CALGARY, Alberta (AP) - This time, Matthew Tkachuk didn’t need an acrobatic move to deliver the winning goal. Just a sharp-angled wrist shot between the pads of goalie Antti Raanta.
Tkachuk scored with 34 seconds on the clock in overtime to give the Calgary Flames a 4-3 comeback victory over the Arizona Coyotes on Tuesday night.
It was the second OT goal in less than a week for Tkachuk, who went between the legs for a highlight-reel stunner last Thursday in Nashville.
“This one was just a normal shot,” Tkachuk said with a chuckle.
“This year is kind of the first time I’m starting to play consistently 3-on-3, so just still trying to get used to it.”
After the Flames trailed 3-1 late in the third period, Tkachuk and Mark Giordano scored in a 49-second span to tie it.
Johnny Gaudreau also had a goal for Calgary, and David Rittich made 34 saves - five in overtime.
“We really had no business other than Ritter to win that game in my opinion,” Tkachuk said. “We played better in the third, but in the first we played right into their hands.”
The 21-year-old forward, who signed a $21 million, three-year contract in September, scored the tying goal in Nashville with 39 seconds remaining in regulation and the spectacular winner with just two seconds on the clock in OT.
His decisive goal Tuesday came on an extended shift.
“I recognized that they had a couple guys that were tired over there that were out there for a full shift before me,” he explained. “I thought, why not try to take advantage of one more time? And did one more kind of lap and then got the puck and put it in.”
Clayton Keller, Christian Dvorak and Vinnie Hinostroza scored for the Coyotes.
Raanta started in net for Arizona and stopped 39 shots after Darcy Kuemper earned the win in overtime the previous night at Edmonton.
“We had four breakaways. We had three or four empty nets to make it 4-1, but we didn’t,” Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet said. “Their goalie played really well tonight. That’s what I saw.”
With Rittich pulled for an extra attacker, Giordano threaded a low shot through traffic to score stick side at 17:19 of the third. Tkachuk sparked the rally when he beat Raanta with a shot from the top of the circle for a power-play goal at 16:30 while Barrett Hayton was serving a tripping penalty.
Hinostroza pounced on a turnover behind Calgary’s net and beat Rittich’s glove at 10:31 for his first of the season.
Gaudreau halved a 2-0 deficit with a power-play goal at 17:16 of the second. The winger ended Calgary’s 0-for-13 drought with the man advantage.
With Carl Soderberg serving a hooking penalty, Gaudreau redirected Tkachuk’s cross-ice pass by Raanta to end a 12-game streak without a goal.
After Raanta denied a breaking Mark Jankowski to open the period, Dvorak tipped an off-speed shot by Phil Kessel past Rittich at 4:09.
Rittich turned away Michael Grabner on a breakaway with his right pad with 2½ minutes remaining in the period.
Keller scored at 8:29 when Calgary turned the puck over in its zone near the blue line. Nick Schmaltz in the high slot dished to Keller for a top-shelf one-timer.
The 23-year-old Schmaltz got his team-leading 14th point of the season.
NOTES: Calgary wing Milan Lucic served the second game of his two-game suspension for punching Blue Jackets forward Kole Sherwood on Saturday. … Calgary went 2 for 6 on the power play. Arizona was scoreless in five chances.
UP NEXT
Coyotes: Host the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday.
Flames: Host the New Jersey Devils on Thursday.
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