Flames end road trip with win over Avs

Micheal Ferland and Mikael Backlund scored in the final minute of the second period to help rookie goalie David Rittich get his first NHL victory in the Calgary Flames‘ 3-2 win over the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday night.

Dougie Hamilton also scored, and Backlund added an assist for the Flames.

Rittich had 24 saves in his season debut for Calgary. He logged just 20 NHL minutes in spot duty for the Flames last season.

Nikita Zadorov and Mikko Rantanen scored for the Avalanche, and Jonathan Bernier stopped 25 shots.

Rantanen tied at 14:32 of the second period, but his turnover in the final minute led to Calgary’s tiebreaking goal. Ferland, who hit the crossbar in the opening minutes of the game, picked up the loose puck and beat Bernier with a high shot close in at 19:09. It was his 10th goal of the season. Backlund made it 3-1 with his sixth goal off of a rebound 22 seconds later.

The Avalanche have been dominant at home, losing just once in regulation in the first nine games. Their only other loss, in overtime to Ottawa, happened in Sweden on Nov. 10 when the teams were there as part of the NHL Global Series.

They couldn’t solve Rittich. He had 11 saves in the second period when Colorado outshot the Flames 12-6.

He made a big save on Carl Soderberg late in the third but Zadorov made it a one-goal game with his second at 17:06. Bernier came off for an extra skater with 1:25 left but the Avalanche couldn’t tie it.

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