Calgary, AB— The Ottawa Senators stymied the Calgary Flames 4-2 on Monday.
The Senators scored shorthanded, on the powerplay, and on even strength to defeat the Flames.
On a night where Flames’ Milan Lucic celebrated 1000 games played in NHL, the Flames did not have much else to celebrate.
The first 5 minutes were fast-paced, with no whistles until a penalty on Calgary. The Senators could not get established, and the Flames killed the penalty. Senators’ goaltender Matt Murray propelled the team to victory, stopping 26 shots.
Turnovers doomed the Flames, and the first goal showed that. Brady Tkachuk intercepted the pass in the offensive zone, baited Markstrom, and snapped it high on the glove side. Ninety seconds later, Elias Lindholm scored to even it up. Johnny Gaudreau fed it to Lindholm, who missed the first shot but collected the rebound for the score.
There were few whistles in the game, with the majority being penalties. The Flames forced straight penalties, but disaster struck on the first power play. Murray made a fantastic save; Connor Brown stole the puck and collected his own rebound to score the short-handed goal. Murray was stellar to keep the Flames at bay. Flames flew around the ice but could not score. The Flames went 0-4 on powerplays and allowed the short-handed goal.
In their desperation, the Flames were called for a penalty, and the Senators capitalized. Josh Norris scored the powerplay goal, lasering it past the glove of Markstrom to go up 3-1. The Flames kept it close, scoring with nine minutes left. Mikael Backlund passed it to Michael Stone, who ripped one from the blue line past Murray. After the Flames pulled Markstrom, Tkachuk slipped on the ice, and Brown scored again on the empty net.
The Flames desperately needed a win to stay competitive in the division but could not find a way to beat Murray. The Flames are in 5th place in the Scotia North division, 6 points behind Montreal.
Up Next
Senators @ Vancouver Canucks, Thursday, April 22, Rogers Arena
Montreal Canadiens @ Flames, Friday, April 23, Scotiabank Saddledome
