Sean Monahan collected a brace, Matthew Tkachuk added a goal and two assists, and Johnny Gaudreau dished out four helpers, as the Calgary Flames ended the Florida Panthers nine-game point streak with a 5-1 win at Scotiabank Saddledome.
The Flames snapped a four-game losing skid with the much-needed victory, which ended Florida four-game winning streak.
Former Panther Jacob Markstrom stopped 28 of 29 shots to get the win against his old team.
The Cats only goal came 12:36 into the second period when former Flame Sam Bennett converted from the slot after Carter Verhaeghe and then Mason Marchment hit the post. Bennett’s 16th of the season halved the deficit after Rasmus Andersson, his first of the season on a power play, and Blake Coleman scored in the first period.
Welcome back to Calgary, 𝙎𝙖𝙢 𝘽𝙚𝙣𝙣𝙚𝙩𝙩 🔥
Bennett scores his first goal against the Flames in a Panthers uniform and cuts into the Calgary lead! It’s now a 2-1 game!@FlaPanthers | #TimeToHunt pic.twitter.com/15q0aeBw6O
— Bally Sports Florida: Panthers (@BallyPanthers) January 19, 2022
Monahan would notch Calgary’s second power-play goal of the night 3:27 later, just three seconds after Frank Vatrano went to the sin bin for cross checking. The Flames center won a faceoff back to Gaudreau, and then deflected Johnny Hockey’s subsequent shot by Spencer Knight to restore a two-goal lead.
Tkachuk and Monahan would score 3:06 apart early in the third to snuff out any potential Panthers comeback.
Knight made his first start of 2022 and it was forgettable. The 20-year-old allowed all five goals on 31 shots and saw his GAA climb to 3.51 and save percentage dip to .891. At some point, the Cats need to send Knight to Charlotte to get some playing time and give Jonas Johansson a look in the backup role.
Sergei Bobrovsky will be back in the net on Thursday when the Cats face Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and the fading Edmonton Oilers, who will be looking to end a six-game losing streak. They’ll need a much better effort than they gave tonight.
Tinder & Ash
- In his first game back in Calgary, Sam Bennett scored on his only shot and logged 16:46 TOI. The goal extended his point streak to three-games. Bennett has put up seven goals in his past five games and is now tied with Anthony Duclair for the team lead.
- Speaking of streaks, Jonathan Huberdeau had his torrid (20 points) eight-game run come to a halt. It was the longest active streak in the NHL. Huberdeau led Florida’s forwards with four shots on goal. Aaron Ekblad registered a team-high five.
- Johnny Gaudreau equaled his NHL career-high with four assists in one game. He also had four helpers in a 6-5 win against the Nashville Predators on February 21, 2017.
- Other Flames collecting assists were Andrew Mangiapane, Mikael Backlund and Elias Lindholm. Mangiapane is now one point away from reaching the 100 mark.
- Mason Marchment played for the first time since New Year’s Day and picked up his 11th point of the season. Marchment has collected at least a point in ten of his 14 outings this season. Stay healthy, Mason!
- For more on the season-series splitter, check out Matchsticks & Gasoline. /
Video Recap