Justin Kirkland scored the decisive goal in the sixth round of the shootout Tuesday as the red-hot Calgary Flames prevailed 4-3 over the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Nazem Kadri, Rasmus Andersson and MacKenzie Weegar scored in regulation for Calgary (5-0-1).
Andersson also had an assist for the only multi-point night, and leads the Flames in scoring with eight points (three goals, five assists).
Calgary Flames’ Justin Kirkland (58) celebrates his goal with teammates during shootout NHL hockey action against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Calgary on Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
Bryan Rust, Rickard Rakell and Noel Acciari scored for Pittsburgh (3-4-1), which opened a four-game Western Canada road trip.
Dustin Wolf, who was peppered with 38 shots, improves to a perfect 3-0-0. He clinched the win when he stopped Evgeni Malkin in Pittsburgh’s last hope in the shootout.
Alex Nedeljkovic made 25 saves and fell to 0-1-1.
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Rakell and Rust scored in the shootout while Anthony Mantha, in his 500th NHL game and Andersson had Calgary’s other goals.
Takeaways
Penguins: Calgary piled up an early 7-0 edge in shots but, after the sleepy start, Pittsburgh carried the play the rest of the night, outshooting the Flames 38-18 over that span.
Flames: Martin Pospisil, who has been skating between Jonathan Huberdeau and Anthony Mantha, was benched for the final 13 minutes of the second period after his second offensive zone penalty led to a power play where Rust scored and tied the game at 1-1.
Key moment
Trailing 3-2 and with Wolf on the bench for an extra attacker, Andersson blasted a rising slapshot from the blue line that hit Acciari in front. When the puck fell to the ice, Kadri was right there to fire it past Nedeljkovic with 43 seconds left, sending the home crowd into a frenzy.
Key stat
With 11 points in their first six games, the Flames are off to their best start in franchise history. The only blemish was their 2-1 overtime loss in Seattle on Saturday.
Up next
Penguins: Travel to Edmonton to play the Oilers on Friday.
Flames: Play host to the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday.
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