Nick DeSimone, one month after celebrating his 29th birthday, nets his first career NHL goal as the Flames win a third straight game for the first time this season
Nick DeSimone scored his first NHL goal, a long-time coming for the Calgary Flames defenceman.
Elias Lindholm scored a power-play goal, which only feels like it’s been a lifetime since that happened.
And Jacob Markstrom was excellent with 25 saves to net his first shutout of the season, and 200th career win, as the Flames beat the Anaheim Ducks 3-0 Thursday night.
A.J. Greer added an empty-net goal as the Flames have won three consecutive games for the first time this season.
When he opened the scoring, DeSimone, who celebrated his 29th birthday last month, became the fourth oldest player in Flames history to score his first big-league goal, no small feat after he’s played nearly 400 AHL games (counting playoffs) and in his 17th NHL game.
Lindholm’s second period power-play goal made him the first Flames player this season to net more than one man-advantage marker.
Despite the shot clock’s final reading — 44-25 — Markstrom earned his 19th career shutout.
One unsettling moment from the game was watching Ducks rookie rising star Leo Carlsson leave the game after MacKenzie Weegar and he became tangled and the result was Weegar falling on Carlsson's leg.
The Flames (14-14-5) finish a quick road trip against the Los Angeles Kings Saturday night and head into the holiday break.