Trevor Lewis also scored for Calgary (6-6-2), while defenseman Rasmus Anderson chipped in with two assists. Neal Pionk and Pierre-Luc Dubois answered for Winnipeg (8-4-1), which entered the night on a 6-0-1 tear and in possession of the league’s third-longest hitting streak. Calgary’s Josh Morrissey had two assists to continue his hot start. The Jets’ leading scorer is already up to 13 assists, halfway through his career-high 26 in 2019-20. Starting for the Flames, Jacob Markstrom made 21 stops to improve to 5-3-2. Among his stops was a roller-coaster effort in the first when he slid across the crease, stacking his pads and sticking his arm out to rob Mark Scheifele. Connor Hellebuyck finished with 32 stops at the other end. His record falls to 7-3-1. The key sequence in the game came late in the second period with a 2-2 tie. Ten seconds after a holding penalty on Flames defenseman Mackenzie Weegar, Mikael Backlund stepped into a two-on-one and sent a perfect cross-ice pass to Lewis, who went from front to backhand as he cut to the top of the crease for to give Calgary. his third lead of the night. [brightcove videoID=6315487571112 playerID=JCdte3tMv height=360 width=640] With the Jets still on the power play for another 1:50, Backlund got the shot down the wing again, but this time his attempt at the goal hit the referee and with Calgary on a turnover at halftime, Winnipeg got back on the ice in what would have been a two-man breakaway, only to be called offside. But after the whistle, Anderson hit DuBois on Markstrom, sparking a melee behind the Flames’ net that resulted in a penalty on Markstrom and a two-man advantage for the visitors with 79 seconds left. But Calgary’s malicious penalty kick came to preserve the lead and ultimately the win. After giving up power-play goals in seven straight games, the Flames went a perfect 8-for-8 in the last two games, including 3-for-3 against the Jets. Trailing 2-1 after the first period, Winnipeg tied it at 4:23 by taking advantage of a lack of defensive coverage by the Flames that left Dubois wide open for a tap-in after a flawless set up by Morrissey. Calgary had taken its second lead at 17:22 of the first on a beautiful layup by Lindholm, who found Ruzicka steaming toward the net and set him up with a cross-ice pass that the Slovakian buried for his first of the season. A healthy scratch in 10 of the first 11 games, Ruzicka was playing his third straight game in place of the injured Jonathan Huberdeau (upper body) on the left side of the Flames’ No. 1 line with Lindholm and Tyler Toffoli . Ruzicka was also a central figure in Calgary’s opening goal at 3:23, firing a backhand to the front of the net from the corner that glanced off Lindholm’s stick in front and squeaked between Hellebuyck’s pads. Pionk tied the game at 1-1 at 14:46 of the first when his layup beat Flames defenseman Connor Mackey. THE FIRST GOAL A WIN The Flames scored first for the sixth straight game, but the team’s seven game winless streak is proof that it hasn’t been the recipe for success it was a year ago. Calgary entered the night with a .250 winning percentage (2-4-2) that tied them with the Ottawa Senators for last in the NHL. THE RETURN OF TANEY After missing five games with an upper-body injury, Calgary welcomed back veteran defenseman Chris Taneff. However, he did not return to his regular D pairing, instead partnering with Mackey, who returned after being a healthy scratch the past two games. Nick DeSimone and Dennis Gilbert, who started the season in the minors but have been the Flames’ third pairing the last two games, were both scratched. NEXT Jets: They return to action Sunday night when they wrap up their short weekend road trip in Seattle against the Kraken. Flames: Calgary hosts the Los Angeles Kings on Monday before returning to the road for a six-game road trip.
