National Hockey League
Calgary 5, Vancouver 2
When: 10:00 PM ET, Saturday, October 14, 2017
Where: Rogers Arena, Vancouver, British Columbia
Referees: Trevor Hanson, Ian Walsh
Linesmen: Ryan Gibbons, Vaughan Rody
Attendance: 17074

VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- The Calgary Flames played with fire, but got away without getting burned.

The Flames were forced to kill seven penalties but still managed to defeat the Vancouver Canucks 5-2 on Saturday night.

"Our penalty killers, they did a good job, but yes, we got lucky," Calgary coach Glen Gulutzan said. "You can't do that. We're dodging bullets here and we've got to get that cleaned up."

Defenseman Dougie Hamilton scored two goals for the Flames, who rebounded from a 6-0 loss to the Ottawa Senators on Friday night.

Johnny Gaudreau (power play), and defensemen Mark Giordano (short-handed) and Travis Hamonic also scored for the Flames (4-2-0). Jaromir Jagr had an assist for his first point since signing with the Flames as a free agent Oct. 4.

Jagr was more focused on what the Flames did than collecting the 1,915th point of his career.

"I don't want to talk about myself," said Jagr, who has 1,150 assists. "Let's talk about the team.

"We talked before the game about being more disciplined, cut the penalties down. It really didn't happen in the first period. After that it was OK. We kind of survived."

Giordano, who scored the 100th goal of his career on a three-on-one breakaway in the first period, said the Flames grew stronger with each penalty they killed.

"It gives us a lot of momentum, and then looking at their team, it probably frustrates their top guys a little bit," he said. "I know when we're on the power play and we don't generate anything it's frustrating. We definitely got momentum."

Giordano was impressed with Jagr.

"He was all around, making plays and getting a lot of looks," he said. "He has so many (points) I'm sure it's not as big a deal for him but it's pretty cool for us to see him chip in."

Calgary goaltender Mike Smith finished the night making 27 saves. He was pulled with 12:22 left in Friday's game after allowing five goals on 22 shots.

"Any time you don't play well I think you want to get back in there as soon as possible," he said. "I thought it was a good one to get back into and hopefully get a win and we were able to do that and it feels good."

Gulutzan didn't hesitate to give Smith his sixth consecutive start of the season.

"Sometimes you've got to go with how your goalie is feeling and his work load," he said. "We just think we've been getting outstanding goaltending."

Derek Dorsett and Brock Boeser scored for the Canucks (1-2-1) who managed only three of a possible eight points during a four-game, season-opening homestand.

"We haven't played bad at all," Vancouver's Daniel Sedin said. "We could have had a few more points. We have to stick with it and stay positive and believe this is how we have to play successful.

"We are creating a lot. We had enough chances to score a few tonight. If we do, it's a different game. That's the way it is sometimes."

The Canucks failed to score on seven power-play chances and managed just three shots with the man-advantage. The Canucks were 0-5 on the power play in the first period, including 1:11 of a two-man advantage when they failed to muster a shot.

"You want to score," Dorsett said. "It's frustrating when the pucks aren't going in.

"You really have to worry when you aren't getting those chances. We got some bad bounces. Right now, we are getting chances, we just have to find a way to finish them."

Coach Travis Green agreed the Canucks missed a chance to take over the game in the first period.

"Obviously you get five power plays against a team that played last night, we need to get a goal," he said. "They got some momentum off their penalty kills. Give them credit, they played a good game."

Sedin said it's too early in the year for the Canucks to panic.

"We have to stick with it and get better," he said. "Once you get down on yourself, and start doubting yourself, that's when you are in trouble."

NOTES: With D Alex Edler out up to six weeks with a sprained MCL, D Derrick Pouilot dressed for his first game as a Canuck since being obtained in a Oct. 3 trade from Pittsburgh. ... RW Jake Virtanen, who has no points in three games, was a healthy scratch along with D Alex Biega. ... C Sam Gagner played his 700th NHL game while C Brandon Sutter played his 600th. ... C Freddie Hamilton dressed for his first game of the season for Calgary. ... D Brett Kulak and C Matt Stajan were healthy scratches. ... LW Michael Ferland missed the game with a lower-body injury. ... The Flames will play 10 back-to-back games this season.
Top Game Performances
 
Calgary   Vancouver
Johnny Gaudreau 2 Points Brock Boeser 1
Johnny Gaudreau 1 Goals Brock Boeser 1
Johnny Gaudreau 1 Assists Sven Baertschi 1
Johnny Gaudreau 1 Power Play Goals N/A
Mark Giordano 1 Short Handed Goals N/A
Mike Smith .931 Save Percentage Jacob Markstrom .815
Mike Smith 27 Saves Jacob Markstrom 22
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Calgary 27 5 1-5 7-7 18 26
Vancouver 29 2 0-7 4-5 14 34
Upcoming Games
  • Vancouver will play their next game on the road against Ottawa. The Canucks have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .000 after a loss.
  • Calgary will play their next game at home against Carolina. The Flames have a W/L % of .500 after a win and 1.000 after a loss.