Dillon Dube scored short-handed and had two assists for the Calgary Flames in a 6-2 win over the visiting Florida Panthers on Tuesday.
Rasmus Andersson, Jonathan Huberdeau, Tyler Toffoli and Andrew Mangiapane each had a goal and an assist, and Brett Ritchie also scored for the Flames (10-9-3), who are 5-4 in their last 10 games. 1 improved.
Calgary goalie Dan Vladar made 30 saves for the win.
Nick Cousins and Sam Reinhart countered for the Panthers (10-9-4), who dropped to 3-4-3 in their last 10. Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 17 of 23 shots in the loss.
Tuesday’s game marked the return of Matthew Tkachuk, a Calgary Flame for his first six NHL seasons, to the Saddledome following his summer trade to the Florida Panthers.
Florida Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk, left, gets a shot by Calgary Flames goaltender Dan Vladar during first period NHL hockey action in Calgary, Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2022.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
Tkachuk, 24, was a restricted free agent who told the Flames he would not sign long-term with the team.
He was booed whenever he touched the puck on Tuesday, but the wing also received a partial standing ovation during a video tribute to him early in the first period.
READ MORE: Matthew Tkachuk returns to Alberta as a Florida Panther
The Flames got Huberdeau, defenseman MacKenzie Weegar, prospect Cole Schwindt and a conditional draft pick from Florida for Tkachuk.
After scoring three unanswered goals in the opening period, the host Flames led 4-2 heading into the third.
Mangiapane and Dube combined on a second goal on an odd rush with Mangiapane finishing it off at 18:54.
Bobrovsky stopped Huberdeau on a breakaway with just under five minutes to play, but Huberdeau collected the loose puck to feed Toffoli for a one-timer off the hash marks at 15:22.
Both goals gave up soft goals in the second period. Reinhart’s low rush shot from the top of the faceoff circle beat Vladar’s outstretched glove at 16:55.
Ritchie’s sharp-angle shot on a rebound tied an out-of-position Bobrovsky at 15:29.
Trailing 3-0, the Panthers struck early in the second when Cousins redirected Gustav Forsling’s pass at 9:54.
Andersson scored Calgary’s third goal at 13:03 of the opening period. When Bobrovsky gave up a long rebound, the Flames defenseman got inside position on Florida’s Aleksi Heponiemi to get a shot away.
Huberdeau got on his stick on a rebound during a goalmouth scramble. The puck deflected off legs and sticks and found its way into the net for a power play goal at 9:21.
Dube’s backhand forward beat Bobrovsky on a two-on-one with Mangiapane for the shorthanded goal at 3:05.
More to come…
© 2022 The Canadian Press