Mike Keenan knew the Calgary Flames were in trouble before they even took the ice against the well-rested Chicago Blackhawks.
“We have some guys with the flu, but we don’t want to use that as an excuse,” the Calgary coach said after the Flames’ 6-1 road loss Sunday night.
While the Blackhawks were coming off a five-day break, the flu-stricken Flames were playing their third game in four nights.
“Our power play was bad,” Calgary captain Jarome Iginla said. “We wanted to jump on them early and didn’t do it. They got better as the game went on.”
In other NHL games Sunday, it was: Phoenix 4, San Jose 2; Florida 3, Anaheim 1; Edmonton 2, New Jersey 1; and Atlanta 5, Carolina 2.
Patrick Kane and Martin Havlat each had a goal and two assists to help Chicago win its fourth straight and improve to 7-3-3, the Blackhawks’ best start since 2001-02 – the last time they made the playoffs. Chicago is 6-0-2 at home.
Jonathan Toews and Kris Versteeg each had a goal and an assist. Toews’ goal was his first in 13 games this season. He had 24 goals and 30 assists last season as a rookie.
hances, the former North Dakota star scored on a shot that trickled through the goalie’s pads.
“I thought is was another shot in the chest like in the second period when I had the break,” Toews said. “It had to be a goal like that, where it wasn’t going to be pretty. It went in. It’s a confidence boost.”
The 20-year-old Toews is in his first season as the Blackhawks’ captain.
“I was trying hard and forcing a little bit,” Toews said.
Blackhawks goalie Cristobal Huet made 22 saves, allowing only Dustin Boyd’s second-period goal. The Flames have lost two straight and four of their last five games.
Coyotes 4, Sharks 2
At Glendale, Ariz., Olli Jokinen had two goals and an assist and Phoenix won for the third time in four games to snap San Jose’s seven-game winning streak.
Peter Mueller scored the go-ahead goal early in the second period, and Viktor Tikhonov added his first career goal for the Coyotes.
Ryane Clowe had a goal and an assist and Dan Boyle also scored for the Sharks, first overall in the NHL at 13-3-0.
Panthers 3, Ducks 1
At Anaheim, Calif., David Booth scored three straight goals for his first NHL hat trick, and Craig Anderson made 44 saves to help Florida end a six-game winless streak.
Jassen Cullimore and Steven Weiss each had two assists for Florida, 0-5-1 in its previous six games, in the final game of a five-game trip.
rry scored for Anaheim.
Oilers 2, Devils 1
At Newark, N.J., Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers made 37 saves in his second career start and Ales Hemsky scored for the fourth straight game for Edmonton.
Sheldon Souray also scored for the Oilers.
Zach Parise scored for New Jersey, 1-3 since All-Star goalie Martin Brodeur was sidelined by a torn left biceps. Scott Clemmensen made 26 saves.
Thrashers 5, Hurricanes
At Raleigh, N.C., Marty Reasoner scored two goals and Johan Hedberg made 35 saves in Atlanta’s fourth straight victory and second in a row on the road.
Ron Hainsey, Jason Williams and Ilya Kovalchuk also scored for the Thrashers. Rod Brind’Amour and Ray Whitney scored for Carolina.
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