Calgary beat Toronto 5-2 Monday at Scotiabank Saddledome. Matvei Gridin scored twice and had an assist as the Flames jumped ahead early and never trailed in front of 18,476 fans.
Mikael Backlund staked Calgary to a 2-0 lead in the first period before Gridin opened the second with a quick strike 25 seconds in, making it 3-0. Toronto’s Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 29 of 32 shots, but the Flames put 34 shots on net and converted one of five power-play chances to pull away late.
Key Moments: How Calgary Pulled Away
Gridin opened the scoring at 10:05 of the first period on a wrist shot assisted by Martin Pospisil and Simon Nemec, and Backlund made it 2-0 just under two minutes later off helpers from Matt Coronato and Joel Farabee. Gridin struck again 25 seconds into the second period, burying a wrist shot off assists from Zayne Parekh and goaltender Devin Cooley to put Calgary ahead 3-0.
Toronto answered twice in the final 20 minutes. Easton Cowan tipped in a Troy Stecher shot at 12:54 of the second to cut the deficit to 3-1, and William Nylander scored on a snap shot at 6:06 of the third, assisted by Jack Roslovic and Auston Matthews, to make it 3-2. Calgary shut the door from there. Farabee scored at 18:35 of the third off assists from Coronato and Yan Kuznetsov, and Pospisil added an empty-net-style insurance goal 46 seconds later, assisted by Gridin and Nemec, to close out the 5-2 final.
Top Performers
Gridin led all skaters with two goals and three points, going 2-0-3 on the night. Coronato finished with two assists and five shots on goal, while Farabee added a goal and an assist. Nemec chipped in two assists from the blue line for Calgary.
For Toronto, Nylander’s third-period goal was his ninth of the season, and Rielly picked up an assist. Bobrovsky made 29 saves on 32 shots in the loss. Devin Cooley earned the win in net for Calgary, stopping 26 of 28 shots for a .929 save percentage.
Calgary out-shot Toronto 34-28 and scored once on five power-play chances (20%), while Toronto went 0-for-2 on the man advantage. Toronto won 58.6% of faceoffs. Toronto blocked 16 shots to Calgary’s 4, while the Flames out-hit the Leafs 24-23. Toronto took eight penalties for 19 minutes; Calgary took five for 13.
What’s Next
Calgary (5-6-0) sits last in the Pacific Division, while Toronto (7-5-2) is third in the Atlantic. The Leafs host their next opponent soon.
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