DUBE GETS IT DONE!

As if there wasn’t enough drama surrounding the return of Johnny Gaudreau, the Flames figured they’d give the fans even more.

Talk about your money’s worth!

The homeside was up 2-0 at one point and shelled Blue Jackets netminder Joonas Korpisalo with 45 shots during regulation (a 2-to-1 advantage in that category), but needed extra time to collect two important points. 

Dillon Dube was the hero of the night, one-timing a pass from Andrew Mangiapane on a 2-on-1 in OT to beat Columbus 4-3 Monday night at the Scotiabank Saddledome. It was his 12th goal of the season and second straight gamewinner.

“That was electric for a Monday,” said forward Blake Coleman on the Flames TV Postgame Show.

Electric, indeed. 

Columbus had just 25 shots in regulation, as the ice was tilted in Calgary’s favour for much of the contest. But Boone Jenner’s third-period tally knotted the game, the Flames owning overtime before Dube ended it.

Walker Duehr, Nazem Kadri and Mangiapane also scored for Calgary, which improved to 23-16-9.

Duehr scored his second goal of the season in only his seventh game since being called up from the AHL Wranglers, while fellow callup Jakob Pelletier had a few good looks in his second game with the big club.

Dan Vladar got the start for Calgary with 22 stops. Calgary played with only five defencemen for much of the tilt after Chris Tanev left the game in the first period and didn’t return.

Gaudreau – like former teammate Matthew Tkachuk before him – was booed off the opening faceoff, and again when he skated out for his second shift of the game – and then third … and almost every shift after.

Almost.

On the first TV timeout, again as was the case with Tkachuk, Gaudreau was given a standing ovation after his welcome-back-and-thanks-for-everything-you-did video was played, promptly followed by more Bronx cheers.

He finished with two helpers, setting up both strikes for Columbus who went 2-for-4 on the powerplay in the tilt.

Nikita Zadorov sent Coleman in alone with a stretch pass that Korpisalo stopped early in the game, followed by Mangiapane feeding a puck from behind the net to Mikael Backlund out front but he was denied twice on the doorstep.

Mangiapane was later sprung on a breakaway and looked to be hauled down as he cut across the crease by another former Flame, Erik Gudbranson, but there was no call by the ref.

There was a call, however, when Gaudreau has held up by Tanev and MacKenzie Weegar as he tried to outleg them down the ice, the ref pointing to centre ice for a penalty shot for No. 13 with 5:14 gone.

The saddle-shaped roof on the building nearly blew off when he fired wide.

Duehr finaly solved the Columbus netminder with 3:42 left in the frame on the team’s 17th shot, one-timing a pass from Weegar five-hole that had such force and speed that it got stuck at the back of the net with most folks in the building losing sight of it, the officials also apparently assuming Korpisalo was laying on it in the crease. But when he got up, they realized where the biscuit was.

Video: CBJ@CGY: Duehr scores in 1st period

Weegar rang one of the post as time expired, the shots sitting 18-6 after a dominant opening 20 minutes by the homeside. 

Kadri made it two-zip with his 19th of the season 1:32 into the second period, getting the puck all alone in the slot and turning and firing one shortside.

Video: CBJ@CGY: Kadri scores in 2nd period

Kirill Marchenko got the Blue Jackets on the board with a powerplay marker at 9:04, converting a cross-ice feed from Gaudreau.

Less than a minute later, Kadri was sent off for putting the puck over the glass and the visitors again made good, this time Gaudreau slinging a pass to Patrik Laine whose one-timer squeaked between Vladar and the post at 9:53. 

Milan Lucic got the crowd back in it at 11:07 with his second fight in as many games, exchanging some bombs with Mathieu Olivier and getting the decision. The crowd erupted again with a rousing ovation after watching the slo-mo replay of the tilt. 

Dube exploded between a pair of Columbus defenders at a full gallop and rung one of the post minutes after as Calgary continued to press.  

Pelletier had a lovely look but couldn’t get the puck over the outstretched right pad of Korpisalo on Calgary’s first powerplay of the night.

No matter.

Moments after the powerplay expired, Mangiapane showed patience to spin and fire one home at 16:17.

Video: CBJ@CGY: Mangiapane scores in 2nd period

Jenner held the puck on a 2-on-1 with Gaudreau in the third and snapped one shortside at 4:34 to tie it up before Dube iced it.

Video: CBJ@CGY: Dube whips in a one-timer for the OT winner

GAME OVER RECAP:

Brendan Parker and Cory Sarich talk about huge OT win:

Video: Cory Sarich and Brendan Parker break down OT victory

LUNAR NEW YEAR:

The Flames celebrated the holiday with special warmup jerseys and boy, were they sweet!

  BY THE NUMBERS:

Shots: CGY 49, CBJ 25

Powerplay: CGY 0-2, CBJ 2-4

Hits: CGY 17, CBJ 11

Face-offs: CGY 58%, CBJ 42%

*Scoring chances: CGY 39, CBJ 23

*High-danger scoring chances: CGY 11, CBJ 7

*According of Natural Stat Trick (5-on-5)

THEY SAID IT:

Video: “Nice to get the win, we really needed it”

Video: “That was a really good effort by our club”

Video: “They made us earn it”

THE THREE STARS:   THE LINEUP:

The trios and D pairs to start the game:

Lines

Dillon Dube – Elias Lindholm – Tyler Toffoli

Milan Lucic – Nazem Kadri – Jonathan Huberdeau

Andrew Mangiapane – Mikael Backlund – Blake Coleman

Jakob Pelletier – Trevor Lewis – Walker Duehr

Pairings

Noah Hanifin – Rasmus Andersson

MacKenzie Weegar – Chris Tanev

Nikita Zadorov – Michael Stone

Goaltenders

Dan Vladar – start

Jacob Markstrom

UP NEXT:

The Flames host the Blackhawks at 7 p.m. on Thursday. Click for tickets