By Canadian Press

Struggling Flames burned 3-1 by visiting Rangers

Oct 24, 2023 | 10:35 PM

CALGARY — Defenceman Erik Gustafsson scored once and added an assist on Tuesday as the New York Rangers scored three times in the second period en route to a 3-1 NHL victory over the slumping Calgary Flames.

Chris Kreider, with his team-leading fifth goal, and Alexis Lafreniere also scored for New York (4-2-0). Filip Chytil chipped in with a pair of assists.

Blake Coleman scored the lone goal for Calgary (2-4-1), which has lost three in a row and gone 1-4-1 since winning their season opener.

After giving up a goal on the second shot of the game, New York goaltender Igor Shesterkin shut the door the rest of the way. He finished the night with 23 stops to improve to 3-2-0.

Jacob Markstrom made 18 saves for Calgary. His record falls to 1-3-1.

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Down 1-0 entering the second period, the Rangers surged in front with three unanswered goals, propelled by a lethal power play.

Lafreniere tied it 1-1 at 7:38, neatly deflecting Gustafsson’s point shot out of mid-air. The goal came shortly after Elias Lindholm intercepted a pass but before he could clear it, had the puck bounce off his stick and back to New York.

Seven minutes later, the visitors made it 2-for-2 with the extra man. Again on a sequence that began with a point shot, this time it was Artemi Panarin who sent a shot just wide of the net where Kreider, camped at the side of the crease, redirected the puck over Markstrom’s shoulder.

The Rangers extended their lead to 3-1 at 16:53 of the second, this time with the teams playing four aside. Chytil’s long shot dribbled through the pads of Markstrom and Gustafsson was right there to poke it past the line.

Calgary mounted a push halfway through the third period, but the Flames could not solve Shesterkin. Shortly after he stuck out a pad to deny a dangerous shot from Nikita Zadorov, and then he slid across the crease to deny Jonathan Huberdeau on a one-timer.

The Flames got off to a fast start with Coleman, after finding himself all alone in front, took a pass from Mikael Backlund and buried his second goal of the season.

The Rangers finished 2-for-5 with the extra man. Calgary entered the night with the league’s second-best penalty kill having killed off 21 of 22 on the season.

The Flames went 0-for-4 with the man advantage.

KADRI SLUMPING

Nazem Kadri was held off the scoresheet and through seven games, the 33-year-old has just one assist while being a team-worst minus-8. The Flames’ second-highest-paid player is in the second year of a seven-year, $49 million deal.

LINE SHUFFLES

Looking for a spark, Flames coach Ryan Huska changed up three of his four lines and all his D pairings. Among the shuffling was off-season acquisition Yegor Sharangovich moving from fourth line centre on to the top line with Lindholm and Huberdeau.

RUZICKA INJURED

Adam Ruzicka, who opened the game as Kadri’s left winger, was injured late in the first period when he was sent flying head and shoulders first into the sideboards on a heavy hit by Jimmy Vesey. Down on the ice for a couple minutes, he was favouring his arm/shoulder when he was helped off.

UP NEXT

Rangers: Five-game road trip continues Thursday when they travel to Edmonton to take on the Oilers.

Flames: Play host to the St. Louis Blues on Thursday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 24, 2023.

Darren Haynes, The Canadian Press