*Photo from the San Diego Union Tribune*
With the season series set to wrap up after an earlier win by the Calgary Flames, they wanted to win twice, so they set out and did it. Milan Lucic scored, Mikael Backlund scored, and the Flames defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 2-1 in a shootout on Monday night.
With the win, the Flames have beaten the Penguins both times they've squared off this season, sweeping the season series against them. They've also been red hot(get it?) in this last stretch of play, with a 6-1-1 record in their last 8 games. Overall, they have a 13-4-5 record this season, good for first place in the NHL's Pacific Division.
Asked about sweeping the season series, Lucic said "We talked about it this morning that they had 45 shots the last time we played them. We played a little too loose in Pittsburgh and we got away with one. Today, puck possession was better, zone time was better than the last time we played them and we held them to what, 22 shots. That's a good sign that we're able to adjust and zone-in on what our jobs are to give us success in the checking part of the game. You create offence by checking and getting the puck back and having the puck on your stick. That's the thing I think we've grown as a team through 22 games."
With the game still in a 0-0 tie after the opening 20 minutes, Lucic took matters into his own hands and got the Flames on the board first. He scored his 6th goal of the season 9:44 into the second period, giving Calgary a 1-0 lead, assisted by Oliver Kylington and Chris Tanev. It stayed that way until 12:35 into the 3rd period, when Jake Guentzel evened the game for the Penguins on the power play, scoring his 9th goal of the season.
It was scoreless for the rest of the 3rd period, and all of overtime, until it was time for the shootout. Johnny Gaudreau first scored for the Flames, but Kris Letang had an answer for the Penguins, and the shootout was tied 1-1. It was then left for Backlund, who scored to give the Flames a lead. Brock McGinn couldn't convert after that, and, 7 rounds into the shootout, the Flames had a 2-1 win.
Backlund said of his shootout winner that "I just checked a little bit before, kind of where he's been letting goals in. I tried the move in practice and scored on 'Marky,' so I figured if I can score on Marky I can do it on this guy, too. You're always ready to get the call to go. Not that I'm expecting it with my record, 0-for-7 before today, to get picked. But when I heard my name, I got excited. Tried working on it in practice and tried to do the same thing."
Jacob Markstrom got the start in goal again for the Flames, and he put up another strong outing, the lastest in a long line of them as he has had a resurgence to begin this season. Markstrom saved 21 of the 22 shots on goal he saw, posting a .955 save percentage in the winning effort. With the win, Markstrom's record improved to 9-4-4 in 17 starts this season.
For the Penguins, it was goalie Tristan Jarry who got saddled with the loss, despite the strong effort. Jarry saved 31 of 32 shots he faced across regulation and overtime, posting a .969 save percentage in the game. Jarry's record dropped to 10-4-4 this season in 18 starts.
Guentzel talked about the loss in the shootout, saying that "We didn't like our game tonight. I think Tristan played an unbelievable game. Kept us in the game all game. We know we have to be better. Just to get a point, I think it's a big point for us with a chance in the shootout. Just to come out of it with that, we'll take it."
The Penguins get back into action on Wednesday with a matchup against the Edmonton Oilers, with Jarry likely to get the start again. The Flames have an extra day before they get back in action against the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday, with Markstrom to start again.
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