{{pageModel.leagueAbbr}} {{pageModel.subtitle}} | Las Vegas Review-Journal
National Hockey League
Minnesota 4, Calgary 2
When: 10:00 PM ET, Saturday, October 21, 2017
Where: Scotiabank Saddledome, Calgary, Alberta
Referees: Jon McIsaac, Brad Meier
Linesmen: Lonnie Cameron, Derek Nansen
Attendance: 18436

CALGARY, Alberta -- The Minnesota Wild dug themselves out of a hole Saturday and now go home for six games with an even slate.

Jared Spurgeon scored on a rocket of a slap shot with 7:52 remaining for the winning goal and the Wild (2-2-2) scored three times in the third to down the Calgary Flames 4-2 on Saturday.

Wild defenseman Ryan Suter tied the game with a wrister on a rush with 9:27 remaining and had two assists. Chris Stewart and Daniel Winnik, into an empty net, also scored.

"They were determined tonight that they weren't going to let what happened in the previous games happen," said Wild coach Bruce Boudreau, pleased that a losing skid ended at two games.

Kris Versteeg and Sean Monahan replied for Calgary (4-4-0).

Alex Stalock made 35 saves in his second start of the season for the Wild. He was rock solid in the first period, when he faced 17 shots and and three full-length Calgary power plays.

"This is a huge win," said the Saint Paul, Minn., native. "To win any back-to-back says a lot about the crew in this room and the way we did it -- to come from behind."

The Wild gave up a late goal themselves with six minutes remaining on Friday in a 4-3 loss in Winnipeg.

"The only way to get out of (a hole) is to work hard and we have the group that does that," Spurgeon said. "We're not the prettiest team out there but when we come to work things work out for us."

Mike Smith made 28 saves in his eight straight start for Calgary.

His teammates shouldered the blame.

"We have to manage the puck better. We turned the puck over and it cost us. We have to learn from it," Monahan said.

Calgary falls to 1-3 on its home ice.

"We need to be good here. It's something all the best teams do. ... they have good home records," said Versteeg.

The Flames lost left winger Jaromir Jagr to an undisclosed lower-body injury on Saturday. He didn't return after the first period and there was no update provided on his status after the game.

The 45-year-old Jagr is 52 games away from becoming the league's all-time leader in games played. He is second in career NHL scoring behind Wayne Gretzky

Jagr has two assists in five games since signing as a free agent with his ninth NHL team at the end of training camp.

Stewart's goal came with two seconds remaining on a two-man advantage at 4:49 of the second. He batted his own rebound past Smith. Stewart has six goals in six games after tallying 13 last season, his first in Minnesota.

Monahan tied the game with 27 seconds left in the second when he took a pass in the slot from Troy Brouwer and hit the open net before Stalock could get into position.

Versteeg skated out from the corner unchecked and slid the puck past Stalock 43 seconds into the third.

Suter's first goal of the season came on a wrist shot during a rush with 9:27 remaining.

"Suter's goal) was tough, he made a good shot, kinda used (Travis Hamonic) there as a screen," Smith said.

"(Spurgeon's goal) just has to be stopped. Plain and simple, has to be stopped. Especially in close games, you've just gotta make those saves and tonight it didn't happen and we lost because of it."

NOTES: The Wild were without recent recall C Landon Ferraro, who suffered a hip flexor in Friday's loss in Winnipeg. He joined injured forwards Zach Parise (undisclosed), Nino Niederreiter (ankle sprain), Charlie Coyle (fibula fracture) and Mikael Granlund (groin) on the sidelines. ... The Wild recalled LW Cal O'Reilly on Saturday and reassigned Mike Reilly to Iowa of the American Hockey League. ... D Brett Kulak played his first game of the season for the Flames, while Matt Bartkowski took a seat. LW Tanner Glass and C Matt Stajan were Calgary's other healthy scratches. ... The Flames face a tough back-to-back trip this week to Nashville on Tuesday and St. Louis on Wednesday. ... The Wild return home for six games starting Tuesday against Vancouver.
Top Game Performances
 
Minnesota   Calgary
Ryan Suter 3 Points TJ Brodie 2
Ryan Suter 1 Goals Sean Monahan 1
Ryan Suter 2 Assists TJ Brodie 2
Chris Stewart 1 Power Play Goals Kris Versteeg 1
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Alex Stalock .946 Save Percentage Mike Smith .903
Alex Stalock 35 Saves Mike Smith 28
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Minnesota 32 4 1-3 5-6 12 31
Calgary 37 2 1-6 2-3 6 31
Upcoming Games
  • Calgary will play their next game on the road against Nashville. The Flames have a W/L % of .400 after a win and .667 after a loss.
  • Minnesota will play their next game at home against Vancouver. The Wild have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .500 after a loss.