*Photo from NHL.com*
In order to get a victory, the Calgary Flames turned to two of their best players: Johnny Gaudreau and Jacob Markstrom. Gaudreau scored on the power play, Markstrom came up with 37 saves, and the Flames shut out the Montreal Canadiens with a 2-0 victory on Saturday night. The win for the Flames snapped a 3 game skid, with their record now standing at 3-3-1 on the season.
Gaudreau started the scoring for the Flames on the power play at 3:34 of the first, snapping one to the back of the net to make it 1-0 Calgary early on. It stayed that way until the 3rd period, when, with 32 seconds remaining, Mikael Backlund scored on an empty net to increase the Calgary lead to 2-0, sealing the win for the Flames.
Gaudreau has had such a great start to the season on the Flames power play, which has scored at least once in each of their 7 games this season. Gaudreau has also posted at least one point in every game as well, the only player in Flames history to do so.
Flames defensemen Mark Giordano commented on Markstrom's shutout after the game, saying that "When your goalie plays like that, you're not going to lose. Ever. Great moment for him to step in. Obviously, we've been on a little bit of a slide here. Guys were blocking shots and we were invested emotionally, and he was our backbone out there. We'll take those goaltending performances whenever we can get them."
Markstrom himself said that "When the shots were coming, I was seeing the puck. When I didn't, our guys were blocking shots and clearing rebounds. It made my job a heckuva lot easier. That was a big win for us to come back here after some games where we haven't been happy and satisfied with the results. It's a big win for us and something we can build on."
Despite the loss, Canadiens backup Jake Allen had a terrific night in net, just like Markstrom on the other end. Allen stopped 31 shots out of the 32 that came his way, which is exactly what the Canadiens expect out of Allen as a reliable backup to top goalie Carey Price.
Canadiens forward Brendan Gallagher said of Allen that "When we signed him, we were all really excited because we knew when Pricey's not in there, we've got a guy just as capable. It's a pretty good feeling as a team. You allow him to stay rested and you don't miss a beat. He played unbelievable. He gave us a shot and made some big saves. There's not much to say about that. He just had an awesome game."
Both teams resume play on Monday, with the Canadiens hosting the Vancouver Canucks, with Price expected to be the starter for Montreal. The Flames face off against the Winnipeg Jets, where Markstrom will likely draw the start again.
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