Beecher gets 1st multigoal game, Flames hold off Devils
“It’s been a bit since I’ve seen one go in the net, so it’s always exciting when you can pot one and help the team in that aspect, and then getting the second one was just kind of a cherry on top,” Beecher said. “I thought the boys played great and battled hard for 60 minutes.”
Mikael Backlund scored to reach 600 career points and Dustin Wolf made 28 saves for the Flames (26-32-7), who had lost six of their past seven games (1-5-1).
“I’m happy for [Backlund],” Calgary coach Ryan Huska said. “That’s a great milestone for a guy that’s given a lot to our organization, so it’s really nice to see him score that tonight.”
Jack Hughes and Luke Hughes each had a goal and an assist, and Jesper Bratt had two assists for the Devils (32-31-2), who have lost two straight after four wins a row and are 3-2-0 five games into a Devils record seven-game homestand. Jacob Markstrom made 24 saves in his seventh straight start.
“[When] you give up five, you dig yourself a big hole, so just a tough game out of us,” Jack Hughes said. “I know my line was on for the first four goals, so that’s on us. Just not a great night out of us, and it is what it is.”
Beecher gave the Flames a 1-0 lead at 5:04 of the first period with a wrist shot from the right face-off circle, getting the pass from Matvei Gridin to break out on a 2-on-1 with Matt Coronato.
“I felt like we just did a good job keeping things simple,” Beecher said. “When the play was there to make it, we tried to execute, but just trying to play north-south hockey and take care of the defensive zone first.”
