Flames light up Blues
CALGARY Mark Jankowski had two goals and an assist and Kris Versteeg scored the winner as the Calgary Flames beat the St. Louis Blues 7-4 on Monday.
In a wild third period that saw Calgary take a lead twice only to see the Blues come back to tie it each time, the Flames finally went in front for good at 14:29 when Versteeg’s shot off the wing beat Jake Allen.
Sam Bennett scored his first of the season for Calgary (107-0), Micheal Ferland had his fourth goal in as many games and Johnny Gaudreau and Michael Frolik added emptynetter as the Flames finished 5-2-0 on their season-long homestand. They open a sixgame road trip on Wednesday in Detroit.
Gaudreau had two points to extend his point streak to seven games (five goals, seven assists).
Vladimir Tarasenko scored a pair for St. Louis (13-5-1) and Jaden Schwartz and Alexander Steen also scored.
Bennett put the Flames in front 3-2 to open the thirdperiod barrage when his backhand of a Jankowski shot slipped through Allen’s pads.
Steen tied it at 11:46 then Ferland’s power play goal restored Calgary’s one-goal lead at 12:31. But 12 seconds later, Tarasenko one-timed a Schwartz pass to tie it again.
Flames goaltender Mike Smith, who has started 16 of Calgary’s 17 games this season, had to leave after the first period with an undisclosed injury.
Eddie Lack played the final 40 minutes, stopping 13 of 15 shots for his first win as a Flame.
Allen, who faced 36 shots, took the loss.
St. Louis opened the scoring at 3:32 on its first shot. Colton Parayko crossed the blueline and dropped the puck to Tarasenko, who beat Smith from 40 feet on a high wrist shot over his blocker.
Jankowski scored the next two to give Calgary its first lead of the night.