Two quick second-period goals bury Hawks

The Calgary Flames treated Friday's game against the Blackhawks as one they had to win.

The Hawks treated it as just another game against Calgary in November.

Starting the night in 14th place in the Western Conference, the Flames took advantage of a sloppy night defensively by the first-place Hawks to post a 5-2 win at the Saddledome.

Two nights after basking in the glow of their impressive win at Vancouver, the Hawks had Jonathan Toews going but little else as their four-game winning streak came to an end.

The defense made one mistake after another and Corey Crawford wasn't at his best in goal. Duncan Keith was minus-4 and Steve Montador minus-2.

“I don't know, maybe we thought we were better than we were going into today's game, or looking for an easy game,” Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said.

It was 1-1 after the first period with Lee Stempniak and Viktor Stalberg trading goals. Stempniak's goal came after he walked around Keith.

The Flames got 2 goals 17 seconds apart in the first minute of the second period from Rene Bourque and Paul Byron to turn the tide.

Bourque's goal was a bad one, coming on a wrist shot from the left circle that Crawford couldn't handle with his glove.

“We were fortunate to be in it 1-1 after one, but the start of the second was not good,” Quenneville said. “I think all 5 goals we were very generous on our end of it. All our goals were defendable and could have been handled better, all 5 of them.

“You don't want to start any period like that, with 2 goals. A lot of times that's the difference in the game.”

Hossa's power-play score at 5:03 of the second period had the Hawks back in the game, but a turnover by Niklas Hjalmarsson led to Curtis Glencross scoring at 13:04 to restore Calgary's 2-goal lead.

The Flames had only 19 shots through two periods and scored four times.

“I thought we were very solid tonight,” Flames coach Brent Sutter said. “Our determination, our focus, everything you need to be successful, we had it.”

Newly recalled Ben Smith skated at right wing on the third line with Dave Bolland and Bryan Bickell, replacing the injured Michael Frolik.

But it wasn't a great return for Smith, who was minus-2 in just nine minutes.

“Benny is useful in a lot of ways,” Quenneville said before the game. “He can play all three (forward) positions, whether in a checking role of offensive role. During the course of a game he can move up and play with top guys.”

Smith, who was sidelined in the preseason by a concussion, earned his way back to the Hawks with nine strong games at Rockford.

“It's exciting playing wherever in this team, wherever you can fit in,” Smith said.

The Hawks played without Brent Seabrook and missed him greatly.

Seabrook sat out his second straight game with a leg injury and likely won't be available on Saturday at Edmonton, according to Quenneville.