CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — Johnny Gaudreau had a goal and an assist, leading the Calgary Flames to a 5-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks on Monday night.
Mikael Backlund, Elias Lindholm, Mark Giordano and Rasmus Andersson also scored for the Flames. Calgary goalie Jacob Markstrom had 25 saves to beat his former team for the second straight time.
Markstrom, who spent seven seasons with Vancouver before signing with Calgary in October, had a 32-save shutout in a 3-0 win over the Canucks on Saturday.
“We knew he’s a great goalie,” Lindholm said of Markstrom. “We knew what we were getting. ... He played well tonight.”
Jake Virtanen and Tyler Myers scored for the Canucks, who played their fourth road game in six days. Thatcher Demko stopped 27 shots.
“It's very frustrating right now,” Vancouver's Elias Pettersson said. “The first (period) was good. Then I don't know what happened. I took two dumb penalties and that is not acceptable.”
Giordano teed up a blast from the top of the face-off circle that Demko couldn’t get his glove on for a power-play goal at 6:40 of the third period to put the Flames up 4-1.
Myers scored short-handed at 13:15 to pull the Canucks within two.
Demko was pulled for an extra attacker with four minutes to play, and Vancouver went to work on a two-man advantage when Calgary’s Andrew Mangiapane took a tripping penalty at 16:56.
Andersson scored into an empty net with 55 seconds remaining in regulation.
Outplayed in the first period, Calgary’s 20-3 margin in shots in the second was bolstered by four power-play chances and winning more draws in the face-off circle.
“We were outworked, outskated in the first period,” Flames coach Geoff Ward said. “Vanvouver was very strong. They came out with a good, hard push. We knew they were going to be better than the other night.”
Gaudreau pulled the Flames even 1-1 at 12:05 of the middle period on a give-and-go with Sean Monahan and Dominik Simon providing a screen.
Calgary took a 2-1 lead at 13:30 when Backlund scored his first goal of the season, lifting a rebound over Demko.
Lindholm one-timed Gaudreau’s cross-ice feed by Demko with just 2 seconds remaining in the period during Calgary’s two-man advantage to make it 3-1.
Canucks defenseman Myers had joined Elias Pettersson in the penalty box after punching Calgary’s Matthew Tkachuk in the ace.
“We regrouped after the first intermission,” Ward said. “We came out and found a way to tie the hockey game and then grab the lead. That's a really good sign of growth for us, how we feel and how we react in the correct ways at the ey times.”
Vancouver outshot Calgary 16-4 and dominated the face-off circle in the first period, but led just 1-0 due to Markstrom’s work.
The Flames' goalie turned away five shots on a Vancouver power play starting 2 1/2 minutes into the game. Virtanen’s long shot from the high boards deflected off Flames defenseman Juuso Valimaki and by Markstrom’s shoulder at 10:17.
“Vancouver came out flying nd we couldn't get anything going in the first,” Markstrom said. “We kept grinding and stepped up our game a little bit and got some momentum with power plays and penalties. We kept our momentum throughout the end of the game.”
STATUS
Canucks forward J.T. Miller returned from COVID-19 protocol that kept him out of Vancouver’s lineup the first three games of the regular season. Defenseman Jordie Benn has yet to play.
SIGNED
The Flames signed 30-year-old defenseman Mike Stone to a one-year, two-way contract Monday.
MILESTONE
Canucks defenseman Nate Schmidt played his 400th career NHL game Monday.
UP NEXT
Canucks: Host Montreal on Wednesday night to open a six-game homestand with three games in four nights against the Canadiens.
Flames: Host Toronto on Sunday.
