The Calgary Flames scored a pair of power-play goals in the first period, and that proved to be all they needed in a 2-1 win over the visiting Minnesota Wild on Thursday night.
Aydar Suniev and Joel Farabee scored one goal apiece for Calgary, which notched back-to-back wins for the first time this season.
Michael McCarron scored Minnesota’s lone goal. The Wild remained winless on their road trip after losing in overtime against the Edmonton Oilers two nights earlier.
Flames goaltender Devin Cooley stopped 36 of 37 shots to earn the victory. He made a series of quality saves in the final two-plus minutes, as the Wild pulled their goaltender for an extra attacker in hopes of tying the score.
Cooley made his final save as time expired, and he rested on his back and stared toward the rafters as teammates skated toward him to celebrate the win.
Wild goaltender Jesper Wallstedt allowed two goals on 22 shots.
Calgary opened the scoring while on the power play with 9:11 to go in the first period. Adam Klapka handled the puck behind the net and fed a pass to Suniev, who ripped a wrist shot from the slot past Wallstedt.
The sequence marked the third goal in five games for Suniev, a 21-year-old who entered the season with no goals in seven career NHL contests.
The Flames struck again on the power play to increase their lead to 2-0 with 5:54 remaining in the first period. Morgan Frost fired a one-timer from the right circle that Wallstedt turned aside. The rebound kicked to Farabee, and he took advantage by punching in a shot for his first goal of the season.
Minnesota cut the deficit to 2-1 with 15:21 left in the third period. Nico Sturm softly slid a pass to McCarron, who belted a slap shot from the right circle for the goal.
Wild defenseman Jared Spurgeon returned to action after missing the previous four games because of an upper-body injury.
–Field Level Media
