Johnny Gaudreau Posts Two Primary Assists in His Return to Calgary but Blue Jackets Lose 4-3 in OT to Flames

By Coby Maeir on January 24, 2023 at 12:25 am
Johnny Gaudreau skates on the ice at Scotiabank Saddledome in his return to Calgary.
Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports
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A tough loss in Gaudreau's return.

Johnny Gaudreau recorded two primary helpers in his return to Calgary but the Flames beat the Blue Jackets 4-3 in overtime at Scotiabank Saddledome Monday.

1st Period

While the Flames dominated the first period, Gaudreau intercepted a pass from MacKenzie Weegar and raced in on a breakaway where he was hooked and awarded a penalty shot but missed wide at 5:14.

The Flames honored Gaudreau's time with Calgary with a tribute video.

  1 2 3 F/OT
BLUE JACKETS 0 2 1 3
CGY FLAMES 1 2 0 4

Calgary opened the scoring at 16:18 on a blast from Walker Duehr from the right circle that beat Joonas Korpisalo, who was the best Blue Jacket in the first period, through the five-hole.

The Flames nearly doubled their lead after a defensive-zone giveaway by Patrik Laine at 19:51 that led to a shot by Trevor Lewis at 19:53 that was stopped by Korpisalo and a shot from Weegar that hit the post at 19:59.

After one period, the Flames led 1-0 and outshot the Blue Jackets 17-7.

2nd Period

Nazem Kadri doubled Calgary's lead at 1:32 after he found a loose puck that misplayed and turned around in the slot and fired a shot past Korpisalo.

Kent Johnson had a chance to put the Blue Jackets on the board at 6:54 with a shot on a two-on-one rush but it was denied by Dan Vladar.

The Jackets did get on the board on the power play at 9:04 when Kirill Marchenko fired a wrist from the right circle past the glove of Vladar after receiving a cross-ice feed from Gaudreau.

Just 49 seconds later, at 9:53, Laine tied the game with a one-timer from the left circle on the power play off a cross-ice saucer pass from Gaudreau.

The Flames nearly took a 3-2 lead at 15:14 on the power play when Jakob Pelletier had a golden opportunity from the left doorstep but he was robbed by the right pad of Korpisalo.

Andrew Mangiapane scored on a turn-around shot from the slot after a defensive-zone giveaway by Nick Blankenburg at 16:17 to put Calgary ahead.

Calgary took a 3-2 lead into the third period along with a 32-16 edge in shots on goal.

3rd Period

Boone Jenner tied the game at 4:34 with a wrist shot off the left post and in from the left circle on a two-on-one.

Gaudreau nearly broke through with a goal at 9:22 when he deflected Andrew Peeke's shot off the post.

Calgary had a chance of its own to take the lead but Kadri was robbed by Korpisalo from in front of the net at 9:49.

The teams couldn't settle a winner through 60 minutes as they headed to overtime tied at three with Calgary leading 45-23 in shots on goal.

Overtime

After Laine and Gaudreau couldn't score on an offensive rush, Dillon Dube scored a one-timer from the right circle on a two-on-one feed from Mangiapane at 2:25.

With the loss, the Jackets fall to 14-30-3.

Stats

  • Shots on Goal: CBJ 25-49 CGY
  • Faceoff %: CBJ 42.3-57.7 CGY
  • Power play: CBJ 2/4-0/2 CGY
  • Takeaways: CBJ 3-12 CGY
  • Giveaways: CBJ 12-8 CGY
  • Blocked shots: CBJ 22-12 CGY
  • Hits: CBJ 11-17 CGY
  • 5-on-5 stats (via naturalstattrick.com):
    • Expected Goals (xG): CBJ 1.99-3.63 CGY
    • Chances (CF): CBJ 37-72 CGY
    • Shots (SF): CBJ 20-40 CGY
    • Scoring Chances (SCF): CBJ 24-40 CGY
    • High-Danger Chances (HDCF): CBJ 8-12 CGY

Injury Update

No players left tonight's game with injuries.

Next Up

The Blue Jackets will stay in Alberta and take on the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday at 9:30 p.m. ET on TNT.

The club travels to Vancouver to take on the Canucks on Friday at 10 p.m. ET on Bally Sports Ohio.

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