Avalanche extend point streak to 8 with win against Flames

CALGARY -- Parker Kelly scored twice, and the Colorado Avalanche held on to win 4-2 against the Calgary Flames at Scotiabank Saddledome on Friday.

Valeri Nichushkin and Ryan Lindgren scored for the Avalanche (40-24-3), who have points in eight straight (7-0-1). Scott Wedgewood made 22 saves.

"Just one game at a time," Kelly said. "You don't want to look too far in advance and you don't want to dwell if things aren't going well. It's just a pretty even keel group here. It's business as usual."

Blake Coleman and Jonathan Huberdeau scored, and Dustin Wolf made 24 saves for the Flames (30-24-11), who have lost six of eight (2-3-3).

"It's almost like the complete opposite from the last two games," Calgary defenseman Rasmus Andersson said. "We've had two good periods in the last two games and the third we haven't been there. Today it's two bad periods and the third is there. We've got to figure out how to play 60 minutes. It starts with us in the leadership group. You've got to look yourself in the mirror before you can look somewhere else."

Lindgren put Colorado up 1-0 at 13:21 of the first period with a seeing-eye wrist shot from the top of the point through traffic that beat a screened Wolf to the blocker. The goal was Lindgren's first with the Avalanche after he was acquired from the New York Rangers on March 1 and first in 29 games overall.

Kelly made it 2-0 at 15:24 of the second period with his first goal in 21 games. He poked the puck away from Huberdeau at the Flames blue line and shot by Wolf's glove on the ensuing breakaway.

"I guess it was nice to get back on the scoresheet, but I'm just going to play my game no matter what it is," Kelly said. "If they need me at center or need me on the wing... I'm just going to get pucks in and get behind them and create energy on the forecheck. Bonus to get on the scoresheet."

Kelly's goal came after Wedgewood made a blocker save on Dryden Hunt's breakaway attempt 3:14 into the period, Calgary's third shot of the game.

"It kind of reminded me of watching Marty Brodeur growing up and he'd be under 20 (shots) for so long and have to make some big saves to keep the score in the situation it was in," Wedgewood said. "Those weren't easy shots for the first six or eight, really any of them. They didn't really throw stuff at me. They did a good job of shooting what they thought could go in. It's not always the funnest thing when you don't get the easy, pleasure saves and the shot counters."

Coleman tapped in a rebound on Matt Coronato's initial shot 3:08 into the third period to cut it to 2-1, and Kelly extended the lead to 3-1 at 5:55 when he corralled a centering pass from behind the net from Ross Colton and shot over Wolf's glove.

Andersson's slap shot on the power play hit Huberdeau in the shoulder in front of the net and popped over Wedgewood to trim the lead to 3-2 at 16:22.

"We didn't quit," Coleman said. "I liked the response in the third. I thought we were the better team in the third, but that was just too little, too late."

Nichushkin scored into an empty net from his own zone with 1:39 remaining for the 4-2 final.

"Management showed they had faith in us with what they did at the deadline," Wedgewood said. "I think the room knew what we had, and once you bring in the bodies that we did and the depth down the middle it really kind of turned the tide to a full confidence boost around the room. We started playing with some confidence, grabbing points and we need to continue to do so."

NOTES: Calgary had four shots in the first 32:50 and 20 shots in the remaining 27:10 of the game. ... Kelly's only other multigoal game in the NHL came as a member of the Ottawa Senators in an 8-5 loss against the Arizona Coyotes on March 5, 2022. ... Coleman's third-period goal ended a shutout streak of 125:04 for Wedgewood. ... Avalanche forward Joel Kiviranta, who had four shots, had an NHL career high four-game goal streak end (four goals). ... Flames forward Connor Zary served the first of a two-game suspension for elbowing defenseman Elias Pettersson in a 4-3 shootout loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday.