And the Calgary Flames started a win streak, maintaining their momentum with Saturday’s 3-0 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena. Sam Bennett and Matthew Tkachuk also scored for the Flames, while Rittich delivered 43 saves in a shutout performance for a road-weary squad that was determined to build on Thursday’s wild comeback in Nashville. Monahan contributed a hat-trick of third-period assists during that thriller against the Predators — capped, of course, by Tkachuk’s between-the-legs beauty at the overtime buzzer — but the first-line centre really, really, really needed to light the lamp with one of his own. Tkachuk sealed the result with an empty-netter, and the Blue Jackets didn’t have any opportunity to fire the cannon that marks every home goal. Rittich stole a should-been bury from Oliver Bjorkstrand in Saturday’s middle stanza, losing his handle on his stick but instead using the palm of his blocker-hand to preserve his shutout bid as the Blue Jackets forward tried to shovel a puck across the goal-line.

Source: National Post November 03, 2019 01:41 UTC