Markstrom, Flames shut out Penguins, sweep five-game road trip

PITTSBURGH -- Jacob Markstrom made 45 saves to help the Calgary Flames sweep a five-game road trip with a 4-0 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena on Thursday.

The shutout was Markstrom's second in his past three starts and 10th in 304 NHL starts. He has allowed one goal on 107 shots since Anaheim Ducks defenseman Jamie Drysdale scored against him in overtime Oct. 18 in a 3-2 loss at home.
Johnny Gaudreau had a goal and an assist for the Flames (5-1-1), who outscored their opponents 21-7 and never trailed on the trip.
"First of all, we have a long flight. It always [stinks] to travel after a loss," Markstrom said. "Then to end the trip on a good note, it's a great road trip instead of just a good one. I thought that was really important. That's a big win and something to build on."
Casey DeSmith made 31 saves for the Penguins (3-2-2), who have been outscored 9-1 the past two games after starting the season on a five-game point streak.
"[Markstrom] was really good tonight," Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said. "You have to give him credit. He made a lot of big saves. We had a number of high-quality chances throughout the course of the game that we couldn't convert. … When you play goalies that are top-tier goalies, you have to make it hard on them."
Gaudreau put Calgary ahead 1-0 with his first goal of the season at 7:22 of the first period. After tipping a loose puck past Pittsburgh defenseman John Marino, Gaudreau carried it through the neutral zone to the left face-off circle for a wrist shot to the far side.
Gaudreau has 10 points (nine assists) during a six-game point streak.
"He's had a lot of really good opportunities every game this road trip," Flames coach Darryl Sutter said. "A player like that, it's going to [start going in] if he keeps getting them. He has a shot mentality, and he's taking those shots."

Pittsburgh had one shot on goal during a 5-on-3 power play that lasted 1:41. Calgary then killed the remaining 2:19 of a four-minute double minor to Erik Gudbranson for high-sticking at 12:34 of the first, preserving the one-goal lead.
"I think we had some chances, just would definitely like to get one or two there, for sure," Penguins forward Jake Guentzel said. "I think we've just got to stick with working on the little things. Make sure we're moving and not stagnant out there."
Drew O'Connor nearly tied it when the puck came to him to the left of the net for a wrist shot. Scrambling outside of the crease, Markstrom lunged back to make the save with the blade of his stick at 5:24 of the second period.
"[Markstrom] saved our bacon one too many times. Not only this game, but throughout the entire road trip," Gaudreau said. "So it's two shutouts on the road trip. Obviously, one of the best goalies I've ever played with. So it's great to see him doing well back there. He faced a lot of shots tonight but stuck with it."
Blake Coleman scored for the second time in three games, making it 2-0 with a one-timer from the point at 1:04 of the third period.

Dillon Dube extended the lead to 3-0 by taking a pass from Gaudreau and scoring on a wrist shot from the right circle at 10:15.
Milan Lucic scored through the five-hole for the 4-0 final at 11:44.
NOTES: Calgary became the third team in NHL history to sweep a road trip of at least five games while never trailing, joining the Chicago Blackhawks (5-0-0) from Jan. 31-Feb. 8, 1996, and the St. Louis Blues (5-0-0) from Feb. 6-15, 2017. … Flames forward Andrew Mangiapane's four-game goal streak ended. He scored six of his seven goals this season during that stretch. … Calgary defenseman Noah Hanifin did not play with an upper-body injury. He is day to day. Michael Stone replaced him and had three shots on goal, two hits and two blocked shots in 17:44 of ice time. ... Flames forward Mikael Backlund had the primary assist on Coleman's goal for his 400th NHL point. Backlund has 155 goals and 245 assists in 751 games. … Penguins centers Sidney Crosby (wrist surgery) and Evgeni Malkin (knee surgery) each has missed the first seven games. Crosby returned to first-line center at practice Wednesday; Malkin is out until at least December. Pittsburgh has also been without forwards Bryan Rust and Jeff Carter, and defenseman Kris Letang the past three games. Rust, the usual first-line right wing, is week to week with a lower-body injury; Carter and Letang each is in the NHL COVID-19 protocol. ... Pittsburgh was 0-for-4 on the power play.