National Hockey League
Calgary 6, Winnipeg 2
When: 10:00 PM ET, Saturday, December 10, 2016
Where: Scotiabank Saddledome, Calgary, Alberta
Referees: Mike Leggo, Chris Schlenker
Linesmen: Steve Miller, Ryan Daisy
Attendance: 18677

CALGARY, Alberta -- Dougie Hamilton was the subject of trade talk just one month ago but if he was truly available then he's certainly not now.

The Calgary Flames defenseman scored twice and added an assist Saturday during a four-goal second period as the Calgary Flames dumped the Winnipeg Jets 6-2 on Saturday for their sixth straight victory. He also scored the game winner in overtime in Arizona on Thursday and is a key part of the Flames recent rise.

"It's just trying to play consistent every game," Hamilton said. "With Chad (Johnson) in net, it's huge for us. He's been so solid and gives us a lot of confidence. We're just trying to get him some goal support and let him take over. He was really good again tonight."

Sam Bennett, Mikael Backlund, Lance Bouma and Sean Monahan also scored for the Flames (16-13-2), who moved into top spot in the Pacific Divison.

Joining Hamilton with three points was Backlund, who added two assists and rookie Matthew Tkachuk who contributed three assists.

Johnson made 26 saves for Calgary and was in goal for the entirety of the Flames streak, which began with his 39-save 3-0 shutout of the Toronto Maple Leafs on Nov. 30. He is 9-1 in his last 10 starts.

Johnson was 6:01 from his fourth shutout of the season but Nikola Ehlers beat him over the shoulder on a late power play. Jacob Trouba scored on a long wrister through a crowd with 0.1 seconds remaining.

The Flames scored four goals in a span of 9:23 in the second period on Winnipeg starter Michael Hutchinson, who was strong in making 16 saves in the first period before things fell apart midway through the second. Hutchinson was replaced for the third period by Connor Hellebuyck.

The Flames outscored the opposite 24-9 during their winning streak.

"Everyone's into it right now,'' Monahan said. "We're playing as a team, and as a team, we're good. Tonight, you could see the crowd was into it. Right now, we're rolling and got to continue to put our nose down and work."

Flames president Brian Burke angrily went on the offensive in mid-November to shoot down rumors that the Flames were shopping Hamilton, who was acquired from Boston prior to the start of the 2015-16 season but slow to find the love of the Calgary faithful. He's certainly appreciated by his coach these days.

"For the last three weeks I thought Dougie's been fantastic and I thought he was real good tonight," Glen Gulutzan said.

Winnipeg (13-15-3) lost three straight. The Jets move on to face the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday to finish off their sixth back-to-back series of the season and their 11th game in 19 days.

"We're really pleased with (the schedule)," Jets coach Paul Maurice said. "We're enjoying it. We're taking it all in. We'd like to (play) tomorrow, the next day and the next day if we could. That we'd enjoy."

The Jets players themselves struggled to find a reason for the loss.

"It's hard to say. We just didn't play good enough and that's something we have to change," Ehlers said.

Bouma scored on the first shot Hellebuyck faced as he outraced two Jets defenders from center ice and chipped a backhand over Hellebuyck at 3:31. Monahan closed out the Flames' scoring on the power play with 3:32 remaining.

Hamilton took a drop pass from Tkachuk and whipped a wrist shot over the glove of Hutchinson to open the scoring at 8:29 of the second period. Bennett made it 2-0 at 13 minutes. He trailed the play in the Winnipeg zone, took a pass from Johnny Gaudreau and while cruising unattended put a wrist shot past Hutchinson to the glove side.

Hamilton scored again at 15:20 on a slap shot from the point. Backlund scored on the power play, putting puck between Hutchinson's pads from a sharp angle at 17:52.

NOTES: Jets rookie D Josh Morrissey played his first NHL game in his hometown Saturday. "It's something you kind of dream of your whole life. ... Just like a young kid in Winnipeg grows up idolizing the Jets. I was that same kid in Calgary." Morrissey was a minus-1 with two shots on goal in 21:08. ... Winnipeg's injured are D Tyler Myers (lower body), C Nic Petan (lower body), LW Shawn Matthias (lower body) and RW Joel Armia (lower body). ... Winnipeg's healthy scratches were D Mark Stuart and C Alexander Burmistrov ... The Flames lone injury absence was RW Kris Versteeg, who missed his second straight game with an injured hip. ... Calgary's healthy scratches were C Freddie Hamilton and D Tyler Wotherspoon. ... December is proving to be a great month for Flames RW Johnny Gaudreau. He has eight points -- two in each game -- this season and 32 points (22 goals) in 38 total contests over three seasons.
Top Game Performances
 
Winnipeg   Calgary
Nikolaj Ehlers 1 Points Dougie Hamilton 3
Nikolaj Ehlers 1 Goals Dougie Hamilton 2
Bryan Little 1 Assists Matthew Tkachuk 3
Nikolaj Ehlers 1 Power Play Goals Mikael Backlund 1
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Michael Hutchinson .862 Save Percentage Chad Johnson .929
Michael Hutchinson 25 Saves Chad Johnson 26
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Winnipeg 28 2 1-4 2-4 18 37
Calgary 35 6 2-4 3-4 18 35
Upcoming Games
  • Calgary will play their next game at home against Tampa Bay. The Flames have a W/L % of .600 after a win and .438 after a loss.
  • Winnipeg will play their next game on the road against Edmonton. The Jets have a W/L % of .385 after a win and .444 after a loss.