One thousand games into his NHL career, Marcus Johansson is playing some of his best hockey.
The Wild wing started his 1,000th NHL game with a career-best points streak of eight games and extended it to nine in Minnesota’s 2-0 victory over a struggling Calgary Flames team Sunday night at Grand Casino Arena.
Matt Boldy converted on Johansson’s centering pass from the top of the right circle to break a scoreless tie with 6 minutes, 13 seconds left in the second period for a 1-0 lead, and Kirill Kaprizov scored an empty netter with 50 seconds left as the Wild improved to 4-1-0 in November.
Jesper Wallstedt, making his first start of the season that wasn’t part of a back-to-back, was sharp, stopping several Grade-A chances from a Flames team that was active in the Wild’s end. Calgary outshot the Wild 35-19, but Wallstedt finished with his second NHL shutout.
Early in the second period, Wallstedt laid out to stop a breakaway by Jonathan Huberdeau with his right leg. Later, he swallowed a point-blank one-timer from first-line winger Yegor Sharangovich with his midsection.
Working on a second cycle on the forecheck at the tail end of the second period, Joel Eriksson Ek corralled a puck behind the red line and banked it out to Johansson high between the circle and blue line. Johansson sent a quick pass to Boldy as he skated into the slot.
Boldy took a second to control the puck before snapping it near post, where it snuck past Devin Cooly for a 1-0 lead at 13:47.
The Flames spent the final 45 seconds of the second period in the Wild zone and put several shots on net, all turned back by Wallstedt. After two periods, the Flames were outshooting the Wild 23-16.
Midway through the third period, Yakov Trenin was sent to the box for tripping Matt Coronato. The Flames had a good chance to tie the game when Coronato had the puck in the crease, but Wallstedt stopped the shot, and Faber later cleared a puck from the crease.
The Flames had another man advantage after Kirill Kaprizov was called for tripping. Again, Calgary failed to score, and the Wild shortened the man advantage when Eriksson Ek stole the puck and was tripped by Mackenzie Weegar as he tried to break out of the zone.
On the Wild’s power play, Kaprizov came close to pounding the puck behind Cooley at the right corner but was fought off by a defender.
The Flames pulled Cooley for an extra attacker with 2 minutes remaining. After Wallstedt stopped a shot from the point by Nazem Cadry, Eriksson Ek poked the puck out of the zone, where it was picked up by Kaprizov.
Kaprizov skated in alone for the empty netter at 19:10.
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