Mark Jankowski hurt as Flames end Hurricanes' streak

Carolina said there was a game-time decision but didn't say who. It was Jankowski, the guy who had scored in 6 straight games, and Jordan Martinook slid to center to cover for him.

Walt Ruff

@WaltRuff

The #Canes will try for an eighth win in a row tonight. They’ll be doing so without Mark Jankowski (lower-body injury), who had scored in six straight games. Jordan Martinook appears to be moving to the middle to fill the hole tonight. Carrier - Aho - Svechnikov Nadeau - Stankoven - Blake Ehlers - Martinook - Unger Sorum Robinson - Kotkaniemi - Deslauriers Slavin - Chatfield Miller - Walker Gostisbehere - Reilly Valimaki Bussi

Look at that injury list again: Taylor Hall, Seth Jarvis, Jordan Staal and now Jankowski. Staal alone is a big loss, since the captain is out 1-2 months with a calf tear. Jankowski had been covering for him in the middle, and now Carolina had to find a replacement for the replacement. Nic Deslauriers drew in, so the Canes went with the usual 12 forwards and 6 D, and Juuso Valimaki's team debut got pushed back.

For a while the depth guys came through. Bussi stood on his head through a busy start, and then Jesperi Kotkaniemi, who took Jankowski's spot on the second power-play unit, opened the scoring with Deslauriers on the primary assist. That's 2 goals in 2 days for KK, and a 1-0 lead built by 2 of the guys the room likes most.

Cory Lavalette

@corylav

Kotkaniemi last scored on consecutive days on Jan. 20-21, 2025. That was part of a three-game goal streak during which he had four goals and also a five-game point streak.

Then the last 90 seconds of the second period happened. Carolina had Calgary pinned in its own end for minutes, the Flames finally got it out, and Matvei Gridin tied it 1-1 with 1:30 left. Morgan Frost scored on the power play with 20 seconds left to make it 2-1. Then, with 3 seconds on the clock, Sebastian Aho won an offensive-zone draw and Jalen Chatfield beat everybody with a seeing-eye shot to tie it at 2.

Walt Ruff

@WaltRuff

Carolina needed the centers they had available to be big tonight, and that's a big moment for Sebastian Aho — winning an offensive zone draw in the dying seconds. Look at that seeing-eye shot! t.co/mJpMB3KfXz

That's 3 goals in about 90 seconds of hockey, and the Canes walked into the second intermission level after getting the bad bounces for most of the period. Short a center, they got the big moments they needed from the centers they had: Kotkaniemi on the scoresheet and Aho on the faceoff dot.

The third was the Brandon Bussi show until it wasn't. Kotkaniemi took a high-sticking penalty, the PK got scrambled, and Bussi kept bailing them out. He finished with 31 saves. With 4:28 left, though, Frost put a saucer pass across the slot and Yegor Sharangovich buried the one-timer.

Cory Lavalette

@corylav

Flames finally break through with a cross-ice one-timer. Nothing Bussi could do there, and it's 3-2 Calgary.

That was the final, 3-2. It's the defending champs' first loss since Oct. 2, and it came against a Calgary team that was only picking up its 2nd win of the season. Flames fans loved it, and they had reason to: the kids stepped up and the whole lineup grinded.

Danny Austin

@DannyAustin_9

That's a feel-good win if I've ever seen one for the Flames. Cooley was immense, young talent (Gridin, Parekh, Castagna) stepped up huge. Every player dug in.

Afterward, Brind'Amour called the game "sloppy," and Martinook said, "We got away from what makes us successful." The bigger news from Brind'Amour was that Jankowski is headed back to Raleigh "to get looked at," with no timeline given. Carolina gets an off day Monday, which it badly needs, and then plays in Vancouver on Tuesday, probably without Jankowski. If Jarvis is really "around the corner," now would be a good time for him to come back.