Gaudreau finishes hat trick in OT, Flames beat Bruins 5-4
CALGARY, Alberta — Johnny Gaudreau got his first home hat trick and the last-place Calgary Flames kept giving fans at the Scotiabank Saddledome reason to cheer.
Gaudreau finished his second-career hat trick in overtime after Jiri Hudler tied the game with 1.2 seconds left and the Flames beat the Boston Bruins 5-4 on Friday night for their sixth straight home victory.
Gaudreau trailed a 2-on-1 rush and took a pass from former Bruin Dougie Hamilton in the high slot. He stickhandled in on Tuukka Rask and beat the goaltender with a low shot.
"Last year I was fortunate enough to get a hat trick but it was in a different arena. I was fortunate to get one tonight. It's always exciting seeing hats get thrown on the ice," Gaudreau said.
It was quite a night for Gaudreau, a Boston College product who won the Hobey Baker Award during a three-year stint in Massachusetts. He also had an assist for his first four-point game in the NHL. His only other hat trick was Dec. 22 last year against the Kings.
In his second NHL season, Gaudreau leads the Flames in scoring and is on a nine-game points streak at home with 17 points, including seven goals, during that span. He also leads the NHL with five overtime points, including three goals.
"When (Gaudreau) shows up at the rink, his biggest asset is he wants to be the game changer, he wants to make the difference," Flames coach Bob Hartley said. "He has such high expectations of himself that it makes him very special."
Hudler forced overtime when he tapped in a loose puck with Calgary goalie Karri Ramo pulled for an extra skater. It was the latest tying goal ever in a Flames win, according to the NHL.
Mark Giordano also scored and the Flames won their second straight after ending a three-game skid. The win allowed them to keep pace with Edmonton to remain tied for last in the Pacific Division.
Brad Marchand scored on a penalty shot with 1:06 left to put Boston up 4-3. It was Marchand's second goal of the game, and the Bruins also got scores from Matt Beleskey and Zdeno Chara.
"It was extremely entertaining, we all enjoy being in games like that, but that's not the type of game we normally play in and we can't continue to play in games like that," said Marchand, who leads the Bruins with 12 goals.
Ramo had 34 saves. Rask made 23 saves in relief of Jonas Gustavsson, who stopped 8 of 11 shots before being pulled.
The final 66 seconds of regulation were frantic, with Marchand putting Boston ahead with a short-handed penalty shot. He got the chance when his stick was slashed out of his hand by Hamilton while he raced on a breakaway.
"We gave up a couple bad goals but I didn't think our game was bad at that point and we were able to get ourselves back into it but again, we kill ourselves with our own mistakes, it's as simple as that," Bruins coach Claude Julien said.
Off the ensuing faceoff, Calgary pulled Ramo and went on the attack. The Flames passed around the perimeter until Giordano passed to Joe Colborne in close. Colborne whipped a pass in front, and Hudler and Sean Monahan whacked at it until it slid by Rask.
The teams combined for three goals in a 46-second span early in the second period. First, Marchand tied it 2-2 1:36 into the second period when he snapped a shot past Ramo on the glove side. Calgary regained the lead 20 seconds later when Gaudreau deked around Gustavsson and tucked in his second of the game. That ended Gustavsson's night.
Chara scored 26 seconds later on a wrist shot to make it 3-3.
Calgary opened the scoring 33 seconds in when David Jones neatly set up Gaudreau's first of the night.
The Flames extended their lead to 2-0 at 15:55 on Giordano's goal, but the Bruins replied 1:24 later when Chara's shot caromed in off Beleskey's leg.
Notes: Hamilton spent three years in Boston before being traded to Calgary this summer. He said this was "a tough one for me to play in." ... Jones (lower body) did not return after taking Zach Trotman's hard slap shot off his foot in the first period. ... With Anaheim last season, Beleskey scored a goal in all five playoff games against the Flames. ... Calgary D Kris Russell (upper body) missed his first game of the season. ... Flames C Matt Stajan played in career game No. 800. ... Calgary is on its longest win streak at home since winning eight in a row from Feb. 23 to Mar. 27, 2013.
