Oilers split weekend, Flames win Saturday
TORONTO Being a backup goalie isn't always easy. But Toronto's Curtis McElhinney thinks he's figured it out. One night after starter Frederik Andersen beat Pittsburgh on the road, McElhinney stopped 41 shots to lead the Maple Leafs to a 1-0 win over the visiting Edmonton Oilers on Sunday.
The 34-year-old was making just his fifth start of the season, with Andersen currently leading the NHL in minutes played.
“The back-to-backs are always tough. Sometimes there's no morning skate so you're kinda left to your own,” said McElhinney. “I got a good skate in this morning by myself and things felt pretty good overall.
“Having been here almost a year now I'm pretty familiar with it. I kinda have the hang of it, I think.”
Zach Hyman scored the only goal of the game for the Maple Leafs (20-10-1) just 34 seconds into the contest.
After that it was all McElhinney as Edmonton hemmed Toronto in its own zone for the final two periods looking for the equalizer.
In all, the Oilers had an 89-47 advantage in shot attempts, including 61-39 at even strength, and beat the Toronto netminder more than once only to ring iron.
OILERS 6, CANADIENS 2
Jujhar Khaira had his first career two-goal game to lead Edmonton to its fourth win in six games.
Mike Cammalleri, Milan Lucic, Oscar Klefbom and Yohann Auvitu also scored for the Oilers. Laurent Brossoit stopped 22 shots.
Alex Galchenyuk and Phillip Danault scored for Montreal, which has lost three straight at home (02-1) since a five-game winning streak. Carey Price was pulled 2:24 into the second period after giving up four goals on 13 shots. Antti Niemi replaced him and stopped 25 of the 27 shots he faced.
FLAMES 4, CANUCKS 2
CALGARY - After a slow start, it looks like Sam Bennett has finally found his groove.
Bennett scored the winner with 1:10 left in regulation and Matthew Tkachuk had a pair of goals as the Calgary Flames came from behind for a 4-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday.
On a determined individual effort, Bennett took the puck hard to the front of the net from the side boards and sent a backhand past Anders Nilsson, electrifying the home crowd.
“It was a big goal and I felt a lot of emotion there. After a tough start, it’s definitely nice to get one like that,” said Bennett, who has three goals and eight points in his last seven games.
The 21-year-old, who has been playing alongside rookie Mark Jankowski and a combination of Jaromir Jagr and Garnet Hathaway, has been especially hot on home ice with points in each of his last seven home games (4 goals, 6 assists) at the Scotibank Saddledome. That streak began on Nov. 9 after he failed to pick up a point in the season’s first 15 games.
“His game was trending in the right direction and now he’s getting results,” said Flames coach Glen Gulutzan.