Backlund's two goals spark Flames to victory
CALGARY, Alberta -- Mikael Backlund scored goals 13 seconds apart in the second period to lead the Calgary Flames to a 5-2 victory over the Florida Panthers at the Scotiabank Saddledome on Tuesday.
Backlund also had an assist for the Flames (24-20-3), while Mark Giordano scored once and set up two others.
Sean Monahan had a goal and an assist for Calgary, Kris Versteeg also scored, and Matthew Tkachuk and Michael Frolik chipped in with two assists each.
Vincent Trocheck scored both goals for Florida (20-18-8) to extend his point streak to five games. He's scored five times and added four assists during that stretch.
Jared McCann picked up a pair of assists for the Panthers, who had won their past four road games and three of their past four overall.
Calgary goaltender Chad Johnson made 20 saves, while Florida netminder Roberto Luongo stopped 24 shots.
The Panthers outshot the Flames 11-5 in the third period in which Monahan scored his third goal in as many games into an empty net with 2:08 remaining.
The Flames trailed 2-1 after the first period, but drew even at 4:25 of the second thanks to a power-play goal by Giordano, whose shot from the slot hit Luongo in the right shoulder on its way into the net.
Backlund put the Flames up by a goal at 11:23 during another man advantage when he jammed a loose puck in the crease past Luongo.
Tkachuk set up Calgary's next goal 13 seconds later when he skated behind the Florida net and backhanded a pass through his legs into the slot to Backlund, who shoveled the puck past Luongo.
Trocheck opened the scoring at 3:46 of the first with a shot to the top corner, glove side past Johnson.
Versteeg answered back for the Flames at 6:39 when his innocuous-looking backhand shot from the top of the faceoff circle beat Luongo, who was screened by Troy Brouwer.
Trocheck put the Panthers back up by a goal at 8:25 with a goal eerily similar to the one he scored earlier in the period. Trocheck took a pass from McCann and did well to get the puck over a sliding Giordano and past Johnson.
The Flames had a pair of chances to draw even again before the first intermission, but Luongo made great saves to deny scoring attempts by Frolik and Monahan.
NOTES: C Greg McKegg made his return to Florida's lineup after missing the past four games with an upper-body injury. ... D Dylan McIlrath, who was recalled from the AHL's Springfield Thunderbirds on Monday, was a healthy scratch for the Panthers along with C Seth Griffith and C Denis Malgin. ... C Vincent Trocheck, who will represent Florida at the 2016 NHL All-Star Game, put up six goals and seven assists in his past 10 games heading into Tuesday's contest. ... After sitting out the past two games as a healthy scratch, C Freddie Hamilton made his return to Calgary's lineup. ... Flames LW Micheal Ferland missed his third straight game with a lower-body injury, while RW Garnet Hathaway sat out with an upper-body injury. ... Calgary also scratched D Brett Kulak. ... Florida G Roberto Luongo needs seven victories to surpass Curtis Joseph for fourth place on the NHL's all-time wins list.