Tkachuk's goal in third period lifts Flames past Wild

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Matthew Tkachuk scored in the third period, and David Rittich made 34 saves for the Calgary Flames in a 2-1 win against the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center on Saturday.

Tkachuk scored to make it 2-1 at 8:45. James Neal's pass to the slot deflected off Wild defenseman Nick Seeler's leg, and Tkachuk got the loose puck in the right circle and scored blocker side.
"That was a big win," Tkachuk said. "That's a pretty tough team over there, especially at home. We've played them two games this year and it's been 2-1 and 2-0, so they don't give up a ton and neither do we.
"You had to fight for your chances, and we just got the better of them there late in the third, but it was a pretty even game if you ask me."
WATCH: [All Flames vs. Wild highlights]
Mark Giordano scored a shorthanded goal for Calgary (21-10-2), which has won seven of its past eight games.
Jordan Greenway scored, and Devan Dubnyk made 24 saves for Minnesota (17-13-2), which is 3-6-0 in its past nine games.
"It [stinks]. I think these are games you want to win," Dubnyk said. "They obviously feel a lot better when you do, especially the way guys worked and battled. You just see everybody sticking up for each other. Guys are working, getting more ice time than they're used to. Everybody's stepping up, so those obviously feel really good when you win. It [stinks] it didn't go that way."

Giordano scored to make it 1-0 at 12:03 of the first period, off a pass from Mark Jankowski on a 2-on-1. Giordano is the first defenseman in Flames history to score a shorthanded goal in consecutive games, and the first to do so in the NHL since Ryan McDonagh (March 5-7, 2014 for the New York Rangers).
"I was just trying to read [the play]," Giordano said. "I don't know who their [defenseman] was who was with me, but I could tell he was a little bit gassed. … Just a split-second decision. I felt like I could beat him up the ice."
Greenway tied it 1-1 at 3:30 of the second period. He skated around the net and into the right circle before turning and scoring short side into the top shelf.
Rittich preserved the lead with a save on Ryan Suter (at 18:38) and Eric Staal (at 19:02) during a 6-on-4 late in the third period.

They said it

"We've got to believe that we play any way, win any way. If we need goals, we can get them, but more nights than not we want to play tight checking defensively and create our offense that way. We know we can do it. We have the firepower in here to score goals, and I thought we battled tonight. It was a battle. They're a good team, they're good at putting pucks to the net. It was a good win."-- Flames captain Mark Giordano
"I thought we played pretty well. It was a good hockey game. It was just who was going to get the better opportunity in the third period, and once they did, they played pretty well defensively. [David Rittich] made a great save on [Charlie Coyle], and in games like that, you're probably not going to get an awful lot of chances each way, and that's what happened." -- Wild coach Bruce Boudreau

Need to know

Calgary has scored eight shorthanded goals this season, second in the NHL behind the Arizona Coyotes (11). … Giordano has nine points (two goals, seven assists) in his past four games. …Wild forward Mikael Granlund had an assist and has 10 points (one goal, nine assists) in his past eight games. … Wild forward Jason Zucker (illness) did not play, and defenseman Matt Dumba left the game with 1:33 remaining in the first period with an undisclosed injury.

What's next

Flames:At the St. Louis Blues on Sunday (3 p.m. ET; FS-MW, SNW, NHL.TV)
Wild:Host the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET; FS-N, NBCSCA, NHL.TV)