Jon Gillies rebounded from a first-minute goal to make 35 saves in his first NHL start of the season, helping the Calgary Flames beat the Arizona Coyotes 5-2 on Thursday night.
Johnny Gaudreau had a goal and two assists, Sean Monahan added a goal and an assist, and Sam Bennett, Mark Jankowski and Matthew Tkachuk also scored. Dougie Hamilton and Mark Giordano each had two assists.
Coming off a 7-3 loss Wednesday night at Vegas with David Rittich in goal, the Flames snapped a three-game losing streak and improved to 9-3-1 in their last 13 road games.
Derek Stepan and Kevin Connauton scored for Arizona. Off since beating Edmonton 1-0 in a Saturday matinee at Gila River Arena, the NHL-worst Coyotes had won four straight and were 5-0-1 in their last six.
Called up from Stockton of the AHL with former Coyotes goalie Mike Smith sidelined by a lower-body injury, Gillies made his third appearance of the season and fourth overall in the NHL. The 6-foot-6 former Providence College goalie started and won his NHL debut last April against Los Angeles.
He got off to a rough start as he lost sight of the puck in the slot when Oliver Ekman-Larsson’s wrist shot from the point fell at his feet. Stepan tucked it into the open left side 57 seconds into the game as Gillies turned the other way and looked behind him to see if it already was in the net.
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