Sharangovich scores twice as Flames rally to beat Penguins 4-3
By The Associated Press on March 2, 2024.
CALGARY, Alberta (AP) – Yegor Sharangovich scored twice, including the tiebreaking goal with 50 seconds left in the third period, as the Calgary Flames rallied from two goals down in the third period to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3 victory on Saturday night. Nazem Kadri and Blake Coleman also scored for Calgary, which has won a season-high five consecutive games. Jacob Markstrom stopped 27 shots and the Flames moved five points behind Los Angeles for the second wild card in the Western Conference. Jonathan Gruden got his first NHL goal, and Lars Eller and Jeff Carter also scored for Pittsburgh. Tristan Jarry had 16 saves. With Tampa Bay’s win earlier in the night, the Penguins fell 10 points behind the Lightning for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference – though Pittsburgh has five games in hand. Trailing 3-1 midway through the third and being outshot by a considerable margin, Calgary suddenly woke up with two goals 32 seconds apart to tie it. Kadri picked up the puck inside his own blue line, slipped it through the skates of Noel Acciari as he carried the puck up ice, then he made a slick move to dangle past Kris Letang before pulling the puck all the way across the crease and burying it on Jarry at 10:09. With the crowd still buzzing, Coleman tied it 3-3, one-timing Andrew Mangiapane’s centering pass for his team-leading 25th goal. The go-ahead goal in the final minute came when Mikael Backlund stripped the puck from Letang along the sideboards and then dropped a pass to Sharangovich, who picked the top corner for his 23rd – one off his career high. The opening goal at 16:42 came off the stick of Gruden got the Penguins on the scoreboard first as he chased down a puck near the corner and flung a shot from a sharp angle that squeaked inside the near post on Markstrom with 3:18 left in the first period. The first NHL goal for the 23-year-old Gruden came in his ninth career game – sixth this season. He was called up from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL on Friday. Eller had a power-play goal with 34 seconds left in the first to make it 2-0. Sharangovich got the Flames on the scoreboard at 3:37 of the second when he poked a loose puck past a flat-footed Letang and got in alone, whipping a low shot through Jarry’s pads. Pittsburgh restored its two-goal cushion 2:51 into the third on Carter’s deflection of Ryan Graves’ point shot. Before the game, the Flames retired goaltending great Miikka Kiprusoff’s No. 34 – the fourth number raised to the rafters alongside Lanny McDonald’s No. 9, Jarome Iginla’s No. 12, and Mike Vernon’s No. 30. In nine seasons with Calgary starting in 2003-04, Kiprusoff had a team-record 305 wins and 41 shutouts, and he won the Vezina Trophy in 2005-06. UP NEXT Penguins: At Edmonton on Sunday night to finish a four-game trip. Flames: Host Seattle on Monday night to finish a two-game homestand. ___ AP NHL: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL 20-19
