Coronato Wins It in OT as Flames Rally Past Flyers

Matt Coronato needed one look. On a 3-on-1 rush in overtime, he took a pass from Matvei Gridin and snapped a shot from the slot past Dan Vladar’s blocker at 4:08, and the Calgary Flames beat the Philadelphia Flyers 4-3 at Scotiabank Saddledome on Sunday, NHL.com reported. It came moments after Philadelphia failed to even get a shot on net from its own 3-on-1 at the other end.

Calgary is 8-9-1 and snapped a two-game skid on the same day it learned defenseman Kevin Bahl needs season-ending surgery. The Flames trailed three separate times and came back every time. Philadelphia is 4-10-5 and has lost three straight.

Three Comebacks in One Night

Denver Barkey put the Flyers up 1-0 in the first period, and Zayne Parekh answered with a highlight-reel goal, skating into the left circle, pivoting and roofing a shot over Vladar’s glove. Noel Acciari tipped in a point shot to make it 2-1, and Zach Whitecloud tied it with his first goal as a Flame. Owen Tippett then scored on the power play for a 3-2 lead.

Parekh is starting to heat up. Six of his eight points this season have come since Oct. 24. On the other side, Sean Couturier had two assists and passed Rod Brind’Amour for ninth on the Flyers’ all-time assists list, which did little to ease a third straight loss before a back-to-back trip to Vancouver.

The tying goal came on a Calgary penalty kill. Martin Pospisil poked a loose puck into space, and Joel Farabee raced in alone and slipped a backhand through Vladar at 8:27 of the third. It was his team-leading seventh goal, his first against his former team, and his sixth straight home game with a goal.

Cooley Held It Together

Devin Cooley made 32 saves in his first start since Oct. 28, after missing four games with a lower-body injury. Philadelphia outshot Calgary 35-26, so the Flames needed him. Coronato’s winner was the eighth game-winning goal of his career and his second in overtime.

Parekh said the group is trying to step up for Bahl, whom he called the team’s best player all year. Sunday was a good start.

Smacktok pick lean: Calgary closes its homestand Wednesday against the Rangers. Lean higher on Joel Farabee shots on goal. He led the Flames with five shots Sunday, plays on the top line with Coronato and Mikael Backlund, and has scored in six straight home games.

The Flames looked beaten twice in this one. They found a way anyway.