CALGARY, Alberta – – Matthew Tkachuk had a goal in two assists that led the Calgary Flames to a 6-3 victory over the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday night.
Dillon Dube had the goal and an assistant, and Brett Ritchie, Andrew Mangiapane, Milan Lucic and Johnny Gaudreau also scored for the Flames, who won three of four. Jacob Markstrom made 30 saves.
Calgary bought Seattle’s Calle Jarnkrok earlier in the day, which intensified competition for playing time. And the Flames’ depths went up with a big night – led by Dube – as each member of the fourth line shot.
“It’s competition, very clear. He’s a player who can play anywhere in your top nine,” Flames coach Darryl Sutter told Jarnkrok. “Other than a line, we’ve been moving year after year because no one has grabbed enough. There’s more competition. It’s not, ‘I’m up and running across the boards.’ It’s about performance. “
Dube, who hit nine goals without a goal, would like to see the potential payout for a player like Jarnkrok.
“It makes our lineup a lot deeper, so it just helps us,” Dube said. “The investment shows us what we are paying for, so it’s great to be a really good player.”
Dawson Mercer, PK Subban and Yegor Sharangovich scored for the Devils, who lost three of four.
Nico Daws allowed four goals on 19 shots before being substituted in the middle of the second period by Jon Gillies, who made 19 saves.
“I know a lot of those players out there and they are top players in the NHL,” said Gillies, a 2012 Flames Draft pick. “The unfortunate part of it is that you can do a lot of good things, but when breakdowns happen, they usually put it in the back of the net and that’s what happened.”
With the match tied at 2, the Flames scored three goals in the second period in a span of 3:29.
Dube put the Flames 3-2 at 7:04 on Tkachuk’s pass. Then Tkachuk scored his own goal, chasing the Daws.
Lucic made it 5-2 at 10:33 as he denied Rasmus Andersson’s central pass for his first goal in 24 games.
Sharangovich cut the Devils deficit at 3:51 from the third as his shot went past Markstrom’s gloves.
Gaudreau shot in an empty net with 2:30 left to seal the Flames.
Ritchie put Calgary ahead 1-0 in the middle of the first period. It was his first goal of the season – and first point. It also came on a night where he was originally supposed to be a shock for the fifth time in the last six games. But he was brought back into the lineup when rookie Adam Ruzicka was sent to Stockton by the AHL.
Mercer equalized with 16:21 for New Jersey, but Mangiapane brought the Flames back just over two minutes later with his 30th goal of the season.
Subban tied it for New Jersey 5:01 in the second period – before Calgary’s goal break.
OP Next
Devils: In Edmonton Saturday.
Flames: Host the Buffalo Sabers Friday night.
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