BC Product Johnny Gaudreau Lifts Flames Over Bruins In Overtime
CALGARY, Alberta -- Johnny Hockey lived up to his nickname on Friday with a big-game performance.
Calgary Flames' elusive sophomore left winger Johnny Gaudreau recorded his second NHL hat-trick Friday to finish off a crazy night at Scotiabank Saddledome. His goal at 1:40 left in overtime gave Calgary a 5-4 win over the Boston Bruins, giving Calgary six straight home wins.
Gaudreau beat Boston goalie Tuukka Rask with a deke after he took a pass from defenseman Dougie Hamilton while trailing on a three-on-one rush.
"When he took the pass I knew it was in," Flames coach Bob Hartley said. "He's so clutch. He makes big plays and big goals. He's an unbelievable player."
The end of the game was unbelievable too.
Flames left winger Jiri Hudler tied the game during a scramble with 1.2 seconds remaining in regulation. Center Brad Marchand scored on a deke on a penalty shot with 1:06 remaining to give the Bruins a 4-3 lead.
Gaudreau has a nine-game home point streak going and leads the Flames with nine goals and 26 points. He has established himself as one of the league's most dangerous offensive threats.
"Last year, I was fortunate enough to get a hat trick but it was in a different arena and I was fortunate to get one tonight," he said.
"It's exciting to see the hats thrown on the ice, whether it's your own hat trick or someone else's hat trick. It was a great team win."
Hamilton knocked Marchand's stick out of his hand while the Bruins pest was breaking in alone on Flames goaltender Karri Ramo during a penalty kill, which drew a penalty shot.
"For it to have ended on that one play would've been a shame, so it was nice to get it into overtime and I thought in overtime, out of the two teams, we had the better chances and deserved that one," said Flames defenseman Mark Giordano.
Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara had taken a delay of game penalty with 2:17 remaining in the third period when his clearing attempt was deemed to have gone over the glass.
"It was a bit of a wild one, it was entertaining to watch, but it was definitely a disappointing loss," said Marchand.
"The whole game was fun. Those are the games I think we all enjoy being a part of. They are exciting to watch and they are exciting to play in but they are a lot more fun if you win."
The Bruins (13-9-3) had the league's fourth-best road record heading into their trip to Western Canada but have dropped back-to-back games in Alberta after losing 3-2 in a shootout in Edmonton on Wednesday.
The Bruins didn't want to get into a track meet, Chara said, but they had no choice.
"Sometimes you have to do that when you see that the other team is doing a lot of odd-man rushes," he said.
"That creates a lot of openings for you to do the same thing. It was obviously a game with a lot of chances and it came down to the last few seconds and they were able to score on a broken play."
Giordano got the Flames other goal.
In addition to Chara's goal, Marchand tallied two goals and left winger Matt Beleskey the other for the Bruins.
Gaudreau's second goal early in the second chased Bruins starting goaltender Jonas Gustafvsson, who surrendered three goals on 11 shots. Rask made 24 saves in relief.
Ramo made 34 saves for the Flames.
NOTES: Boston's injured list includes C Chris Kelly (leg), D Kevan Miller (concussion) and RW David Pasternak (foot). Healthy scratches Friday were D Joe Morrow and C Zac Rinaldo. ... Out with injuries for Calgary were C Lance Bouma (broken leg) and D Kris Russell (upper body). Scratches were LW Mason Raymond, LW Brandon Bollig and RW Josh Jooris. ... Russell was hurt in a victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Nov. 20 and played the past four games but hasn't practiced all this week. He leads the league again this season with 83 blocks shots through 25 games after setting an NHL record in 2014-15 with 283 in 79 contests. ... Bruins LW Brad Marchand is set to play in his 400th NHL game in Vancouver on Saturday, making him eligible for a $250,000 payment when he reaches the age of 55 in addition to a pension. "Someone said to me that you're a real NHLer when you've played 400 games. A nice milestone to hit," Marchand said Friday morning.
