Flames Come Back Twice to Beat Hurricanes 3-2 on Sharangovich's Late Goal
Calgary erased a 1-0 deficit and then a second tie in a wild final two minutes of the second period, taking its first home win of the season against the reigning champions.
Calgary beat the defending Stanley Cup champions 3-2 at the Scotiabank Saddledome on Sunday night, answering a Carolina goal and then a tying goal with a pair of its own in the closing minutes of the second period. Yegor Sharangovich's one-timer with less than five minutes left in the third period was the winner.
It was the Flames' first home win of the season, according to the Calgary Citizen.
How it was decided
The first period was scoreless. Yahoo Sports reports Jesperi Kotkaniemi put Carolina ahead early in the second, at 6:09. Calgary did not level until late in the period: Matvei Gridin scored his first goal of the season at 18:30, and Morgan Frost put the Flames in front on the power play at 19:39. Carolina did not stay behind for long. Yahoo Sports puts Jalen Chatfield's tying goal 17 seconds after Frost's, so the teams went to the intermission at 2-2.
Sharangovich settled it at 15:32 of the third, scoring on a one-timer into the top corner, per the Citizen and Yahoo Sports.
FlamesNation singled out the stretch just before Gridin's goal, when Calgary spent close to three minutes pinned in its own end and survived, as the moment the game turned.
The goaltending
Devin Cooley made 34 saves on 36 shots and was named first star. Yahoo Sports notes he stopped 14 shots in the first period alone, when Calgary was under most of the pressure. Sofascore lists Carolina's Brandon Bussi at 31 saves on 34 shots. The Flames went 1-for-4 on the power play, with Frost's goal the one conversion; Carolina went 0-for-2, according to Sofascore. Calgary also blocked 16 shots, Yahoo Sports reports.
FlamesNation's numbers say the underlying play was close: Carolina out-shot Calgary by two, and expected goals came out at 3.79 to 3.53 in Carolina's favour.
What it means
The result matters more to Calgary than the standings suggest. Per the Citizen, the Flames came into the night allowing the most goals per game in the NHL (4.63) and ranking 30th of 32 teams in goals scored per game (2.13). Their first win of the season had come on Oct. 13, a 4-2 victory over Anaheim. Beating the reigning champion on home ice, with a goalie who steadied the early going, is the kind of result a team still looking for its footing can build on.
For Carolina, it was a one-goal loss that turned on a late goal against, after the team had twice pulled level. FlamesNation also notes it was the Hurricanes' last scheduled visit to the Saddledome.
Calgary hosts the Minnesota Wild on Thursday, Oct. 22, at 7 p.m., the second game of a four-game homestand.