Winnipeg Jets defenceman Dylan DeMelo, left, swats the puck away from Calgary Flames forward Matthew Coronato during first period NHL preseason hockey action in Calgary, Alta., Monday, Oct. 2, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
CALGARY – Matt Coronato impressed once again on Monday, scoring the go-ahead goal in the third period to go along with a pair of primary assists to lead the Calgary Flames to a 5-4 victory over the Winnipeg Jets in NHL pre-season action.
Elias Lindholm, Adam Ruzicka, Dillon Dube and Mikael Backlund also scored for Calgary (4-1-1).
It was the Flames final home game of the pre-season. Next time they’re back at the Saddledome will be Oct. 11 when the Jets are the opposition again, this time for both team’s regular-season opener.
David Gustafsson scored a pair to lead the offence for Winnipeg (2-2-1), while Ville Heinola and Dominic Toninato added singles.
It was also the first 60-minute game for Flames goaltender Jacob Markstrom, who had 24 stops. He was perfect on 20 shots faced over two periods in his first appearance.
Connor Hellebuyck, who was peppered with 47 shots, was also playing his first full game.
The game-winner came 1:23 into the third period as Coronato showed off his lethal shot with the Flames on the power play. After taking a cross-ice pass from Backlund, the 20-year-old took a stride and snapped a shot top corner over Hellebuyck’s glove.
Having authored a hat-trick earlier in the pre-season, Coronato leads the Flames in both goals (4) and points (7) as he has looked like an impact player in his five pre-season games.
A first-round pick – 13th overall – by the Flames in 2021. Coronato signed with the club last spring after his second season of NCAA with Harvard came to a conclusion. He was with Calgary for the final couple weeks of the season, making his NHL debut in the final game of the regular season.
Calgary was trailing 3-1 in the second when three goals in a 2:24 span gave the Flames their first lead.
Ruzicka got the barrage going at 11:57, neatly completing a tick-tack-toe passing sequence with Yegor Sharangovich and Coronato by scoring on a nice move to his backhand..
After Dube knocked in a Jordan Oesterle rebound just over a minute to tie it, Backlund gave Calgary its first lead burying the rebound of Coronato’s shot.
That lead was short-lived, however, as just 25 seconds later, Gustafsson sniped his second of the period, whipping a shot over Markstrom’s glove from 40 feet out.
Gustafsson, who failed to score in 46 games with the Jets last season and has just one goal in 74 NHL games, has three in the pre-season.
Both of his goals on Monday were set up by Parker Ford, the skilled 5-foot-9 winger, who leads the Jets in pre-season scoring with five points (1 goal, 4 assists). Ford, who signed last spring after completing his fourth year at Providence College (NCAA), has been one of the better stories of camp.
MOMENT OF SILENCE
A moment of silence was held before the game for Flames assistant GM Chris Snow, who died Saturday at the age of 42. Diagnosed four years ago with ALS, Snow was hospitalized Tuesday after he went into cardiac arrest following a catastrophic brain injury.
REVAMPED TOP NINE
New Flames head coach Ryan Huska switched up the looks of his top three lines. Andrew Mangiapane patrolled right wing on the club’s top line with Jonathan Huberdeau and Lindholm. Sharangovich, who had been in that spot, moved to left wing beside Backlund and Coronato. Ruzicka got an opportunity beside Nazem Kadri and Dube.
UP NEXT
Jets: Play host to the Ottawa Senators on Thursday.
Flames: Head north to play the Oilers in Edmonton on Wednesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 2, 2023.
