Brodie’s overtime goal leads Flames over Flyers
TJ Brodie scored 1 minute, 59 seconds into overtime after Matthew Tkachuk tied it with 4:17 left in regulation to lead the Calgary Flames to a 3-2 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday in Philadelphia.
Tkachuk assisted on the winner in the 3-on-3 extra session. Philadelphia’s Jordan Weal turned the puck over in the Flyers offensive zone to set up a 2-on-1 break. Tkachuk sent a cross-ice pass to Brodie, who beat Carter Hart to lead the Pacific Division leaders to the win.
Johnny Gaudreau notched his 24th goal of the season for the Flames, whose 56 points are tops in the Western Conference.
Travis Sanheim and Travis Konecny scored for Philadelphia, which dropped its seasonworst sixth straight game. The Flyers are in last place in the Metropolitan Division; they entered tied with Los Angeles and Ottawa for the fewest points in the league.
Tkachuk tied it with 4:17 left in regulation when he beat Hart past the right pad with a wrist shot from the slot.
Konecny had given Philadelphia a thirdperiod lead, taking advantage of a mistake by Calgary goalie David Rittich to put the Flyers ahead 2-1 at 5:57 of the period. With Philadelphia’s Claude Giroux applying pressure on defenseman Rasmus Andersson, Rittich came way out of his crease to play the puck.
Konecny intercepted Rittich’s clearing attempt, and then fired a wrist shot from the left circle past the retreating Flames goalie for his 10th of the season.
Gaudreau tied it at 1 with a pretty wrist shot from the right circle that whizzed over Hart’s left shoulder during 4-on-4 play in the second period.
The 20-year-old Hart returned to the net after Michal Neuvirth suffered a lowerbody injury in Philadelphia’s 5-3 home loss to Carolina on Thursday, continuing the Flyers goalie carousel.
Veteran journeyman Mike Mckenna was signed on Friday to back up Hart, who was making his sixth career start. If Mckenna dresses for the Flyers, he would become the seventh goalie to suit up and that would tie an NHL record. Hart made 29 saves. Sanheim got the Flyers on the board with a power-play goal with 7:50 left in the first period. His pass, which was intended for Weal in front of the net, caromed off the skate of Brodie and over the right shoulder of goalie Rittich.
Rittich returned after missing the previous two games with a lower-body injury and made 32 saves.
WILD 4, SENATORS 3: Jared Spurgeon scored twice to lead Minnesota to the victory. Jordan Greenway and Zach Parise also scored for the Wild, who improved to 2-0 on a four-game trip. Devan Dubnyk stopped 24 shots. The Senators dropped their seventh consecutive game. Matt Duchene, Ryan Dzingel and Mark Stone scored for Ottawa.
PREDATORS 4, CANADIENS 1: Craig Smith scored two goals and Nashville defeated Montreal. Mattias Ekholm and Viktor Arvidsson also scored for Nashville. P.K. Subban had two assists. Juuse Saros stopped 27 shots in place of Pekka Rinne. Shea Weber scored against his former team for the Canadiens. Carey Price made 28 saves as Montreal lost for the first time in three games. BRUINS 2, SABRES 1: Chris Wagner and David Backes scored, Tuukka Rask stopped 31 shots and Boston beat Buffalo for its fourth straight victory. MAPLE LEAFS 5, CANUCKS 0: Michael Hutchinson stopped 28 shots for his first shutout in more than two years and Auston Matthews had a goal and two assists to lead Toronto.
ISLANDERS 4, BLUES 3: Jordan Eberle and Johnny Boychuk scored 11 seconds apart in the third period to hel New York rally for a win over St. Louis.
ALL-STAR GAME COACHES SELECTED:
The four coaches for this month’s NHL Allstar Game will be Paul Maurice of Winnipeg, Todd Reirden of Washington, Jon Cooper of Tampa Bay and Bill Peters of Calgary. The NHL All-star Weekend is Jan. 25-26 in San Jose, California.