Giordano helps Flames beat Red Wings in OT 3-2
CALGARY, Alberta (AP) -- Even Mark Giordano didn't know he had that move in him.
The Flames captain waited out Detroit goalie Jimmy Howard, then scored his second goal of the game in overtime, helping the Calgary Flames come back to end a four-game losing streak with a 3-2 win over the struggling Red Wings.
Giordano took a pass from Johnny Gaudreau and held as Howard made the first move before scoring on the backhand 3:12 into overtime.
"When I got the puck from Johnny, my first instinct was to shoot, but the goalie charged out and raced over and I surprised myself with that one," said Giordano. "I'm happy for our team to get back in the win column. We deserved that one, I thought, and got rewarded late."
Joe Colborne tied it for Calgary with 1:12 left in the third period. Jonas Hiller made 27 saves and the Flames got their first win in five home games this season.
"He stepped up," Flames forward Sean Monahan said of Hiller. "He played a great game for us, kept us in it and made some really timely saves. It's a big credit to him for that win."
Gustav Nyquist and Brendan Smith scored first-period power-play goals as Detroit lost its fourth straight. Howard had 37 stops for the Red Wings (3-3-1).
"At the end of the day we didn't get the extra point and that's all that matters," Howard said. "It was a tough one. We have a lot of work ahead of us."
Giordano tied it 1-1 with a goal 11:02 into the first. He also had an assist and seven shots on goal.
Gaudreau assisted on each of Giordano's goals, and Jiri Hudler also had two assists.
Nyquist opened the scoring at 7:38 of the first period when he converted a feed from Henrik Zetterberg to finish off a great passing play during a Detroit man advantage.
Just 8 seconds after his first goal, Giordano took a costly delay of game penalty. The Red Wings regained the lead on the ensuing power play when Smith's point shot snuck past Hiller, who was screened by Detroit forward Riley Sheahan on the play.
Despite outshooting the Red Wings 16-4 in the second period, the Flames weren't able to get any pucks past Howard.
Calgary forward Mason Raymond had the best chance in the second, but his wrist shot ricocheted off both Howard and the post. The puck then landed on Howard's left pad, and he was able to cover it up before Mikael Backlund could get his stick on it.
The Flames kept pouring on the pressure in the third period, when Howard stopped a breakaway attempt by Josh Jooris.
Not to be outdone, Hiller made a pair of nice blocker saves on scoring attempts by Dylan Larkin and Tomas Tatar to keep the Flames in the game.
Colborne was able to tip a Giordano point shot past Howard in the third.
"We didn't get on our toes enough," Detroit coach Jeff Blashill said. "When we did have time in their end we didn't do a good enough job of getting pucks to the net, not that we weren't attempting to do so. We got to do a better job of getting through."
Notes: Defenseman Ladislav Smid made his season debut with the Flames after sitting out Calgary's first six games with a neck injury. . Prior to Friday, the last time Smid dressed for the Flames was last season on Jan. 19 when the Flames had a 2-1 overtime victory over the L.A. Kings. . Flames goalie Karri Ramo cleared waivers on Thursday and was assigned to the AHL's Stockton Heat, making way for Joni Ortio to dress for his first game this season as Hiller's backup. . Red Wings forward Brad Richards missed Friday's game due to a back injury, meaning that fellow center Joakim Andersson drew into Detroit's lineup for his second game this season.
