Jonathan Huberdeau and Nazem Kadri each scored two goals as the host Calgary Flames topped the Philadelphia Flyers 6-3 on Saturday evening.
Huberdeau added two assists to complete a four-point night in support of Dustin Wolf (37 saves). MacKenzie Weegar notched a goal and an assist, while Mikael Backlund also scored for Calgary.
Travis Konecny scored twice and Ivan Fedotov registered 26 saves for Philadelphia, which was playing the second half of a season-opening back-to-back set. The Flyers edged the Vancouver Canucks 3-2 in a shootout on Friday to open their campaign.
The Flames opened the scoring just over 5 1/2 minutes into the game. Martin Pospisil centered the puck, which ricocheted off Huberdeau’s shoulder and went past an unsuspecting Fedotov.
Weegar made it 2-0 about two minutes later. With Calgary skating four-on-three, the talented defenseman took a one-timer from the high slot and drilled it past Fedotov, who was slow to cover the left post.
Konecny sliced the deficit in half 7:05 into the second period with a nifty give-and-go goal, as Scott Laughton found him for a short-handed tally. However, Kadri scored from the slot on a five-on-three advantage shortly thereafter to restore the Flames’ two-goal lead.
Joel Farabee’s goal late in the second period brought Philadelphia within 3-2, which held as the score until late in the third period.
Backlund made it 4-2 with 5:14 remaining in the contest when Blake Coleman found him on a two-on-one rush for his first goal of the campaign. Less than a minute later, Huberdeau’s second goal of the night pushed the Flames’ advantage to 5-2.
Konecny’s power-play goal with 2:49 left gave the visitors a fighting chance until Kadri’s empty-netter sealed the outcome.
The Flames paid tribute to Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau, who were killed by a suspected drunk driver on Aug. 29. Johnny Gaudreau played for Calgary for the first nine seasons of his career before spending his final two seasons with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
–Field Level Media
