Nazem Kadri recorded two goals and an assist and Jacob Markstrom made 32 saves as the Calgary Flames posted a 4-1 win over the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday.
The Flames won their second consecutive game and improved to 5-1-0 on the season.
Jonathan Huberdeau and Michael Stone scored Calgary’s other goals.
Kadri became the 12th player in Flames history to begin a season with points in six or more straight games. The forward has nine points (four goals, five assists) in his first six games with Calgary.
Evgeni Malkin scored his fourth goal of the season for the Penguins’ lone tally of the game.
After earning points in their first five games, the Penguins now have two straight regulation losses.
Both of Kadri’s goals came during a dominant first period for the Flames, who had 20 shots on goal to Pittsburgh’s six in the opening 20 minutes.
At the 14:11 mark, Andrew Mangiapane sent a tremendous backhand pass from behind the net to an open Kadri, who deposited the chance for his first goal.
Kadri struck again 17:41 into the first period, first forcing a takeaway within his own blue line. Taking the puck down the ice on a two-on-one chance with Tyler Toffoli, Kadri used Toffoli as a decoy and took the shot himself, burying a wrist shot past goalie Casey DeSmith.
After a lackluster opening frame, the Penguins responded by outshooting Calgary 21-4 in the second period. However, the opportunistic Flames scored on two of those four shots to extend their lead.
Huberdeau and Malkin exchanged power-play goals within the first five minutes of the second frame. Despite the Penguins’ continued pressure, it was Flames defenseman Stone who scored the period’s only other goal, firing a point shot past traffic at the 11:20 mark.
Markstrom played a big role in halting Pittsburgh’s momentum. The Calgary goalie stopped 32 of 33 shots, including a robbery of a pad save on Bryan Rust in the second period.
DeSmith stopped 32 of 36 shots.
Pittsburgh’s Sam Poulin recorded an assist in his NHL debut.
–Field Level Media
