Brodie’s Four Assists Helps Flames to Victory

The Calgary Flames walked into the Prudential Center on Friday night and took a 4-3 overtime victory over the New Jersey Devils.

The highlight of the game was a beautiful pass from T.J. Brodie to Mikael Backlund who would score the overtime winner.

It was Brodie’s fourth assist of the game, an achievement that no Flames defenseman had done since December 5 2008 when Dion Phaneuf did so. It was also Brodie’s first four point game of his career.

The Flames also got goals from Sean Monahan, Kris Versteeg, and Matt Stajan as all four forward lines had a goal in the game. Monahan’s goal meant he continued his red hot pace which features nine goals in his last ten games.

He also has five goals and two assists in eight career games against New Jersey.

The Flames powerplay had another stellar evening going 1 for 2 according to the stats, but one goal came a mere couple seconds after the penalty expired. Hats off to Dave Cameron.

Brian Elliott had a pretty good night, making some big saves, but there were also a few goals he’d probably like to have back. He made 26 saves on the night.

Sean Monahan got the Flames up 1-0 late in the first period by beating Cory Schenider over his shoulder. Kris Versteeg would extend the lead only 22 seconds into the second period by beating Schneider through an Alex Chiasson screen.

However the Devils came back strong in the period to tie the game at two with goals courtesy of Adam Henrique and Pavel Zacha. Then late in the period on a powerplay (which came from a very questionable call), Kyle Palmieri would essentially cross check the puck into the net to make it 3-2 New Jersey.

Matt Stajan would get the tying goal midway through the third period by deflecting a great centering pass from Brodie past Schneider. This was only shortly after Stajan ignited a scrum after checking a Devil into Schneider which landed both teams with offsetting roughing penalties.

The rest of the third period featured a conservative battle as neither team wanted to lose the game in regulation. Then the game hit overtime, and you know the rest.

Flames 3 Stars of the Game:

1. T.J. Brodie - He was flying all over the ice and was the key factor in all four goals he assisted, making spectacular plays. If he can bring performances even close to this nightly, it would be huge for the team.
2. Sean Monahan - Scored in the first and was the most dangerous player on the ice all night long as only some heroic netminding from Schneider kept from hitting the scoreboard more than once.
3. Matt Stajan - I know I said it in my last recap, but I think Matt Stajan is playing some of the best hockey I’ve ever seen him play right now. He was flying tonight and got rewarded with the goal. Keep it up Matty!

The Flames are now up to 27-24-3 and have a three game winning streak. Calgary also gets back into a playoff spot for the night!

The Flames are next in action on Sunday afternoon when they visit Madison Square Garden in New York to take on the Rangers. Puck drop is very early at 12:00pm MT!