Flames ride first-period goal to 1-0 win over Wild
SAINT PAUL, Minn. -- An early power-play goal by Johnny Gaudreau held up as the Calgary Flames snapped a four-game losing skid, beating the Minnesota Wild 1-0 Tuesday.
Goalie Chad Johnson added 27 saves for his first shutout in 11 months for the Flames, who are struggling to score. Gaudreau's goal was just the fifth that Calgary (6-10-1) managed in the past five games.
The Wild (8-6-1) got 26 saves from goalie Devan Dubnyk but were blanked for the second time this season.
Minnesota, one of the NHL's best penalty-killing teams this season, got its best early scoring chance while down a man. Wild captain Mikko Koivu had a short-handed breakaway after Minnesota took the first penalty of the game, but his backhander went wide of the net.
Just seconds later, the Flames used that same man advantage to take the lead. Defenseman Mark Giordano's lead pass allowed Gaudreau to split the Wild defense and come in alone on Dubnyk. With the goalie sliding to his left, Gaudreau tucked a backhand shot low and over the line. It was the third goal in the past two games for Gaudreau.
He was skating on a new Flames top line alongside Sean Monahan and Troy Brouwer after Calgary coach Glen Gulutzan juggled things, looking for some kind of spark.
The Wild hit pipes late in the opening period and early in the second, dominating the play for a few extended stretches, but could not get the equalizer. Then both teams ran into penalty trouble as the game, for a time, devolved into a parade to the penalty box. Both teams had power-play opportunities, and neither capitalized, as Calgary clung to the one-goal lead.
The Wild made a frantic final push with Dubnyk on the bench for an extra attacker but came up short. They have lost their past two home games.
NOTES: Wild star LW Zach Parise returned to the lineup after missing the previous five games due to a lower body injury. He did not return to the top line and instead was on the third offensive unit with C Erik Haula and RW Jason Pominville. ... Calgary had rookie LW Matthew Tkachuk back in uniform on Tuesday. He had missed two games due to a hand injury suffered in practice last week when he was cut by a skate. ... Wild D Matt Dumba, a Calgary native, has joined Athletes Committed to Educating Students (ACES) as a player representative. The program, designed to eliminate the academic achievement gap, works with 900 students in the Twin Cities. ... The Flames return to Calgary for a two-game homestand, first hosting the Arizona Coyotes on Wednesday. Minnesota is in a stretch in which it plays five of six games at home. The Wild will host the Boston Bruins on Thursday.