win

Adam Ruzicka knows full well the incredible opportunity before him.
With Jonathan Huberdeau sidelined with an injury, the big forward has found himself slotted into the Flames lineup in his spot, skating alongside Elias Lindholm and Tyler Toffoli.
He put in a heckuva performance Saturday night - as did many of his teammates, notably Lindholm and Jacob Markstrom - as the Flames snapped a seven-game losing streak with a massive 3-2 victory over the surging Jets.

Brendan Parker recaps big win over Jets

Ruzicka had a goal and an assist, as did Lindholm, while Trevor Lewis scored the game-winner for the Flames, who are now 6-6-2.
Rasmus Andersson finished with a pair of helpers.
The red-hot Jets - who came into the game on a three-game winning streak and having collected at least a point in their last seven outings - are now 8-4-1.
The Flames outshot the Jets 35-23 but the visitors had plenty of Grade-A scoring chances and Markstrom was incredible, including making an early save-of-the-year favourite in the first period (more on that below). He was named the game's first star.
It was an entertaining and aggressive game between two big, physical teams, with the Flames outhitting the Jets 27-16.
Back to Ruzicka, Flames.com's Ryan Dittrick spoke to him following the morning skate Saturday, asking him about his thoughts on skating with Lindholm and Toffoli.
Click here to read
Chris Tanev returned to the lineup from injury, the impactful blueliner playing alongside Connor Mackey, who drew back in after being a healthy scratch the last two outings.
Not surprisingly Tanev made a huge impact in the tilt, most notably on the penalty-kill where he continued to be a shot-blocking machine.
Calgary's PK went a perfect 3-for-3 on the night, including killing off some two-man advantage time.
The Flames opened the scoring at 3:23 of the opening frame when Ruzicka threw a backhand towards the net from a tight angle out near the boards by the goalline that was tipped home by Lindholm past Connor Hellebuyck for his fifth of the season.
It was the fifth game in a row the Flames lit the lamp first.
Lindholm was so quick to get his tape on the puck - with Mark Scheifele glued to his hip - that Ruzicka was originally credited with the goal at NHL.com until they took another look.

WPG@CGY: Lindholm scores 5th of season in 1st period

Markstrom made one of the most incredible saves you'll ever see later in the first, with a backwards-lunging-windmill-reach-up-to-deflect-it-wide-with-your-glove stop to absolutely rob Scheifele.
What's more impressive than a 10-beller - maybe a 25-beller in honour of his number?

The Jets would tie it up at 5:14 after a turnover in the Calgary zone, Neal Pionk's shot from up high deflecting off Mackey and then the post and in.
The homeside retook the lead when Lindholm was able to shake Scheifele in the neutral zone which lead to a 2-on-1, Ruzicka finishing off a pass with a tap home before a lunging Hellybuyck could make it across his crease.

WPG@CGY: Ruzicka scores in 1st period

After the two teams swapped powerplay chances in the second period, Markstrom made another fabulous stop when he kicked out his left pad on an offering in tight by Mason Appleton.
The Flames went back up by one yet again with 1:29 left in the period while shorthanded, Mikael Backlund getting the puck and flipping it out of the zone and then catching up with it himself in the neutral zone, leading to a 2-on-1 where he passed to Lewis who cut across the crease to put the puck around Hellybuyck with a backhand as he jammed on the brakes for the 10th shortie of his career.

WPG@CGY: Lewis gives Flames lead in 2nd period

THEY SAID IT:

"I thought tonight, everybody was on their A-game"

"It's important to understand how hard it is to win"

"Let's build off the win tonight"

THE ORIGINAL 16 POSTGAME LIVE SHOW:

BY THE NUMBERS:

Shots: CGY 35, WPG 23
Powerplay:CGY 0-3, WPG 0-3
Hits:CGY 27, WPG 16
Face-offs: CGY 47%, WPG 53%
\Scoring chances: CGY 18, WPG 19
\
High-danger scoring chances:CGY 8, WPG 10
\According of Natural Stat Trick (5-on-5)*

HOCKEY FIGHTS CANCER NIGHT:

THE LINEUP:

The trios and D pairs to start the tilt:
Lines
Forwards
Adam Ruzicka - Elias Lindholm - Tyler Toffoli
Dillon Dube - Nazem Kadri - Blake Coleman
Andrew Mangiapane - Mikael Backlund - Trevor Lewis
Milan Lucic - Kevin Rooney - Brett Ritchie
Pairings
Noah Hanifin - Rasmus Andersson
Nikita Zadorov - MacKenzie Weegar
Connor Mackey - Chris Tanev
Goaltender
Jacob Markstrom - starter
Dan Vladar

UP NEXT:

The Flames host the Kings Monday night to finish out this quick, two-game homestand.
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