CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — Johnny Gaudreau had his sixth career hat trick to extend his point streak to seven games and the Calgary Flames beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-1 Thursday night.
Mikael Backlund also scored for Calgary, which is 15-2-1 in its last 18 games. The Flames are 13-1-1 in their last 15 games at home. Jacob Markstrom stopped 30 shots to improve to 27-11-6 on the season.
Alex Killorn scored for Tampa Bay, which has lost consecutive games in regulation for the first time this season. Andrei Vasilevskiy had 28 saves.
With the goaltenders taking turns making great save after great save, the game was a 1-1 approaching the final minute of the second period when the Flames scored twice to open a 3-1 lead.
With 1 minute to play, and reminiscent of his goal in the first period, Gaudreau corralled a loose puck to the side of the net and from below the goal line, banked a shot off the back of Vasilevskiy and in.
Calgary surged ahead 3-1 with 8 seconds left. Erik Gudbranson got the puck along the sideboards and snapped a hard low pass into the slot that Backlund neatly steered in. Gudbranson’s assist gave the 30-year-old defenseman a career-high 14 points.
Gaudreau then capped off his evening with 6:16 remaining in the third, taking a pass from Elias Lindholm and one-timing a shot past Vasilevskiy as fans threw hats raining onto the ice and broke into chants of “Johnny, Johnny.”
It was his first hat trick since March 12, 2019. Gaudreau has 13 points (six goals, seven assists) during his seven-game point streak.
The 28-year-old left wing, in the final year of his contract, leads the team with 26 goals and 77 points. That puts him on a pace for 111 points, which would be a career-high. His best season was 99 points in 2018-19.
The only puck to elude Markstrom was Killorn’s deflection with 4:20 left in the second that briefly tied it 1-1.
Other than that, Markstrom was outstanding.
In the first period, when Ross Colton got the puck alone in front after a Blake Coleman turnover, he was thwarted on his quick move from backhand to forehand as Markstrom jabbed out his pad.
In the second, Markstrom threw out his glove and stabbed a shot from Pierre-Edouard Bellemare.
The only goal of the opening 40 minutes came on a power play 7:35 into the first period when Gaudreau collected a rebound of Tyler Toffoli's shot and banked it off Vasilevskiy and in. Toffoli’s assist gave him 12 points in 12 games.
NOTES: Linesman Jason Marquis had to be helped off the ice and didn’t return after he was struck in the helmet by a shoot-in attempt by Calgary’s Trevor Lesis at 6:16 of the second. ... Tampa Bay fell to 9-2-1 against the Pacific. The Lightning are 22-1-4 when they score first, but just 15-13-2 when they allow the first goal. ... The Flames' last win at home against the Lightning was been Jan. 5, 2016.
UP NEXT
Lightning: At Edmonton on Saturday night.
Flames: Host Detroit on Saturday night.
