Hudler scores late in regulation and in shootout as Flames beat Devils

CALGARY - Jiri Hudler scored the goal that sparked the comeback then scored the game-deciding goal in the shootout as the Calgary Flames staged a late rally to win 5-4 over the New Jersey Devils Saturday night.

Down 4-2, Flames coach Bob Hartley aggressively pulled goaltender Karri Ramo with just under four minutes remaining in the game. It worked, as Calgary (13-7-2) pulled to within one when Hudler scored from the side of the net with 2:22 left.

Ramo returned to the net briefly before heading to the bench again and, while it took until the very end, Curtis Glencross ended up with the puck in the slot and scored his second of the game with just five seconds to go.

In the shootout, both teams scored once in the first three shooters, setting the stage for Hudler, who whipped a shot past Devils (9-9-3) goalie Scott Clemmensen to put Calgary ahead. Ramo clinched the improbable victory by stopping Travis Zajac.

Josh Jooris also scored for Calgary, who finished 4-1 on a five-game homestand. They also keep alive an impressive streak of 8-0-1 in the game following a loss.

Adam Henrique, Mike Cammalleri, Travis Zajac and Tuomo Ruuto scored for New Jersey Devils. The Devils are 1-1-1 on their four-game road trip which wraps up Tuesday in Vancouver.

The Flames are 5-6-0 when trailing after two periods. The five victories leads the NHL and is one more than they had all of last season.

Down 3-1 entering the third, the Flames got back to within a goal at 3-2 at 2:26 on a power-play goal by Jooris, the fifth of the year for the 24-year-old rookie.

However, the Devils restored their two-goal cushion at 10:26.

Ruutu's burst into the Flames end and while Ramo got a piece of Ruutu's original shot that rattled off the end boards, the puck came right back out in front and Ruutu calmly flipped the puck over Ramo, who was sprawled on the ice.

The Devils took a 3-1 lead with eight seconds left in the second period. Henrique's shot hit the crossbar, hit Ramo in the leg and bounced out to Zajac, who buried his fourth of the season.

It was Henrique that opened the scoring 4:51 into the first period, scoring his sixth of the season on a pretty set-up from Patrick Elias, who faked carrying the puck behind the net, instead sending a backwards pass to Henrique, who put a perfect shot inside the far goal post.

Falling behind 2-0 early in the game has become a pattern recently for the Flames. It happened for the third time in a row Saturday when Cammalleri was left wide open and he one-timed Jaromir Jagr's pass past Ramo at 13:46 of the first.

Calgary cut into that deficit at 10:18 of the second when Glencross corralled a loose puck in the slot, spun and whipped a shot past Scott Clemmensen for his third of the year.

Clemmensen made his first start of the year after Cory Schneider started each of New Jersey's first 20 games. The 37-year-old longtime back-up finished the night with 33 stops.

Ramo had 25 stops for Calgary. He improves to 4-2-1 on the season.

Notes: Ferland's assist was his first NHL point... Flames LW Brandon Bollig was a healthy scratch for the second time in the past five games... Corban Knight made his season debut for the Flames. Called up from Adirondack (AHL) on Friday, he has played seven NHL games last year... Calgary RW Devin Setoguchi has gone 26 games without a goal, a streak that dates back to last year with Winnipeg. The summer free agent signing has no points in 12 games this season for Calgary.... The Flames have only held the lead after the first period three times. They're 3-0-0 in those games.