*Photo from the CT Insider*
The Calgary Flames are one of the hottest teams in the NHL right now. Dillon Dube scored, Andrew Mangiapane scored, and the Flames coasted to a 6-3 win over the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday night in Calgary.
The win marks win number 17 in the last 21 games for the Flames, as well as 3 wins in 4 games more recently. They improve to 37-16-7 with the win, holding first place in the Pacific. Matthew Tkachuk, who had a goal and two assists, and Dube with a goal and an assist, were the leading scorers for the Flames, who had 6 different skaters find the back of the net.
Flames head coach Darryl Sutter wasn't as happy postgame, saying that he "Didn't like parts of our game. I didn't like the penalties, I didn't like the double minor, didn't like the too many men. Didn't like the second goal. Outscored our mistakes tonight."
Brett Ritchie scored his first goal of the season for the Flames, giving them a 1-0 lead 9:43 into the game. At the 16:21 mark of the first, Dawson Mercer tied it for the Devils, making it 1-1 with his 15th goal of the season. Mangiapane put the Flames ahead 2-1 at the end of the first, with his 30th goal of the season.
PK Subban picked up his 4th goal of the season for the Devils, scoring 5:01 into the second period to tie the game 2-2. Dube scored at the 7:04 mark of the second for Calgary, putting them back ahead 3-2. Tkachuk made it a 4-2 lead for the Flames 9:31 into the second, his 28th goal of the season. Milan Lucic scored 10:33 into the second to make it a 5-2 game.
Yegor Sharangovich fought back for the Devils, cutting the deficit to 5-3 with his 15th goal of the season 3:51 into the 3rd period. Johnny Gaudreau picked up an empty net goal with 2:30 left in the game to make it a 6-3 win.
Dube said of his goal that "My linemates helped me out a lot tonight. I was in the middle skating, but it doesn't do much if your wingers aren't battling on the wall to get you the puck, so I think a lot of credit is on them too for being able to support me and find me in the middle."
Getting the start in net was Jacob Markstrom, who put together a strong game for the Flames. Markstrom turned aside 30 of the 33 shots on goal from the Devils, posting a .909 save percentage in the win. Markstrom's record improved to a 29-11-6 mark on the season, totaling 47 starts in his second year in Calgary.
Across the ice, Nico Daws got the start for the Devils, and got hit hard. He allowed 4 goals on 19 shots, saving 15 for a .789 save percentage, taking the loss to drop to 6-6-0 in 13 starts. He was pulled in favor of Jon Gillies, who stopped 19 of the 20 shots he faced from the Flames, including 19 in a row after allowing a goal on his first shot.
Gillies said of the loss that "We talked about it this morning and I thought we did a lot of good things tonight. The unfortunate part of that is you can do a lot of good things, but when breakdowns happen they're usually going to put it in the back of the net and that's what happened."
Up next, the Flames play host to the Buffalo Sabres on Friday night, with Markstrom in line to get the start. Gillies is the projected starter for the Devils as they face the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday afternoon.
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