Giordano, Smith lead Flames past Penguins
CALGARY, Alberta -- Mark Giordano scored at 2:19 of overtime to lead the Calgary Flames to a 2-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Scotiabank Saddledome on Thursday.
Giordano took a pass from Matthew Tkachuk and wired a shot to the top corner past Pittsburgh goalie Tristan Jarry, who was making just his second NHL start.
Sean Monahan also scored for the Flames (7-6-0), while goalie Mike Smith finished with 43 saves.
Patric Hornqvist scored the lone goal of the game for the Penguins (8-5-2), who skated to a 3-2 road win over the Edmonton Oilers one night earlier.
Jarry stopped 32 of 34 shots for the Penguins.
The Penguins carried the majority of the play early in the first period but were held off the scoresheet by Smith.
Just past the five-minute mark of the opening frame, Jarry had to be sharp to stop a point shot by Giordano that was tipped on net by Micheal Ferland.
The Flames pushed back a bit in the latter half of the period, but were still outshot 19-8 by the Penguins.
Early in the second, Flames forward Sam Bennett laid a big hit on Jake Guentzel behind the Pittsburgh net and then had a scoring chance in front, but his backhand shot went just wide.
Calgary outshot Pittsburgh 14-10 in the second and had a great chance to score with time ticking down in the period, but Jarry kept things scoreless by stopping a shot from the slot by Sean Monahan.
Both goalies continued their strong play in the third period as Jarry made a pad save to stop a breakaway attempt by Mark Jankowski. Not to be outdone, Smith stood his ground to stop another chance by Guentzel on a breakaway.
Monahan finally broke the scoreless draw during a power play for the Flames at 15:53 of the third when he backhanded a rebound that went off Pittsburgh defenseman Brian Dumoulin's skate before trickling over the line.
Hornqvist tied things up at 18:48 when deflected a Kris Letang blast from the point past a screened Smith.
NOTES: While Pittsburgh D Justin Schultz and D Matt Hunwick are still both out with concussions, the Penguins are optimistic that either or both could be ready for Saturday's road game against the Vancouver Canucks. .... The Penguins will finish up their five-game road trip on Saturday, while the Flames will play the fourth of seven-straight home games at the Saddledome on Sunday against the New Jersey Devils. ... The Flames iced the same lineup that skated to a 2-1 win over the Washington Capitals on Sunday, meaning that LW Tanner Glass, C Freddie Hamilton and D Matt Bartkowski were healthy scratches. ... The Penguins scratched RW Josh Archibald and D Zach Trotman. ... Flames RW Troy Brouwer played in his 700th career NHL game.