CALGARY — The transition has been smooth in Calgary for Nazem Kadri.
Kadri stayed hot on Tuesday, extending his NHL point streak to six games with two goals and an assist to lead the Flames to a 4-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins.
After helping the Colorado Avalanche win the Stanley Cup, Kadri hasn’t missed a beat since signing a seven-year, $49 million contract with Calgary.
“It’s been good for sure,” said Kadri, who leads the team with nine points (four goals, five assists). “Kudos to the guys, they made me and the staff and everyone in the city of Calgary feel very welcome. It’s always nice to get wins.
His point streak is the fourth longest to start a career with the Flames. Mel Bridgman (1980-81) holds the record for eight games while Phil Housley (1994-95) and Sergei Makarov (1989-90) have played seven games.
“He played well,” said Jonathan Huberdeau of his newcomer. “He’s such a good player, he works hard and it works for him. He creates a lot of things on the ice defensively, offensively, and he’s going to keep going too.”
Huberdeau, with his first as a Flame, and Michael Stone also scored for Calgary (5-1-0).
Evgeni Malkin scored the lone goal for Pittsburgh (4-2-1), which lost both ends of its straight set in Alberta in regulation after starting the season with points in its first five games.
Sidney Crosby, who entered the night with 11 points in six games and was looking for his 900th career assist, was kept off the scoresheet.
It was all Calgary in the first period as the Flames built a 2-0 lead and held on to a 20-2 shot lead before the beleaguered Penguins pushed back in the final two minutes.
“They obviously knew we played last night (in Edmonton). They tried to establish this heavy setback before they got it,” said Penguins defenseman Brian Dumoulin.
Pittsburgh goaltender Casey DeSmith was spectacular in keeping the game scoreless until Calgary’s 15th shot beat him. Andrew Mangiapane’s cross pass was neatly redirected by Kadri at 14:11.
Kadri added his second of the game less than four minutes later, choosing the top corner for an unassisted goal.
“A good start is probably what made us feel good,” Kadri said. “We came out hot. I would like to see us do a better second half, but for the most part we stuck with it, we got off to a good start and that’s definitely a positive sign.
Huberdeau made it 3-0 early in the second on the power play, but after that Pittsburgh tipped the ice in their favor starting with Malkin’s power-play goal at 4:32.
The Penguins outshot Calgary 20-4 in the second period, but thanks to some great work by Jacob Markstrom in net, their deficit was extended to three goals with Stone’s slap shot at 11:20 to bring the score at 4-1.
Markstrom finished with 32 saves to improve to 4-0-0. DeSmith made 31 saves to fall to 0-1-1.
“Big second period,” Flames coach Darryl Sutter said when asked about his goalie. “We would miss a chance to score, they have a chance to score. He probably saved it in a two-goal game.
It was a generally quiet night offensively for Pittsburgh, which has six goals in four of its first six games.
“When you score six a night, you get into that ‘we can do it every night’ mode and we have a team that could do it every night,” Penguins forward Jeff Carter said.
“But I think at the start of the year we were scoring six goals because we were playing the right way. We check and create our chances in our own side, really, and we smash the teams when we come into the side. offensive.”
THE BEGINNING EVENTS OF POULIN
With Jason Zucker rocked against the Oilers and Jake Guentzel (upper body) not ready to return, 2019 first-round pick Sam Poulin, 21, made his NHL debut for the Penguins.
Recalled from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL) on Sunday, Poulin crossed a line with Brock McGinn and Kasperi Kapanen and found himself on the scoresheet a few times. He was in the penalty box for cutting when Huberdeau made it 3-0. Soon after, he helped set up Malkin’s power-play goal for his first NHL point.
“I think Sam played well. He gave us a lot of energy,” head coach Mike Sullivan said. tonight. I thought he had a good game.
QUICK START
The Flames have won five of their first six games for the first time in franchise history. The only other time the team had 10 of 12 points to start the season was in 1978-79, when the club was still based in Atlanta. They started this season 4-0-2.
NEXT
Penguins: Will look to bounce back Friday in Vancouver when their five-game road trip continues against the Canucks.
Flames: Their eight-game, one-season home game continues Saturday when the Edmonton Oilers visit.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on October 25, 2022.
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