Flames hand Wild 3rd straight loss
CALGARY, Alberta -- Kris Versteeg and Sean Monahan scored in a shootout Friday to give the Calgary Flames a 3-2 win over the Minnesota Wild at the Scotiabank Saddledome.
Versteeg and Mikael Backlund also scored in regulation time for the Flames (12-13-2), who have won two straight and four of their past six. Chad Johnson made 23 saves and has won six of his past seven starts.
Chris Stewart and Miku Koivu replied for the Wild (11-8-4), who have lost three straight.
The Flames are now 9-0-1 when leading after two periods.
Jason Pominville got the Wild's shootout goal.
Koivu forced overtime with his goal at 8:40 of the third. After a wild scramble in front of the net the puck came out to him in the high slot and he blasted a snapshot past Chad Johnson's glove.
The Flames had 1:58 of power play time in overtime after Wild left winger Jason Zucker was called for high sticking Flames captain Mark Giordano with two seconds remaining in the third period.
Both teams also had late power play chances in regulation time.
The Wild got a late power play when Flames rookie Matthew Tkachuk head butted Wild defenseman Marco Scandella with 3:17 left. Wild defenseman Matt Dumba interfered with Tkachuk with 6:17 remaining.
The Wild opened the scoring at 3:50 of the first period as Jared Spurgeon's shot from the point went in off Chris Stewart's leg, giving the latter his first goal in 16 games. Stewart was also stopped on a breakaway later in the period.
The Flames took the lead with goals 67 seconds apart later in the period. Kris Versteeg flipped a rebound over Devan Dubnyk to forge a tie at 12:26 and Calgary seized the lead when Mikael Backlund arrived late to a scrum in the crease to scoop up a puck that had gotten behind Dubnyk.
NOTES: The Wild recalled tough guy RW Kurtis Gabriel from Iowa of the American Hockey League. Coach Bruce Boudreau denied Gabriel was summoned in preparation of the Flames seeking retribution for the slash that broke LW Johnny Gaudreau's finger the last time the teams met Nov. 15. "It's hard just carrying 12 forwards every night. (The Wild) play Friday and Saturday, and we play Sunday. ... If we needed a guy for that day, it would be tough to get him," Boudreau said. ... Out for the Wild with injuries: D Christian Folin (knee) and C Zac Dalpe (knee). ... The lone healthy scratch for Minnesota was RW Zack Mitchell. ... Along with Gaudreau, the Flames were without C Lance Bouma (shoulder). Both took part in practice this week, indicating they might be returning soon. ... Calgary's healthy scratches were D Brett Kulak and C Hunter Shinkaruk. ... The Flames returned LW Mark Jankowski to Stockton of the AHL. The 2012 first-round draft pick made his NHL debut on Wednesday against the Toronto Maple Leafs.