Matthew Tkachuk scored the decisive goal with 2:26 remaining and added two assists, leading the Calgary Flames to a 6-4 win over the Seattle Kraken on Thursday night in their first game in nearly three weeks.
Johnny Gaudreau contributed two goals and assisted on the game-winner, securing Calgary’s first victory since December 3. Milan Lucic, Andrew Mangiapane, and Noah Hanifin also found the back of the net for the Flames, who handed Seattle their fourth consecutive loss and second in as many nights.
“Even with everything going on, there’s no reason why we couldn’t come in here and beat a team that played last night,” Tkachuk said.
The Flames were returning to action for the first time since December 11 due to a COVID-19 outbreak that affected 20 team members, including head coach Darryl Sutter. In total, 33 organization members tested positive during the 19-day break.
Sutter acknowledged the impact of the long layoff: “I’m not making an excuse here, but if you had 19 days off, you wouldn’t be very good out there.”
Despite showing some rust, the Flames managed to pull out the win, though the game saw several scrums and less-than-ideal defensive play, especially in the final minutes when the teams combined for four goals.
“I think that we thought it would be a lot better, but we found a way to win,” Tkachuk said. “And that was the most important thing, getting back in the win column here. It was ugly, especially late — that’s not the type of team we are, giving up four — but we found a way. I guess that’s all that matters now.”
Former Flames captain Mark Giordano scored a goal and added two assists in his first game against Calgary, while Calle Jarnkrok contributed a goal and two assists for the Kraken. Yanni Gourde and Jared McCann also scored for Seattle, with Colin Blackwell assisting on two goals.
Giordano expressed his frustration after the Kraken suffered their seventh loss in eight games.
“At the end of the day, you can’t keep looking at silver linings,” the Kraken captain said. “It’s 32 or 31 games into the season. Up to a certain point, we’re doing the right things. We have to find ways to win games. I don’t think anyone’s overwhelmed us in this league. We have to turn it the other way where we’re finding ways to win games instead of being on the other end.”
Giordano scored at 5:48 of the first period with a slap shot from the high slot off a pass from Blackwell after Jarnkrok retrieved the puck behind the net. The Kraken captain, who was selected in the expansion draft this summer, had spent 15 years with the Flames and served as captain since 2013.
The Flames responded four minutes later when Nikita Zadorov faked out Kraken goaltender Chris Driedger and passed to Gaudreau, who scored on a one-timer to tie the game at 1-1.
Giordano continued to make an impact just nine seconds into the second period, helping to set up Jarnkrok’s goal, which gave Seattle a 2-1 lead. However, Gaudreau tied it again with his 12th season goal on a power-play rocket that hit both posts before going in.
In the third period, Gourde pushed Blackwell’s pass past Flames goalie Jacob Markstrom to tie the game at 3-3. Mangiapane and McCann traded goals late in the period before Tkachuk scored the game-winner at 17:34. Hanifin sealed the victory with an empty-net goal.
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Giordano became the 36th expansion player to score in his first game against his former team. He played 949 games for the Flames, the second-most in franchise history.
Despite the loss, Gaudreau praised his former captain: “Honestly, you know, he’s a great captain, loved playing with him here,” Gaudreau said. “I was happy for him, but at the end of the day, it’s another game, and he’s on another team.”
Game Notes
Seattle forward Jaden Schwartz is day-to-day with an upper-body injury. Kole Lind was called up from the taxi squad. … Seattle’s goal nine seconds into the second period was the fastest in team history to start a period. … Calgary recalled goalie Dustin Wolf on an emergency basis from Stockton of the AHL, with Brett Ritchie placed in COVID-19 protocol. Byron Froese assigned to the taxi squad. … Seattle defenseman Jamie Oleksiak played his 400th career game.
UP NEXT
- Flames: Calgary visits Chicago on Sunday.
- Kraken: Seattle hosts Vancouver on Saturday.
