Mike Smith earns shutout in Calgary Flames’ 2-0 win over Minnesota Wild

Mike Smith posted a 31-save shutout for the Calgary Flames in a 2-0 win over the visiting Minnesota Wild on Thursday.

Calgary’s goaltender earned his second shutout of the season and improved to 5-0 in his last five games.

Elias Lindholm scored twice for his 14th goal and 15th goals of the season.

The Swede has 32 points in 29 games in his first season as a Flame. His career season-high is 17 goals for the Carolina Hurricanes in 2014-15.

Johnny Gaudreau and Calgary captain Mark Giordano assisted on both Lindholm goals.

Wild starting goaltender Alex Stalock stopped 18 shots in the loss.

Minnesota (15-11-2) dropped to 1-2 on a road trip in which the Wild faces five different Canadian teams in a row for the first time in franchise history. Minnesota is in Edmonton on Friday.

Calgary (18-9-2) had rallied for a 9-6 win in Columbus on Tuesday when the Flames trailed the Blue Jackets 4-1 early in the second period.

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Smith relieved David Rittich after one period and stopped 13 shots in the win.

The 36-year-old veteran held off Minnesota on a pair of power-play chances in the second period and another to end Thursday’s game.

Lindholm made it 2-0 at 1:13 of the third period when Gaudreau took a stretch pass from Giordano and dished the puck to him all alone at the face-off circle.

Minnesota won a first-period challenge of a Lindholm goal that was ruled offside, but Lindholm scored 50 seconds into the second frame on a 2-on-1 with Gaudreau.

The Flames improved to 13-2 this season when they score the first goal and are 3-0 in December.

Calgary is at home to the Nashville Predators on Saturday.

Notes: With two assists, Giordano reached 407 career points and moved past Lanny McDonald into 11th on Calgary’s all-time list . . . Flames forward Michael Frolik (lower body) and defenceman Michael Stone (blood clot) and Juusu Valimaki (lower body) were scratched from the Flames lineup.