Flames use big 2nd period to rally past Kings for 4-3 win

CALGARY, Alberta -- Flames coach Glen Gulutzan held a meeting Thursday morning and encouraged his players not to panic when they fall behind.

Hours later, they got a chance to practice what he preached and passed the test with flying colors.

Sean Monahan and Micheal Ferland each had a goal and an assist as Calgary scored four times in the second period Thursday night for a 4-3 comeback victory over the Los Angeles Kings.

"We just had a meeting this morning about squeezing a little bit when we get down," Gulutzan said. "We generate chances as a top-five team in this league and yet, we squeeze if we're down 1-0, especially at home."

The Flames trailed 2-0 after 20 minutes, but Ferland sparked the rally at 2:34 when he got behind the Kings' defense and his shot slipped under the pads of Jonathan Quick for his 16th goal.

By the time Monahan capped the outburst on a wrist shot at 19:15, Calgary was ahead 4-2 and had completely taken over the game -- outshooting the Kings 17-5 in the second period.

"One thing we're trying to work on is, pick ourselves up after we get scored on and push," said Troy Brouwer, who got the tying goal at 7:34. "Once we came out for the second period, I thought we had a lot of good jump, a lot of good chatter in here about being better, doing the right things."

Mark Jankowski also scored for Calgary (20-16-4), which has won back-to-back games at the Saddledome to get back to .500 on home ice at 11-11-0. Johnny Gaudreau chipped in with two assists.

Tanner Pearson scored twice for Los Angeles (24-12-5), including with 1:31 left in the third to make it close. Derek Forbort also had a goal for the Kings, who return home after earning four out of six possible points on their road trip through Western Canada.

"We were really good for 10 (minutes) and the next 30 we were really bad," said Kings coach John Stevens. "You're not going to win on the road against a good team with a goalie, half your D and half your forwards. That's what happened tonight."

Calgary tied it 2-all at 7:30 of the second when Mark Giordano's shot was stopped but Brouwer banged in the rebound.

The go-ahead goal at 14:07 was an unassisted effort by Jankowski, courtesy of a turnover by rookie defenseman Kurtis MacDermid. Alec Martinez's pass around the end boards deflected off him and into the slot, where Jankowski's first shot was stopped before he tapped in the rebound.

"We started to press and when we get the momentum in games, we stay with it and line after line keeps rolling. That's when pucks usually go in," said Monahan, who has goals in consecutive games after going nine without one.

Mike Smith made 28 saves for the win. His biggest stop came two minutes into the second when he stabbed out his glove to rob Forbort on a dangerous chance from the slot that could have put the Kings ahead 3-0.

Ferland's goal came less than a minute later.

"We let our foot off the gas pedal and they definitely took over," Pearson said. "We got away from our game and we let them play theirs. We turned pucks over and they're a quick-strike team."

Quick finished with 37 saves.

"Our second period was god-awful," said Kings captain Anze Kopitar. "We didn't make any plays. We left (Quick) hanging. There weren't a whole lot of puck battles that we won. You can't expect to play like that and not give up any goals and they cashed in on it."

Los Angeles opened the scoring at 4:47 of the first when Forbort's harmless-looking wrist shot from a bad angle slipped between Smith's pads. It was the defenseman's first goal in 94 games, dating back to Dec. 15, 2016.

Pearson made it 2-0 at 19:15 when he used his speed to get behind Matthew Tkachuk and then stuck out his stick and redirected Dustin Brown's hard centering pass.

Game notes
After playing three games in a row, Jaromir Jagr (lower body) was out of the Flames' lineup again. Jagr, who has no points in his last seven games and no goals in his last 15, has missed a total of 15 games with the nagging injury. ... With Michael Frolik (jaw) missing his third game and remaining out long-term, Brouwer played on the line with Mikael Backlund and Tkachuk.

UP NEXT

Kings: Home against Nashville on Saturday night.

Flames: Host the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday.

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