Newark, N.J. — The Calgary Flames edged the New Jersey Devils 5–4 on Thursday night in a high-scoring matchup that featured milestones, former teammates facing off, and a breakout performance from John Beecher.
Beecher scored twice — the first two goals of his career with Calgary — while captain Mikael Backlund added a third-period goal that marked the 600th point of his NHL career. The victory was only the second in the last eight games for the Flames, who also received goals from Kevin Bahl and Yegor Sharangovich. Goaltender Dustin Wolf stopped 26 shots, and Calgary’s defense contributed with 21 blocked attempts.
New Jersey kept the game close behind a goal and assist from Luke Hughes, while Jack Hughes, Maxim Tsyplakov and Simon Nemec also scored. Goalie Jacob Markstrom made 24 saves and even recorded an assist in the loss.
Beecher made a quick impact early in the second period. Less than a minute after the puck dropped, he stripped Jack Hughes of the puck in the neutral zone and raced in alone. Markstrom stopped his initial shot, but Beecher followed the rebound and banked it off the goaltender for a short-handed goal, giving Calgary a 3–1 advantage.
New Jersey answered quickly. Nemec scored on the power play less than a minute later to cut the deficit to 3–2. But the Flames regained momentum when Sharangovich — who spent his first three NHL seasons with the Devils before being traded to Calgary in 2023 — finished a backhand shot on a two-on-one rush to restore a two-goal lead.
Earlier in the first period, Calgary jumped ahead when Beecher scored on a two-on-one break. Later, Bahl doubled the lead at 14:07, scoring against Markstrom — the same goaltender the Devils traded to acquire him in June 2024.
New Jersey responded before the end of the period when Tsyplakov scored at 16:14, ending an 11-game goal drought since joining the Devils in late January and trimming the Flames’ lead to 2–1.
The win also snapped a difficult stretch on the road for Calgary, which had dropped its previous four away games.
Up Next: The Flames travel to face the New York Islanders on Saturday, while the Devils return home to host the Los Angeles Kings the same day.
