Flames edge Kraken for ninth straight win, spoil Giordano's return

CALGARY -- The Calgary Flames won their ninth straight game, 2-1 against the Seattle Kraken, and former captain Mark Giordano made his regular-season return to Calgary at Scotiabank Saddledome on Saturday.

Giordano, who was given a pregame video tribute, played his first 15 NHL seasons with the Flames before being claimed by the Kraken in the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft. He is first in Flames history among defensemen in games (949), second in goals (143; Al MacInnis, 213), and third in assists (366; MacInnis, 609, and Gary Suter, 436) and points (509; MacInnis, 822, and Suter, 564).
"I barely watched the tribute, I was just watching 'Gio,'" Seattle coach Dave Hakstol said. "No question he's got very strong ties. You'd have to ask him about the emotions, but I'm sure there were some emotions running pretty high."
Matthew Tkachuk and Elias Lindholm each had a goal and an assist, and Jacob Markstrom made 22 saves for the Flames (29-13-6), who have outscored opponents 39-14 during the run. It's Calgary's longest winning streak since tying the Flames record of 10 games during the 2016-17 season.
"I think right now we just want to win," Markstrom said. "You want to keep winning. I don't think anybody's looking at that. We want to keep the momentum and keep getting two points. That's the only thing that matters right now. Short memory, and right now we've got to look at the next game and get ready and prepare. That's kind of how we look at it."
Calle Jarnkrok scored, and Philipp Grubauer made 35 saves for the Kraken (16-31-4), who have lost four of their past five.
"We came here to win a hockey game and we didn't do that," Hakstol said. "The end result isn't what we want. Competitively, there were some good pieces in our game today but we came up short."

Lindholm put the Flames up 2-1 at 7:31 of the third period when he corralled a rebound in the slot before spinning and shooting by Grubauer's blocker. Lindholm has scored eight goals during a seven-game goal streak, and has scored 15 points (eight goals, seven assists) during a nine-game point streak.
"There's gonna be nights where we just have to stay with it and chances will come sooner or later and when they come, you got to put them in," Lindholm said. "Today was just one of those games where you just have to stick with it, stick with what you're doing and know it's gonna pay off sooner or later."
His goal came after Adam Larsson blocked a shot by Johnny Gaudreau on a cross-ice setup by Lindholm 4:36 into the third period to keep the game tied.
"Huge bailout and save from him," Grubauer said. "Sometimes you've got to scramble and get something in there. It worked out."
Markstrom made four saves with Grubauer on the bench for the extra attacker to preserve the win.
"I thought we obviously had the majority of the shots and majority of the chances," Markstrom said. "They had a few chances, not too many, but to kind of keep the scoreboard lower on my side than the other side, at the end of the day that's what it comes down to."
Tkachuk gave the Flames a 1-0 lead 3:02 into the first period. He shot over Grubauer's glove after taking a centering pass from Lindholm below the goal line. Tkachuk has scored 11 points (four goals, seven assists) in a six-game point streak.
Jarnkrok tied it 1-1 at 12:26 shooting over Markstrom's glove after picking up a turnover directly into the slot by Flames defenseman Noah Hanifin.

Grubauer made an extended left pad save on Andrew Mangiapane's shot from the slot on a Hanifin setup with 2:18 remaining in the period.
"I thought he did a real good job tonight," Hakstol said. "He was solid from the word go. He made some big saves at good times, which you need on the road against a good team. He gave us those saves."
Grubauer also made a stick save on a backhand on Gaudreau's partial breakaway 59 seconds into the second period, and Markstrom made a double-pad stack on Jordan Eberle's shot at 4:00 on a setup by Alex Wennberg.
"[That save was] probably from before I was born," Markstrom said. "Kind of desperation save. Quick 2-on-1 and he made a good pass. Just kind of happens. Luckily for me, it worked out well and it got the crowd going a little bit, so that was fun to hear."
NOTES:Giordano had three shots on goal and led Seattle with 21:11 of ice time. He did not speak with media after the game. ... The Flames have outscored opponents 43-11 in an eight-game home winning streak. ... Calgary defenseman Erik Gudbranson had a game-high six shots. ... Grubauer made 18 saves in the second period. ... The Flames had scored at least four goals in seven straight games and at least five goals in five straight.