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National Hockey League
Calgary 3, Vancouver 1
When: 10:00 PM ET, Saturday, January 7, 2017
Where: Scotiabank Saddledome, Calgary, Alberta
Referees: Kyle Rehman, Graham Skilliter
Linesmen: Ryan Galloway, John Grandt
Attendance: 18685

CALGARY, Alberta -- Chad Johnson made sure the Calgary Flames didn't lose another game they shouldn't have on Saturday.

The goaltender was stellar in making 27 stops to lead the Flames to a 3-1 win over the Vancouver Canucks, one night after Calgary fell to the same Canucks despite outshooting them 46-13.

"It was huge," said Johnson. "We played a good game yesterday and probably deserved better and couldn't score on (Ryan) Miller. They got some real lucky bounces there. Tonight we wanted to stick with it and be confident in our game. It was fun. It was a fun atmosphere out there."

Goals by Alex Chiasson and Matt Stajan just over a minute apart in the first period sparked the Flames and helped stop the Canucks' winning streak at six. Michael Frolik got an insurance goal for Calgary on a breakaway late in the third period.

Bo Horvat replied for the Canucks (20-19-2), who are tied with the New York Islanders and St. Louis Blues for the fewest road points (11) this season.

The Flames are now 16-0-1 when leading after two periods and Johnson kept that unbeaten regulation time record intact when he stopped Brandon Sutter with a pad during a late Vancouver power play.

Frolik scored two minutes later.

Johnson also made several big saves earlier in the game, including on a breakaway by Loui Eriksson in the first period and a sprawling stick save on Jayson Megna nine minutes into the second period that was followed by another stop on Sutter in the same sequence. The Canucks took the loss in stride.

"We played well," Canucks captain Henrik Sedin said. "We played a lot better than we did yesterday but we just didn't score on our chances."

The Canucks were without six regular defenseman because of injuries. They went with five blue-liners Saturday night because Ben Hutton and Chris Tanev, who both played Friday, couldn't suit up Saturday because of injuries.

"Our defense has been playing well over our streak but to only have five back there definitely hurts especially on a back-to-back," Horvat said. "But I thought they did a nice job tonight. It will be nice to get all six back there."

Canucks head coach Willie Desjardins thought Hutton and Tanev were close to playing.

"You don't get a read until you get to pre-game skate so we thought (Hutton) was good. We thought Tanev might be good as well. We felt if one couldn't, we felt we had another one that could. We just kind of got caught. We felt he was going to be able to play," he said.

Jacob Markstrom faced 30 shots in the Vancouver goal.

The Flames viewed it as a big game after losing the night before when they believe they should have won.

"That's a swing game," said Stajan. "Last night didn't go the way we wanted. We played well but didn't find a way to win. Those are games you have to bounce back from. We weren't at our best today. To come out and find a way to get two points, stay above those guys in the standings, it's huge."

The Flames scored twice quickly in the first period to grab a 2-0 lead.

Chiasson tipped in Sean Monahan's shot at 14:26 and just over a minute later, at 15:29, Stajan charged to the net and redirected Garnet Hathaway's pass from the corner boards past Markstrom.

Markstrom got the start in place of Miller, who won his fifth straight game the night before by stopping 44 shots in Vancouver's 4-2 victory over Calgary at home.

Horvat got the Canucks on the board at 3:04 of the second period with an impressive effort. He carried the puck out from behind the Calgary goal and put a wrist shot just inside the far post from a sharp angle.

Johnson spoke of how many quality shots the Canucks offense comes up with each night.

"Again when you don't watch the game and just look at the stats and you see 13 shots you think, 'okay what an easy night.' but it's the quality that matters," he said.

"They had some good ones last night too. They're a good team. They cycle it down low and they have guys in the slot. It was sort of like a playoff atmosphere. It was a fun, fun game."

NOTES: Canucks D Chris Tanev remained in Vancouver after taking a snap shot from Flames D Dougie Hamilton in the ribs that forced him to leave Friday night's game in the first period. His spot in the lineup was taken by D Alex Biega, who was scratched from the previous six games. ... Other Vancouver injuries were D Ben Hutton (upper body), RW Jannik Hansen (knee), D Erik Gudbranson (wrist surgery) and D Philip Larsen (concussion). ... Healthy scratches for the Canucks were RW Anton Rodin and C Reid Boucher, who was acquired via waivers from New

Jersey on Wednesday. ... With an assist Saturday, Calgary LW Matthew Tkachuk extended his point streak to night games, one better than Toronto phenom Auston Matthews for longest such stretch by a rookie this season. ... RW Troy Brouwer (broken finger) is Calgary's lone injured player. He has missed the past six games. Healthy scratches were D Tyler Wotherspoon and C Freddie Hamilton.
Top Game Performances
 
Vancouver   Calgary
Bo Horvat 1 Points Alex Chiasson 1
Bo Horvat 1 Goals Alex Chiasson 1
Alexander Edler 1 Assists Johnny Gaudreau 1
N/A Power Play Goals N/A
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Jacob Markstrom .903 Save Percentage Chad Johnson .966
Jacob Markstrom 28 Saves Chad Johnson 28
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Vancouver 29 1 0-3 1-1 2 28
Calgary 31 3 0-1 3-3 6 24
Upcoming Games
  • Calgary will play their next game on the road against Winnipeg. The Flames have a W/L % of .524 after a win and .524 after a loss.
  • Vancouver will play their next game on the road against Nashville. The Canucks have a W/L % of .476 after a win and .476 after a loss.