Calgary 6, Detroit 3
When: 9:00 PM ET, Thursday, November 9, 2017
Where: Scotiabank Saddledome, Calgary, Alberta
Referees:
Ghislain Hebert, Marc Joannette
Linesmen:
Trent Knorr, Mark Wheler
Attendance:
18788
By The Sports Xchange
CALGARY, Alberta -- Johnny Gaudreau and Jaromir Jagr put on a show for the home crowd on Thursday.
Gaudreau had two goals and a memorable assist on Jagr's first goal since joining the Flames, and Calgary beat a gritty but road-weary Detroit Red Wings team 6-3.
Jagr's goal was the 766th of the 45-year-old's 24-year NHL career. Gaudreau's second goal of the game, the 79th of his career, came into an empty net with 2:23 remaining. Jagr set up rookie Mark Jankowski's first NHL goal as well.
"It was an exciting night," Gaudreau said. "It's great for Janko, getting his first goal. I remember mine. It's a pretty special feeling. A lot of congrats to him. Jags' first of many, first goal for the team. I was pretty fortunate to be a part of that goal. It's pretty special."
Micheal Ferland and Matthew Tkachuk also scored for Calgary (9-7-0), which won for the fourth time in five games, all on home ice.
Anthony Mantha had a goal and two assists for the Red Wings and set up both Martin Frk and Frans Nielsen with nice passes during Detroit's three-goal second period.
The Red Wings (8-8-1) wrapped up a four-game cross-Canada road trip in which they went 2-2-0. They have played 12 of their first 17 games away from home.
"We've got a great group of guys here, I think," said Mantha, the Red Wings' leading scorer with 16 points. "It was great bonding. If we play the way we played the last couple of games, we could be a big team in this league. We just need to play 60 minutes."
With 2:59 remaining in the second period, Gaudreau and Jagr combined on a two-on-one. Gaudreau fed Jagr cross-ice, and he flipped the puck over Detroit goalie Petr Mrazek to give Calgary a 5-2 lead.
Jagr signed as a free agent at the end of training camp and is playing for his ninth NHL team.
He was asked if it felt good to score.
"I'm not 18 anymore, so I don't really think about that," he said. "For me, it's more important just to feel good, go on the ice and be a factor for our team."
Calgary goalie Mike Smith, making his 15th start this season, had 39 saves, including 21 in the second period. Mrazek stopped 28 stops.
Jagr picked up his 1,151st NHL assist on Jankowski's accidental first NHL goal at 9:15 of the first. Jagr got a shot off, and the rebound hit the charging rookie in the crotch area and bounced into the net.
"Scoring your first NHL goal is something you've dreamed about your whole life ever since you were a little kid and wanted to play in the NHL and just to have (Jagr) get the assist on it ... it just brings it up that much more," Jankowski said.
Gaudreau made it 2-0 at 13:56 of the first. He scooped up the puck after the faceoff and put a wrist shot from the top of the slot past Mrazek's glove. The goal extended Gaudreau's point streak to six games.
Ferland took a pass at the Detroit blue line, made two nice moves and scored on a deke at 6:02 of the second. Frk replied on the power play at 8:43 with his third goal in as many games, taking a pass across the crease from Mantha and scoring into a vacated net.
Tkachuk batted a waist-high shot from the point into the net at 12:23 for a 4-1 lead.
Nielsen responded a 15:49.
After Jagr scored, Mantha snapped home a long rebound 3.3 seconds before the second intermission to make it 5-3. Mantha has six points in his past six games.
"We kept fighting, we kept fighting, we kept fighting, but when you're giving up easy goals, you just keep digging yourself a hole," Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said. "It's a hard league to dig yourself a hole in. You want to play from ahead as much as you can, and when you don't, you can't give up easy goals and expect to come back."
NOTES: The Flames put D Rasmus Andersson into the lineup in place of D Matt Bartkowski. It was Andersson's first game of the season and second career after he dressed once previously for on April 8, 2016. ... Flames D Travis Hamonic skated Thursday morning but sat out his third straight game with a lower-body injury. Freddie Hamilton and Matt Stajan, both centers, were healthy scratches for Calgary. ... Red Wings C Scott Wilson played even though he aggravated a lower-body injury Monday in Vancouver. He was a game-time decision by coach Jeff Blashill. ... Healthy scratches for Detroit were LW David Booth, RW Luke Witkowski and D Danny DeKeyser.
Top Game Performances
Detroit |
|
Calgary |
Anthony Mantha 3 |
Points |
Johnny Gaudreau 3 |
Anthony Mantha 1 |
Goals |
Johnny Gaudreau 2 |
Anthony Mantha 2 |
Assists |
Mikael Backlund 2 |
Martin Frk 1 |
Power Play Goals |
N/A |
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
Petr Mrazek .848 |
Save Percentage |
Mike Smith .929 |
Petr Mrazek 28 |
Saves |
Mike Smith 39 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
Detroit
|
42 |
3 |
1-3 |
2-2 |
9 |
36 |
Calgary
|
34 |
6 |
0-2 |
2-3 |
11 |
28 |
Upcoming Games
-
Calgary will play their next game at home against St. Louis. The Flames have a W/L % of .444 after a win and .714 after a loss.
-
Detroit will play their next game at home against Columbus. The Red Wings have a W/L % of .556 after a win and .375 after a loss.