Flames end skid with romp over Sabres
Mark Giordano, Sam Bennett and Mark Jankowski all collected one goal and one assist as the Calgary Flames thumped the Buffalo Sabres 5-1 in NHL action Wednesday night in Buffalo.
The Flames snapped a four-game losing skid with the win at KeyBank Center, dominating the lowly Sabres from the drop of the puck.
The only disappointment for the Flames was that goalie David Rittich, who made 25 saves, lost his bid for the first shutout of his NHL career with 17.1 seconds left in the affair.
Bennett started the onslaught at the 5:35 mark of the opening frame, finishing a goal-mouth scramble. Sabres goalie Chad Johnson swatted the puck away from Garnet Hathaway before he could get a stick on it in the crease, but Bennett was on the spot amidst the chaos and buried his 10th goal of the season.
Jankowski doubled the lead exactly three minutes later, netting the 12th goal of his rookie season. Jankowski took a pass from Bennett after he crossed the blueline, opted to shoot on the one-on-two rush it created and beat Johnson with his effort from the slot.
The scoring parade was just beginning. Giordano extended the lead with his 12th tally of the season exactly five minutes into the second period when he blasted a point shot that Johnson could only get a piece of before it found the net.
Sean Monahan joined the fun 61 seconds later to make it a 4-0 lead. Monahan converted a one-timer fed by Johnny Gaudreau to pot his 30th goal of the season, a milestone he's reached for the second time in his career. The goal also spelled the end of the game for Johnson, who surrendered four goals on 22 shots before being pulled in favor of Robin Lehner.
The goalie switch changed nothing, and Dougie Hamilton scored a power-play goal with 1:21 left in the second period to make it a five-goal edge. Hamilton's 15th goal of the season ties him with Nashville's PK Subban for most among defensemen.
Casey Nelson scored Buffalo's lone goal just before the final buzzer. Lehner stopped 18 shots in relief.
--Field Level Media
