"It's a common thing now after every game, he's keeping us in games and helping us win games and especially when you play against a team like that, it's hard to win games when you don't have a good goaltender and he's been outstanding for us," Gaudreau said.
Killorn tied it 1-1 at 15:40 when he deflected Ross Colton's centering pass.
"We know what we have to do," Stamkos said. "These are little adverse moments throughout a season. It's nothing to panic about. Lots of times throughout the course of seasons, even the seasons we've won, things like this have happened. It's about learning from the mistakes you make in the games and just executing better."
NOTES:Calgary is 13-1-1 in its past 15 home games. … It was Gaudreau's first hat trick since March 12, 2019. ... The Flames are 28-0-2 when leading after two periods. ... Lindholm has scored 12 points (six goals, six assists) in a seven-game point streak. … Gudbranson, 30, established an NHL career high with his 14th point (five goals, nine assists) on Backlund's goal. ... Colton has one goal and three assists during a four-game point streak.