CALGARY – Johnny Gaudreau had a goal and an assist in his return from a broken finger and the Calgary Flames erupted for five goals in a 6:04 span in the second period to cruise to an 8-3 win against the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday.
It was a surprise when it was revealed in the morning that Gaudreau would return to the lineup less than three weeks after surgery on a broken finger, an injury originally believed to take four to six weeks to recover from.
On his first shot of his first shift, he took a drop pass from Sam Bennett and whipped a shot past Jonathan Bernier at 2:09 to make it 1-0.
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Sixth in the league in scoring last season, Gaudreau started off slowly this year with two goals in 14 games. But he was just beginning to heat up with three goals in three games when a slash from Eric Staal against Minnesota on Nov. 15 sidelined him for 10 games.
Bennett and Alex Chiasson also had big nights offensively with a goal and two assists apiece. Also scoring for Calgary (13-13-2) were Troy Brouwer, Matt Stajan, Dougie Hamilton, Sean Monahan and Mark Giordano. The Flames finished a perfect 3-0 on their homestand.
Ryan Kesler with 10th and 11th goals and Logan Shaw scored for Anaheim (12-9-5). The Ducks return home after a 1-1-1 road trip through Western Canada.