Hischier, Devils edge Flames for 3rd straight win

CALGARY -- Nico Hischier scored twice for the New Jersey Devils, who hung on to win 4-2 against the Calgary Flames at Scotiabank Saddledome on Saturday.

Jesper Bratt had a goal and an assist, and Alexander Holtz scored for the Devils (14-10-1), who have won the first three of a four-game road trip and six of seven overall. Vitek Vanecek made 23 saves.

"We're trying to elevate our game," Hischier said. "I think we've done it so far, but I think there's still another step in our game, especially to bring together a 60-minute hockey game."

Yegor Sharangovich and Nazem Kadri scored, and Dustin Wolf made 26 saves for the Flames (11-13-3), who have lost three of four.

"At the end of the day, we have to play the same way for 60 minutes if we want to win in this league," Calgary captain Mikael Backlund said.

Sharangovich gave the Flames a 1-0 lead at 19:41 of the first period, scoring short-handed on a breakaway off a forehand-to-backhand deke.

He was acquired along with a third-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft (forward Aydar Suniev) from New Jersey for forward Tyler Toffoli on June 27.

"It felt good when you score against your old team, (but) it's not enough for the game," Sharangovich said.

Hischier tied it 1-1 at 3:28 of the second period with a shot over Wolf's glove after Flames forward Blake Coleman turned the puck over to Bratt at the top of Calgary's zone.

"I mean, 'Bratter' made a great play, pulled everybody a little bit in the middle," Hischier said. "I just tried to go short side and it worked out."

Bratt then gave the Devils a 2-1 lead at 12:31 when Coleman's clearing attempt from the crease banked off the Devils forward and in. The Flames challenged the play for goaltender interference, but a video review confirmed that Coleman and Rasmus Andersson caused Hischier to contact Wolf prior to the goal.

"I talked briefly with the refs about it," Coleman said. "Call is what it is. I can't really speculate on it. They felt that there was enough contact from our guys, from me and from 'Ras.' It's unfortunate it ends up in the net. It's a tough one."

Holtz made it 3-1 at 8:59 of the third period after his cross-ice pass for Timo Meier deflected in off Flames forward Dillon Dube.

"It's a frustrating one," Coleman said. "I felt like we probably should've been up by three goals early in the second period. We had some missed opportunities and didn't take advantage of what I felt was a dominant first period. We let them hang around. Then unfortunately I get the turnover on the first one, shoot it off a guy and into the net on the second one, and another bad bounce off our own guy on the third goal. It's frustrating because I felt like we had that game in hand, and we should've taken care of it."

Kadri cut the lead to 3-2 at 14:46 with a shot over Vanecek's shoulder on a rush, but Hischier scored into an empty net from his own goal line with 38 seconds remaining for the 4-2 final.

"They did have a push, but I think we just stuck to our system and played simple and didn't complicate too many things in our D-zone," said Bratt, who has six points (three goals, three assists) in a four-game point streak. "When we got the puck, we chipped pucks out and lived to fight another day. When we simplify and we skate a lot and we're staying tight on them, we're a good defensive team. That's how we kind of came out with it today."

NOTES: Toffoli had two shots on goal in 17:24 of ice time. He had 96 points (45 goals, 51 assists) in 119 games over two seasons with the Flames from 2021-23. ... Sharangovich, selected by New Jersey in the fifth round (No. 141) in the 2018 NHL Draft, had 106 points (53 goals, 53 assists) in 205 games over three seasons with the Devils from 2020-23. … Hischier has four points (two goals, two assists) during a three-game point streak. ... New Jersey is 10-1-1 when leading after two periods. ... Andersson had an assist in 25:22 of ice time in his 400th NHL game. … Flames forwards Walker Duehr and Martin Pospisil each did not play because of the flu.