PINBALL WIZARDS

It was - let's just say - an odd one.
But, as the old saying goes, they don't ask how - just how many.
The Flames won their third straight game - and beat the Canucks for the third time this season - as they skated to a 3-1 victory in Vancouver Thursday night.

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As for that aformentioned 'how,' two of their goals came just one second after two different powerplays expired - both deflections off Vancouver players - and their third goal just after a penalty to them ended.
It was a game where the Flames were outshot early, but never gave up and battled hard for the win.
And the all-important two points that come with.
Jacob Markstrom was, well, Jacob Markstrom, putting in another stellar performance to earn the first star nod with 33 saves.
The Canucks came into the tilt having lost five straight. They'd also played 16 games so far this campaign - the most in the league.
Their coach had talked about a lack of practice so far this season having hurt them, unable to address some of the defencies in their play due to the quick turnover on games.
The Flames looked to jump on them early and take advantage of that fatigue but it was the Canucks who got a break when Rasmus Andersson was whistled for tripping Tanner Pearson just 40 seconds in.
They didn't score but rode that to a 7-2 advantage in shots by the midway point of the frame.
The Flames had opportunities, but struggled to get the puck on net. When they did, Thatcher Demko was up to the challenge: notably on a wraparound attempt by Sam Bennett and then a shot by a trailing Nikita Nesterov on a 3-on-1.
The Flames opened the scoring right after their first powerplay of the game expired. The Canucks did an excellent job clogging up the shooting lanes and pressuring the Calgary forwards for much of the advantage.
But, just as the penalty box door opened to let Justin Bailey back on the ice, Mark Giordano's wrister from the point went off the skate of Jordie Benn - who had been battling with Matthew Tkachuk in the slot - and changed direction to beat Demko.
It was the captain's second of the season, Sean Monahan and Elias Lindholm getting the assists.

Meanwhile, Markstrom made 14 saves in the opening frame, a few of them Grade-A chances - including one by Nils Hoglander on an early 2-on-1.
The Canucks started the second period with a 5-0 run on shots - the last one the tying goal.
Elias Pettersson banked a pass off the boards to spring Brock Boeser on a breakway, Markstrom making the first stop but losing the puck at his feet and Boeser poking it home for his 10th of the year at 6:31.
Monahan had the Flames first good chance of the middle stanza, sent in alone but denied on his five-hole attempt.
Adam Gaudette got a similar chance minutes later, but Markstrom flashed the leather to make the save.
In one of those bizarre Deja Vu moments, the Flames made it 2-1 when they scored just one second - again - after their second powerplay of the game ended.
This time it was Andrew Mangiapane who unloaded a shot that hit Benn - again - and then went off Nate Schmidt into a wide open net. Giordano and Juuso Valimaki got the helpers.

Some prolonged pressure by the Canucks in the Flames zone led to Valimaki being whistled for a hook.
Boeser tipped a shot by J.T. Miller that beat Markstrom but loudly clanged off the iron and out of harm's way.
The Flames made it a two-goal lead moments after a penalty to Monahan expired, the centre stepping out of the box and getting the puck on a bad Vancouver change and feeding linemate Johnny Gaudreau on a partial breakaway that he made good on.

THEY SAID IT:

Giordano on those two goals right after powerplays:
"I feel like when you're on the wrong end of those, they're deflating. I thought we did a good job. I thought, if I remember correctly, we were struggling to get in the zone on our first one. ... Same thing on the (next) one. But towards the end of a powerplay, you're going to try and put pucks on net; you're trying to be smart and not turn it over. I thought we got rewarded for shooting the puck."
Markstrom on the win - and beating old team:
"You want to win and I want to help my team win and they want to win on the other side as well. We haven't had the start we wanted results-wise, but we're fighting back and we want to climb up the positioning in the divison here. You've got to go on a little run and right now, we're in a good place, points-wise. We've got to keep going and get better every day."

Monahan on his goalie:
"He was great. He battled for us all night, he kept us in there at times and made some big saves. When your goalie is doing that, it gives you some jump and gives you a really good chacnes to win games."
On Gaudreau's goal:
"You never want to take a penalty at that time in the game. Gio was out there blocking shots, paying the price, and our PK was real good. It was a big kill, opportunistic there; Johnny, with his speed, it was a great goal."
Head coach Geoff Ward on first two goals:
"It's a good thing. You need to be direct. When you get pucks to the netfront, good things happen, so that's what we need to take from that. ... They're really powerplay goals, even if they're not going to count as powerplay goals. It reinforces the fact that you need to get the puck to the netfront and get some bodies there. When you do that, good things happen.
"You saw what happened with the six own-goals we had early in the season, and tonight, with being direct, we get the breaks ourselves. Shoot the puck and get to the net."

THE LINEUP:

\ To start the game
Lines:
Johnny Gaudreau - Sean Monahan - Sam Bennett
Matthew Tkachuk - Elias Lindholm - Dillon Dube
Milan Lucic - Mikael Backlund - Andrew Mangiapane
Joakim Nordstrom - Byron Froese - Josh Leivo
D-Pairings:
Mark Giordano - Rasmus Andersson
Noah Hanifin - Chris Tanev
Juuso Valimaki - Nikita Nesterov
Goaltender:
Jacob Markstrom - starter*
David Rittich

UP NEXT:

This is the first of four games against the Canucks - the first three on the West Coast, before a series ender at the Scotiabank Saddledome on Feb. 15. The second tilt in Vancouver goes this Saturday in a Hockey Night In Canada matchup at 8 p.m.