Wild lose third consecutive game, Flames win 3-1
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Andrew Mangiapane and Jonathan Huberdeau scored first-period goals for Calgary, and Blake Coleman added an empty-netter as the Flames held on to beat the short-handed Minnesota Wild 3-1 on Tuesday night.
Jacob Markstrom made 28 saves in net to earn the win.
Mangiapane's seventh goal of the season opened the scoring at 11:40 of the first period. The third-line winger redirected a shot from Rasmus Andersson and bounced the puck past Wild goalie Marc-Andre Fleury for a 1-0 lead.
Huberdeau made it 2-0 with 23.1 seconds remaining in the first period. He cut toward the net and fired a back-hand shot past Fleury for his fifth of the season. It was Huberdeau's first goal since Nov. 20 and just his second point in the last 14 games.
"That one obviously felt good, and especially to finish it off with a win," Huberdeau said. "I think lately, we've been playing better, so I think it was good to get chemistry on our line too."
After the game, Huberdeau said assistant coach Marc Savard deserved some credit for taping Huberdeau's stick the past two games. Huberdeau had an assist on Sunday against Philadelphia before Tuesday's goal that ended an 18-game goal drought.
Minnesota remains without leading scorer Kirill Kaprizov, who was injured Saturday against Winnipeg. Goalie Filip Gustavsson and forward Vinni Lettieri were both placed on injured reserve with lower-body injuries, meaning they'll each miss at least a week.
Wild forward Marcus Foligno missed his first game of the season Tuesday with a lower-body injury and was replaced in the lineup by Sammy Walker.
Markstrom wasn't tested much in the first two periods, facing a total of 12 shots through two. But the Flames goalie stopped all 17 Wild shots he faced in the third period to help Calgary hold on for a win.
In six games since returning from an injury, Markstrom is 4-2-0 and has allowed 11 total goals in those six games.
"He's been excellent," said Flames head coach Ryan Huska. "He was our best player by far tonight. We're going to need him to continue to be."
Pat Maroon put the Wild on the board with his first goal since Nov. 30 to make it 2-1. Maroon tapped in the rebound from a Nic Petan shot past Markstrom at the 9:28 mark of the second period.
Fleury stopped 30 shots in the loss, two days after playing in his 1,000th career NHL game.
Minnesota has lost three straight. The Wild were outshot 13-7 in the first period.
"I thought the second and third period we dictated the game and gave ourselves a chance to win the game," said Minnesota head coach John Hynes. "Tonight the puck didn't go in for us. I thought their goaltender was excellent."
Coleman's empty-netter, his 14th goal of the season, came with 56.7 seconds remaining after the Wild pulled Fleury.
Tuesday marked the first of a four-game road trip for Calgary. The Flames now have a stretch of three games in four days beginning Thursday.
UP NEXT
Flames: At Nashville on Thursday.
Wild: Host Tampa Bay on Thursday.
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