Jacob Markstrom made 37 saves as the Calgary Flames recorded a 5-3 road win over the New Jersey Devils on Thursday in Newark, N.J.
Connor Zary and Andrew Mangiapane each had a goal and an assist, and Noah Hanifin collected two assists. Mikael Backlund, Kevin Rooney and Andrei Kuzmenko scored Calgary’s other goals.
The Flames are on a three-game winning streak and are 7-4-0 in their last 11 games.
Markstrom’s excellent play has fueled that hot streak. After stopping 37 of 40 Devils shots on Thursday, Markstrom is 8-3-0 with a .929 save percentage over his last 11 games.
The Devils are 3-6-0 in their last nine games.
Ondrej Palat had two goals and Nico Hischier had a goal and an assist. Jesper Bratt recorded assists on all three Devils goals, increasing his recent total to nine points (four goals, five assists) over a six-game points streak.
Vitek Vanecek stopped 25 of 29 shots. Vanecek played well against Calgary’s aggressive offense, but also received some good fortune since the Flames hit four goalposts.
Palat opened the scoring at 15:39 of the first period on a two-on-one rush with Bratt. The Flames equalized at the 18:10 mark when Backlund’s bad-angle shot snuck between Vanecek and the post.
New Jersey almost regained the lead during a wild sequence early in the second period, but the momentum quickly swung as Zary scored at the 3:53 mark to put Calgary ahead for good.
Playing in just his second game of the season due to offseason shoulder surgery, Rooney scored his first goal 2:55 into the third period.
A four-minute power play gave the Flames the opportunity to put the game away, yet it was Hischier who struck with a short-handed goal at the 4:02 mark.
Kuzmenko deposited a rebound midway through the third period for his 10th overall goal of the season, and his second with the Flames. Kuzmenko has scored in each of his two games with Calgary since being acquired in last week’s blockbuster trade with the Vancouver Canucks.
Palat scored a tip-in goal 13:46 into the third frame, but Mangiapane sealed the Flames’ victory with a late empty-net score.
–Field Level Media
