Flames use 4-goal second period to top Maple Leafs 5-2
CALGARY, Alberta (AP) - Led by Noah Hanifin's goal and assist, the Calgary Flames scored four times in the second period Thursday night for a 5-2 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs that extended their winning streak to five games.
Andrew Mangiapane, Oliver Kylington, Elias Lindholm and Rasmus Andersson also scored for the Flames (25-13-6), who are heating up on home ice in particular. They've won five consecutive games at the Scotiabank Saddledome, outscoring the opposition 24-4.
Calgary, which has played the fewest home games in the NHL, has five remaining on a seven-game homestand.
'œWe've got to build up the swagger and I think this was a good start,'ť Andersson said. 'œA few other guys have talked about this being a real tough place to come play and that's what we've just got to keep doing for teams that come in, and make it a really tough and long night for the opponents.'ť
Rasmus Sandin and Michael Bunting scored for Toronto (30-11-3), which had won six straight. The Maple Leafs opened a three-game road trip.
Mitch Marner had his eight-game goal and point streaks snapped. He had piled up 19 points during that span (10 goals, nine assists).
"Obviously, we've been doing a lot of good things. We've been winning a lot of hockey games,'ť Toronto captain John Tavares said. 'œThese are the games and the opportunities and challenges that we have to really embrace and have to have growth and push through and find a way.'ť
Jacob Markstrom made his 11th straight start in net for Calgary. Coming off a 6-0 shutout of Vegas on Wednesday, he was excellent once again in making 46 stops to improve to 19-10-5.
One of Markstrom's 18 saves in a scoreless first period was a superb pad stop on Marner after he was set up neatly at the top of the crease on a centering pass from Morgan Rielly.
All-Star Jack Campbell, making his first start since Feb. 1, was credited with 21 stops for the Maple Leafs. His record fell to 21-7-3.
'œIt's a long year. There's going to be games like this, games we feel good and disappointed with the result,'ť Campbell said. 'œBut you learn from it and be ready to go the next game, so that's what we're going to do.'ť
Three defensemen scored for Calgary, which broke the game open with three goals in less than three minutes during the second period.
'œOnce we get the first one, it felt like we're rolling and we're rolling and we're rolling,'ť Andersson said. 'œThey take a timeout after the third one and we go out and score the fourth one and then the fifth one.'ť
Auston Matthews had an assist for Toronto, extending his point streak to six games (six goals, seven assists).
NOTES: Toronto's top-ranked power play went 0 for 3. The Flames were 1 for 5. ... Flames RW Brett Ritchie has yet to pick up a point in 23 games. ... The Maple Leafs dressed only 11 forwards because Wayne Simmonds was back in Toronto for personal reasons. Toronto then went down to 10 forwards when Ondrej Kase was leveled by a heavy, open-ice hit from 6-foot-6 defenseman Nikita Zadorov, who caught him with a shoulder and sent Kase and his helmet flying. Kase remained down briefly before leaving the ice on his own, but he went straight to the dressing room and did not return. No penalty was called on the play. 'œIt's a violent hit. Puck is gone. I think any time you see a guy get hit in the head, helmet flying, all that kind of stuff, in my opinion it should be an automatic,'ť Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said. 'œTrying to get those hits out of the game that injure players like that. Those things happen in a game, unfortunately. I thought there should've been a call. Ref saw it differently.'ť
UP NEXT
Maple Leafs: Play at Vancouver on Saturday.
Flames: Host the New York Islanders on Saturday.
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