Key Takeaways
- Mika Zibanejad scored both Rangers goals in the second period as New York beat Calgary 3–1 on Wednesday.
- Adam Klapka's power-play goal cut it to 2–1 in the third, but Tye Kartye's empty-netter sealed it with 7 seconds left.
- Joonas Korpisalo made 29 saves for New York; Devin Cooley made 21 for Calgary, which outshot the Rangers 30–24 and still lost.
Calgary outshot New York 30–24. It still wasn't enough.
Mika Zibanejad scored twice in the second period and the New York Rangers beat the Calgary Flames 3–1 at the Scotiabank Saddledome on Wednesday night.
After a scoreless first period, Zibanejad opened the scoring 59 seconds into the second, finishing a play set up by Alexis Lafrenière and Marcus Pettersson. At 10:52 he struck again on the power play — his fifth goal of the season — with Lafrenière collecting his second assist of the night.
Calgary pushed back in the third. Adam Klapka scored on the power play at 7:41, from Ryan Strome and Yegor Sharangovich, to cut the lead to 2–1 and give the Saddledome hope of a comeback. The Flames pressed with the net empty late, but Tye Kartye scored into the empty net at 19:53, assisted by J.T. Miller, to close it out.
Joonas Korpisalo was the difference in goal for New York, stopping 29 of the 30 shots he faced. Devin Cooley made 21 saves for Calgary in the loss. Note for anyone checking the boxscore: Dustin Wolf dressed as Calgary's backup but did not play — Cooley went the whole way until he was pulled for the extra attacker.
The loss drops Calgary to 8-10-1. New York improves to 11-8-1. The three stars were Zibanejad, Klapka and Rangers forward Pavel Dorofeyev, who assisted on the second Zibanejad goal.
The Twikup Take
This is the kind of loss that stings a room: more shots, a one-goal game into the final minute — and nothing to show for it. Calgary's problem this season is not effort. It's finish.
Image: Illustrative image.