Calgary 6, Colorado 3
When: 9:00 PM ET, Tuesday, December 27, 2016
Where: Pepsi Center, Denver, Colorado
Referees:
Kyle Rehman, Chris Schlenker
Linesmen:
Lonnie Cameron, John Grandt
Attendance:
14634
By The Sports Xchange
DENVER -- The Calgary Flames turned a quick business trip to Denver into a successful one.
Johnny Gaudreau and Mikael Backlund had two goals and an assist apiece, and the Flames beat the Colorado Avalanche 6-3 Tuesday night.
Kris Versteeg added a goal and an assist, and Sam Bennett also scored for Calgary. Brian Elliott stopped 25 shots for the Flames, who had four goals deflect off Colorado players in the second period.
Because the NHL goes on break for Christmas, teams had no practices or activities Saturday through Monday, so the Flames got up early Tuesday and flew to Denver. They landed about 10 a.m. local time and went straight to the arena for the morning skate.
"It's tough," Versteeg said. "You fly into high altitude on the day of the game. Everyone thinks I'm whining about it, but it definitely is not easy, and they're a team that plays fast."
Gabriel Landeskog had two goals and Jarome Iginla also scored for the Avalanche, while Calvin Pickard had 25 saves. Colorado lost its ninth consecutive home game and is in danger of going 0-7-0 in December at Pepsi Center if it loses to the New York Rangers on Saturday night.
The Avalanche continued to struggle on the power play, going 0-for-6 Tuesday. They couldn't score on 1:34 of a five-on-three in the second period and are now 1-for-30 on the power play over the past seven games.
"We're standing here and it's Dec. 27th. We know what we have to do to win hockey games," Landeskog said. "We showed it in Chicago. Tonight we got away from certain things, and it's unacceptable."
Calgary didn't come out of the game unscathed. Backlund didn't play in the third period after blocking Matt Duchene's shot on the two-man advantage.
"He blocked a shot on the knee, so we just hope it's a bruise and he can carry forward," Calgary coach Glen Gulutzan said.
The Flames scored four times in the second period and put it away in the third when Gaudreau scored his second of the night and ninth of the season. A drop pass from Versteeg set him up, and he buried it from the slot at 10:22 for a 5-2 lead.
Landeskog made it 5-3 at 13:12, but Versteeg finished off the woeful Avalanche with his sixth goal of the season at 14:28 of the third.
"I think you earn some of those breaks," Colorado coach Jared Bednar said. "I feel like we weren't committed to playing the way we needed to play tonight, so that's why they get those bounces."
The Flames tied it 1-1 early in the second when Backlund's centering pass from below the goal line went off Colorado defenseman Fedor Tyutin and past Pickard at 1:33.
Seven seconds after Colorado killed off Mikhail Grigorenko's interference minor, Bennett deflected Deryk Engelland's shot from the point and it went off Carl Soderberg's skate and in at 9:49.
Gaudreau made it 3-1 only 1:56 later when his shot went off the glass behind the net, bounced off Pickard's right arm and in.
"I just shot it," Gaudreau said. "It was the end of a long shift for us, and I was getting ready to go the bench and was kind of looking back. I didn't know who scored."
Iginla's fifth goal of the season and 616th of his career at 13:12 cut the lead to 3-2, but Backlund again used an Avalanche player, this time the skate of Francois Beauchemin, to beat Pickard.
The Avalanche took a 1-0 lead late in the first period when Landeskog's snap shot from the right circle beat Elliott over the left shoulder at 18:22.
It was Landeskog's first goal in eight games and first since missing 10 games with a lower-body injury.
NOTES: Calgary F Troy Brouwer was out of the lineup with a hand injury sustained Friday against Vancouver. "We're going to give an update on his status (Wednesday)," coach Glen Gulutzan said. ... Avalanche G Semyon Varlamov missed his second straight game with a groin injury. It is the same ailment that cost him three games earlier this month. Jeremy Smith served as Calvin Pickard's backup. Coach Jared Bednar said Varlamov was going to be re-evaluated after Tuesday's game. ... C Freddie Hamilton and D Tyler Wotherspoon were scratched by the Flames. ... LW Cody McLeod and D Patrick Wiercioch were Colorado's healthy scratches.
Top Game Performances
| Calgary |
|
Colorado |
|
Mikael Backlund 3 |
Points |
Gabriel Landeskog 2 |
|
Mikael Backlund 2 |
Goals |
Gabriel Landeskog 2 |
|
TJ Brodie 2 |
Assists |
Cody Goloubef 2 |
|
Kris Versteeg 1 |
Power Play Goals |
N/A |
|
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
|
Brian Elliott .893 |
Save Percentage |
Calvin Pickard .806 |
|
Brian Elliott 25 |
Saves |
Calvin Pickard 25 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
| Calgary
|
31 |
6 |
1-3 |
6-6 |
12 |
21 |
| Colorado
|
28 |
3 |
0-6 |
2-3 |
16 |
35 |
Upcoming Games
-
Colorado will play their next game on the road against Dallas. The Avalanche have a W/L % of .231 after a win and .429 after a loss.
-
Calgary will play their next game at home against Anaheim. The Flames have a W/L % of .556 after a win and .474 after a loss.
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