Flames 4, Maple Leafs 3
CALGARY, Alberta -- The Calgary Flames did their best to put several distractions aside on Tuesday, and it paid off in a 4-3 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Center Markus Granlund and defenseman Dougie Hamilton had a goal and an assist each for the Flames (24-25-3), while center Mikael Backlund and left winger Micheal Ferland also scored.
Granlund made the most of his return to the lineup after sitting out the previous three games as a healthy scratch. He was given the chance due to Calgary coach Bob Hartley's decision to bench left winger Johnny Gaudreau and centers Sean Monahan and Lance Bouma for disciplinary reasons.
Making his second consecutive start, goaltender Jonas Hiller stopped 33 of 36 shots he faced in the Calgary net to improve his record to 7-5-1.
Dealing with distractions of their own, the Maple Leafs (19-24-9) dropped their second straight road decision on a day when defenseman (and former captain) Dion Phaneuf was traded to the Ottawa Senators in blockbuster nine-player deal.
Center Peter Holland, left winger Josh Leivo and defenseman Jake Gardiner scored for the Leafs, while goalie James Reimer finished with 18 saves. Defenseman Frank Corrado chipped in with two assists.
Toronto trailed 2-1 after one and 4-2 after two before Gardiner scored the lone goal of the third period when he tucked a wrist shot under the crossbar behind Hiller.
The Leafs continued to pour on the pressure but weren't able to notch the equalizer. Right winger Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau had a good chance to tie the game, but Hiller made a nice pad save with 1:09 remaining in regulation to secure the victory for the Flames.
Just before the three-minute mark of the opening period, Reimer stood his ground to turn aside a breakaway attempt by Flames center Matt Stajan. A short time later, Hiller had to be sharp to stop a point-blank attempt off the stick of Maple Leafs right winger Michael Grabner.
Granlund gave the Flames a 1-0 lead at 10:40 of the first period when he took a breakaway pass from right winger Michael Frolik and snapped a quick shot to the short side past Reimer.
Only 54 seconds later, the Leafs answered with a power-play goal as Holland tipped Corrado's point shot past Hiller.
Backlund then put the Flames back up by a goal during a man advantage of their own at 18:03 of the first when he redirected Hamilton's point shot over Reimer's right shoulder and into the top corner.
Ferland tapped in a nice feed from center Joe Colborne at 4:06 of the second period before Hamilton's point shot through traffic found its way in behind Reimer 10 minutes later to give the Flames a 4-1 lead.
Leivo then took a pass from left winger Rich Clune and wired a perfect shot to the top corner over Hiller's blocker to cut Calgary's lead to two goals with 2:43 remaining in the second.
NOTES: C/LW Joe Colborne returned to the Flames' lineup after sitting out the previous game. ... The Flames dressed seven defensemen for the game, including rookie Jakub Nakladal, who made his NHL debut. ... The Maple Leafs traded their captain, D Dion Phaneuf as well as RW Casey Bailey, RW Matt Frattin, C Ryan Rupert and D Cody Donaghey to the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday for LW Milan Michalek, LW Colin Greening, RW Tobias Lindberg, D Jared Cowen and a 2017 second-round draft pick. ... Due to a rash of injuries, the Maple Leafs recalled LW Josh Leivo, RW/C Mark Arcobello and LW Rich Clune from the AHL's Toronto Marlies on Monday. All three dressed for Tuesday's game in place of LW Joffrey Lupul (mid-body ailment), C Tyler Bozak (upper-body injury) and C Shawn Matthias (whiplash).