Brodie lifts Flames over Bruins 4-3 with 2 ticks left in OT
CALGARY, Alberta (AP) - The Calgary Flames had to rely on their usual brand of late-game brilliance to beat Boston on Monday night.
This time, they waited until 4:58 of overtime to do it.
TJ Brodie scored a fluke goal with 2 seconds left in the extra period, and the Flames rallied from a three-goal deficit for a 4-3 victory over the Bruins.
"I don't know what to say anymore. Those guys never quit," Calgary coach Bob Hartley said. "We always have the feeling that we can pull out those comebacks."
From a sharp angle, Brodie sent the puck toward the front of the net where it deflected off the stick of Boston's Brad Marchand, fluttered high in the air and ended up behind goalie Tuukka Rask.
"I knew there wasn't too much time left. I was just trying to get the puck to the net. It took about three or four bounces and luckily it went in," Brodie said.
Rask tracked the puck OK but couldn't squeeze it.
"I tried to bend myself and grab it and it hit my glove, hit the top of the net, bounced back," he said.
The buzzer sounded and, after a brief period of uncertainty, video review confirmed the goal.
Calgary is tied with Tampa Bay for the most third-period goals (72) in the NHL, and the Flames' third-period goal differential (plus 34) is the best in the league.
"I think it just shows the character of the guys in the room. We want to be a team that never gives up no matter what the score is," Brodie said. "When we're down, once we get that first one, I think the confidence gets bigger with each goal."
Boston led 3-1 after 40 minutes. The victory marked the NHL-best 10th time the Flames have come back to win when trailing after two periods (10-16-1). Anaheim is second with seven.
Jiri Hudler had two goals and David Jones also scored for Calgary, which has won six of eight.
Marchand, Zdeno Chara and Torey Krug scored for the Bruins, who are 0-3-1 in their last four.
"That was obviously a very frustrating goal, but I don't think we can blame it on that," Marchand said of Brodie's winner. "We let the game go a long time before that. That just kind of ended it on a sour note."
Hudler drew the Flames within one at 3:22 of the third period when he deposited a cross-ice pass from Sean Monahan to make it 3-2.
Calgary kept on pushing and pulled even at 14:51 on the power play. With David Pastrnak in the penalty box for high-sticking, the Flames needed only 9 seconds to take advantage. Hudler deflected Mark Giordano's shot from the blue line after Monahan won a faceoff in the Boston end.
Leading 2-0 after the first period, the Bruins extended their lead in the opening minute of the second. Reilly Smith whiffed on his shot attempt but Krug, skating through the slot behind him, scooped up the puck and quickly sent a backhander over the shoulder of Karri Ramo.
The goal came on Boston's 11th shot and spelled the end of Ramo's night. He was replaced by Jonas Hiller.
The move seemed to spark Calgary, which got on the board when Jones scored as he broke in off the wing at 6:52.
"Sometimes, changing goalies is like calling a timeout," Hartley said. "You give your team a chance to change the momentum. Jonas deserves tons of credit. He came up with a few big saves and he kept the game at 3-0."
Boston struck first on Marchand's short-handed goal at 6:48, which came on a 2-on-0 with Patrice Bergeron after Brodie's errant drop pass.
The Bruins made it 2-0 at 11:27 of the first period on Chara's drive from the blue line.
Boston coach Claude Julien said he could feel the game start to slip away midway through the second.
"We started turning pucks over and started getting sloppy again," he said. "It doesn't take much for the other team to gain momentum and then we get a power play and the same thing, extremely sloppy and totally out of sync and you give the other team some confidence."
NOTES: Flames LW Johnny Gaudreau took a high-sticking double-minor late in the second period. In his 57th NHL game, it was his first career penalty. ... Boston D Matt Bartkowski played for the first time in 18 games. He took Adam McQuaid's spot. ... Boston recalled G Malcolm Subban from the AHL. ... It was the 100th meeting between the franchises. Boston leads 56-32-14. ... Calgary has given up the first goal in 10 of its last 12 games.