Matthew Tkachuk scored the go-ahead goal with 2:26 remaining and contributed two assists as the Calgary Flames secured a 6-4 victory over the Seattle Kraken on Thursday night, marking their first game in nearly three weeks.
Johnny Gaudreau added two goals and assisted on Tkachuk’s game-winner, helping the Flames achieve their first victory since Dec. 3. Milan Lucic, Andrew Mangiapane, and Noah Hanifin also scored for Calgary, which handed Seattle its fourth consecutive loss and second in two 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’ first game since Dec. 11 due to a COVID-19 outbreak saw 20 team members, including coach Darryl Sutter, among the 33 Calgary personnel testing positive for the virus during the club’s 19-day break.
The extended layoff showed its impact, with Sutter acknowledging, “I’m not making an excuse here, but if you had 19 days off, you wouldn’t be very good out there.”
The Flames managed to pull through despite some rust and a few scrums interrupting play. Goaltender Jacob Markstrom faced a challenging game as the teams combined for four goals in the final four minutes.
“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, and Calle Jarnkrok had a goal and two assists for the Kraken. Yanni Gourde and Jared McCann also scored for Seattle, with Colin Blackwell contributing two assists.
Despite the individual successes, Giordano expressed disappointment after the Kraken lost for the seventh time in eight games.
“At the end of the day, you can’t keep looking at silver linings,” Giordano 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 opened the scoring at 5:48 with a slap shot from the high slot off a pass from Blackwell after Jarnkrok chased the puck behind the net. The Kraken captain, selected in the expansion draft this summer, played 15 years for the Flames, serving as captain since 2013.
The Flames responded four minutes later when Nikita Zadorov drew Kraken goaltender Chris Driedger out of the net with a fake, then passed to Gaudreau in the right faceoff circle for a one-timer to tie it at 1.
Giordano struck again nine seconds into the second period when he gathered in the opening faceoff, skated deep into Calgary’s end, and found McCann in the slot. McCann misfired, but Jarnkrok put the rebound past Markstrom for a 2-1 lead.
Gaudreau tied it at 2 with his 12th goal of the season, a power-play rocket that beat Driedger’s glove side, bounced off the right post, then ricocheted off the left and into the net.
Gourde chased Blackwell’s pass to the crease and pushed it past Markstrom to tie it at 3 with 4:39 gone in the third.
Mangiapane and McCann exchanged goals late in the period before Tkachuk’s game-winner at 17:34. Hanifin, who also had an assist, added an empty-netter.
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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, which is second-most in team history.
His former teammates gave him begrudging love for the performance.
“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 added to the lineup from the taxi squad. Seattle’s goal nine seconds into the second was the team’s quickest to start a period. Calgary recalled G Dustin Wolf, who used to play in nearby Everett, on an emergency basis from Stockton of the AHL. The team placed forward Brett Ritchie in COVID-19 protocol and assigned C Byron Froese to the taxi squad. Seattle D Jamie Oleksiak appeared in his 400th career game.
UP NEXT
- Flames: Calgary is at Chicago on Sunday.
- Kraken: Seattle hosts Vancouver on Saturday.
