*Photo from the San Diego Union Tribune*
The Calgary Flames are red hot. Ok, that was a terrible pun. But they are, and a big reason why is Andrew Mangiapane. He is also red hot right now. Mangiapane scored twice, Elias Lindholm scored, and the Flames defeated the Devils 5-3 on Tuesday night.
With the two goal performance from Mangiapane, he has now tallied 12 goals in his last 10 games, which dates back to last season. To start off this season, he has 7 goals in 6 games, and he has tallied six goals in a recent 4 game goal streak.
Mangiapane said of his hot start that "Players here are just kind of finding me. It's definitely nice. Obviously, it is more important to get the two points. We had a good start. We knew we needed to come out strong and get our legs underneath us. We scored on some early opportunities, and I think that was the difference in the game."
Milan Lucic got the Calgary offense going, scoring his first goal of the season 6:35 into the first period, making it 1-0. At 10:08, Mangiapane scored to make it a 2-0 lead, his 6th this season. At 12:10, it became 3-0 Flames on a power play goal from Lindholm. 46 seconds later, Mangiapane found the back of the net again, with his 7th goal of the season making it 4-0 Flames.
In the second period, Pavel Zacha scored 7:01 into the period, getting the Devils on the board and making it a 4-1 game. In the 3rd period, Matthew Tkachuk scored on the power play 11:18 into the period, making it 5-1, back to a 4 goal lead. 33 seconds later, Dawson Mercer scored for the Devils to cut it to 5-2. Zacha then scored late to make it 5-3, but the Devils couldn't muster any more chances.
Flames head coach Darryl Sutter said of the win that "We're learning a lot to play the right way. We have good players and they've been here for a while. It's a big adjustment process, learning how to play the right way and do it consistently. This team works really hard and is playing together and playing things right."
Daniel Vladar got his second start of the season for the Flames, picking up the win in a solid outing, improving to 2-0-0 to start the season. Vladar saved 27 shots out of 30 that the Devils sent his way, posting an even .900 save percentage. It's the 3rd straight win for the Flames, who are now 4-1-1 and second in the Pacific Division.
Nico Daws got the start in goal for the Devils, but, after allowing 3 goals on 7 shots, was pulled 12:10 into the game. He was replaced with Scott Wedgewood, who got hit with the loss. Wedgewood saved 20 of 22 shots the Flames sent his way, posting a .909 save percentage. Wedgewood fell to 0-2-0 this season with the loss.
Devils head coach Lindy Ruff said of the defeat that "We lost wall battles, puck battles, our 50-50 battles weren't good. A lot of our pain was self-inflicted. Calgary's will was just greater than ours, so let's call it for what it was. They got to pucks quicker, they won the battles on the wall and they deserved to get the lead."
The Flames get back into action on Thursday against the Pittsburgh Penguins, with starter Jacob Markstrom expected to be back in the goalie crease. The Devils don't play again until Saturday, when they also face the Penguins. Wedgewood is in line to start for the Devils.
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