National Hockey League
Calgary 5, Florida 2
When: 9:00 PM ET, Tuesday, January 17, 2017
Where: Scotiabank Saddledome, Calgary, Alberta
Referees: Francis Charron, Trevor Hanson
Linesmen: Greg Devorski, Tony Sericolo
Attendance: 18137

CALGARY, Alberta -- Mikael Backlund can't recall scoring two goals in 13 seconds in his NHL career so far.

That's exactly what he did in the second period on Tuesday to lead the Calgary Flames to a 5-2 victory over the Florida Panthers at the Scotiabank Saddledome.

"That was probably a personal record I'm sure," said Backlund, who was confident the Flames could battle back from a 2-1 deficit after one period of play. "I thought we dominated right away right from the first faceoff. I thought we took charge.

"We played simple and made the plays when they were there. We got a lot of zone time and that's what created some penalties and some chances for us."

Backlund also had an assist for the Flames (24-20-3), while Mark Giordano scored once and set up two others.

"I liked our resolve," said Calgary coach Glen Gulutzan. "We made a couple mistakes early that cost us some chances but we stuck to our game and for the most part of the game, we had the better looks, the better chances and we were carrying the play.

"Even when we got down, the mentality, the mindset, the whole aura on the bench didn't change. The guys stayed with their game plan and that's a positive sign."

Sean Monahan had a goal and an assist for Calgary, Kris Versteeg also scored, and Matthew Tkachuk and Michael Frolik chipped in with two assists each.

Vincent Trocheck scored both goals for Florida (20-18-8) to extend his point streak to five games.

"We didn't play very well," said Trocheck, who has tallied five goals and four assists during his streak. "I thought we came out strong in the first and then we let up. It's seems to be a theme lately -- every time we get up, we slack off and then it goes a little bit and then they start taking it to us. Then it's a mindset from there. Once we get a lead, we've got to be able to continue to play like we were."

Jared McCann picked up a pair of assists for the Panthers, who had won their past four road games and three of their past four overall.

"We just didn't play a good game," said interim Florida coach Tom Rowe. "Nothing really worked tonight. We played pretty good in the first period and after that they dominated us, deserved the two points, played a good game."

Calgary goaltender Chad Johnson made 20 saves, while Florida netminder Roberto Luongo stopped 24 shots.

The Panthers outshot the Flames 11-5 in the third period in which Monahan scored his third goal in as many games into an empty net with 2:08 remaining.

The Flames trailed 2-1 after the first period, but drew even at 4:25 of the second thanks to a power-play goal by Giordano, whose shot from the slot hit Luongo in the right shoulder on its way into the net.

Backlund put the Flames up by a goal at 11:23 during another man advantage when he jammed a loose puck in the crease past Luongo.

Tkachuk set up Calgary's next goal 13 seconds later when he skated behind the Florida net and backhanded a pass through his legs into the slot to Backlund.

"Wasn't really expecting him to be that wide open but he was screaming for it, so I knew if I just got it to him, he's going to put it in," said Tkachuk.

Trocheck opened the scoring at 3:46 of the first with a shot to the top corner, glove side past Johnson.

Versteeg answered back for the Flames at 6:39 when his innocuous-looking backhand shot from the top of the faceoff circle beat Luongo, who was screened by Troy Brouwer.

Trocheck put the Panthers back up by a goal at 8:25 with a goal eerily similar to the one he scored earlier in the period. Trocheck took a pass from McCann and did well to get the puck over a sliding Giordano and past Johnson.

"He's got a shot that is very deceiving and he blew it by their guy a couple of times early on," said Rowe.

NOTES: C Greg McKegg made his return to Florida's lineup after missing the past four games with an upper-body injury. ... D Dylan McIlrath, who was recalled from the AHL's Springfield Thunderbirds on Monday, was a healthy scratch for the Panthers along with C Seth Griffith and C Denis Malgin. ... C Vincent Trocheck, who will represent Florida at the 2016 NHL All-Star Game, has put up eight goals and seven assists in his past 11 games. ... After sitting out the past two games as a healthy scratch, C Freddie Hamilton made his return to Calgary's lineup. ... Flames LW Micheal Ferland missed his third straight game with a lower-body injury, while RW Garnet Hathaway sat out with an upper-body injury. ... Calgary also scratched D Brett Kulak. ... Florida G Roberto Luongo needs seven victories to surpass Curtis Joseph for fourth place on the NHL's all-time wins list.
Top Game Performances
 
Florida   Calgary
Vincent Trocheck 2 Points Mikael Backlund 3
Vincent Trocheck 2 Goals Mikael Backlund 2
Jared McCann 2 Assists Mark Giordano 2
N/A Power Play Goals Mikael Backlund 1
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Roberto Luongo .857 Save Percentage Chad Johnson .909
Roberto Luongo 24 Saves Chad Johnson 20
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Florida 22 2 0-4 2-4 8 24
Calgary 29 5 2-4 4-4 8 26
Upcoming Games
  • Calgary will play their next game at home against Nashville. The Flames have a W/L % of .478 after a win and .542 after a loss.
  • Florida will play their next game on the road against Edmonton. The Panthers have a W/L % of .286 after a win and .560 after a loss.