Gaudreau nets 2nd hat trick of season, Flames down Jets 4-1
CALGARY, Alberta (AP) Johnny Gaudreau is on a roll at home, and so are the Calgary Flames.
Gaudreau scored his second hat trick of the season and Calgary beat the Winnipeg Jets 4-1 on Tuesday night, tying a franchise record with its 10th straight victory at home.
With the Flames nursing a 2-1 lead, Gaudreau scored a key goal at 15:41 of the third period. After having the puck taken away from him on a potential breakaway by Mark Scheifele, the 22-year-old stole it right back and put a high shot past Michael Hutchinson from close in.
Gaudreau completed his hat trick with an empty-net goal less than 3 minutes later.
''Tonight was a huge game, coming off two losses there on the road where we could have easily maybe won a couple of those games,'' said Gaudreau, who has 20 points (13 goals, seven assists) during the home winning streak.
Among the sellout crowd was Gaudreau's younger brother, Matt, who plays hockey at Boston College. The brothers fly home to New Jersey on Wednesday.
''Guys are really excited to head back home and see their families,'' Gaudreau said. ''You could see how well we played tonight. It was a great effort from the whole team.''
Gaudreau leads the Flames in goals (15) and points (37).
''I enjoy coaching him so much because not only is he skilled and a great scorer but he's a competitor,'' Calgary coach Bob Hartley said. ''Second, third, fourth effort, it doesn't bother him. He gets on the ice, he's on a mission out there.''
Joe Colborne also scored for Calgary. The Flames, who have won eight of 10 overall, continue their four-game homestand Sunday against Edmonton.
Tyler Myers scored for Winnipeg, which has lost five in a row on the road.
''It's frustrating, especially coming off a game last night where we played so well and we weren't able to get two points. It made this game all that more important,'' Hutchinson said. ''It's a little bit frustrating that we come away empty-handed.''
Winnipeg had some great chances to tie the game early in the third.
On a 2-on-1, Flames defenseman T.J. Brodie cleared Drew Stafford's shot off the goal line. Shortly after that, Karri Ramo made back-to-back sharp saves against Mathieu Perreault and Andrew Ladd on a deflection.
''It's frustrating, for sure,'' Jets coach Paul Maurice said. ''We had a couple breaks you'd like to have around the net, something to squeak in there at 2-1. It didn't happen.''
Maurice said the three-day holiday break will do his team - and himself - some good.
''This team needs some rest,'' he said. ''The coach has been in a bad mood for a long time. We need some rest and some separation.''
Gaudreau opened the scoring on a power play 4:28 in, with the puck deflecting off Toby Enstrom. Calgary made it 2-0 on Colborne's deflection of Mark Giordano's point shot 6 minutes later.
Myers finished off a 3-on-1 to get Winnipeg within one with 5 seconds left in the first, but that was the only shot to beat Ramo, who has started 20 of Calgary's last 23 games.
Ramo made 19 stops for his sixth win in the last eight starts.
Hutchinson had 29 saves for the Jets.
NOTES: The only other time the Flames won 10 straight at home was Nov. 7 to Dec. 12, 2006. ... Calgary LW Lance Bouma (broken leg) returned after missing 30 games. ... Gaudreau's first goal was his 100th NHL point. He reached the milestone in 115 games, matching Al MacInnis for the sixth-fastest in Flames history. Kent Nilsson (85 games) was the fastest. ... Calgary's last loss on home ice was Oct. 30 against Montreal.
