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Flames, Kings battle again in Calgary

Dec 29, 2014 - 4:11 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - The Los Angeles Kings hope to get a measure of revenge against Johnny Gaudreau and the Calgary Flames when the Pacific Division foes meet for the second time this week in Monday's clash at the Saddledome.

The Flames halted a season-worst eight-game losing streak with Monday's thrilling comeback victory in Los Angeles.

Things didn't look good for Calgary when it fell behind by three goals at the Staples Center, but Gaudreau helped his club battle back for the 4-3 overtime victory with his first NHL hat trick.

Gaudreau got the Flames on the board with 1:58 left in the second period, then scored twice in the final 2:12 of the third frame with the goaltender pulled. His third tally came with 59 seconds on the clock.

Calgary captain and defenseman Mark Giordano then won it with 53 seconds left in the extra period.

Jonathan Quick was victimized for four goals on 28 shots in the loss. It was Calgary's fourth win in the last six meetings with the Kings.

The Flames, who are 9-6-2 at the Saddledome this season, had lost six straight on home ice against L.A. before notching a 4-3 shootout victory when the clubs last met in Calgary on April 9.

Both the Flames and Kings followed up Monday's game with victories. Los Angeles posted a 3-1 home win over San Jose on Saturday, while Calgary recorded a 4-1 triumph the same night against the Edmonton Oilers.

Gaudreau remained red-hot for the Flames on Saturday, as he scored twice to help Calgary open a six-game homestand on a positive note. The residency will continue Wednesday with another meeting against the lowly Oilers.

The Flames grabbed an early 3-0 lead in Saturday's game, with Gaudreau tallying twice in a span of 16 seconds shortly before the midway point of the first period.

The 21-year-old rookie now has 12 goals and 29 points this season, placing behind only Nashville's Filip Forsberg for the lead among first-year players in both categories. Forsberg has 14 goals and 34 points.

Joe Colborne and Curtis Glencross joined Gaudreau as the goal-scorers for Calgary, while Jonas Hiller made 26 saves in the win. Colborne and Gaudreau combined for three goals in a span of 1:40 in the first period against Edmonton goaltender Viktor Fasth.

"We wanted to get a good start, and we were fortunate that we did," Flames head coach Bob Hartley said.

Los Angeles' only loss of its recent 3-0-1 homestand came against the Flames, but the Kings were able to rebound from that setback against the Sharks. L.A. fell behind 1-0 to San Jose before scoring three unanswered goals, including a pair of power-play markers.

The Kings have scored at least one power-play goal in five straight games and they scored two-or-more PPGs in four consecutive games for the first time since March 4-11, 1993.

Anze Kopitar finished with a goal and an assist on Saturday for the defending Stanley Cup champions, while Tyler Toffoli and Jake Muzzin also scored. Jonathan Quick made 21 saves for the Kings.

"We need special teams in order to play like we did tonight, we need puck possession and puck management," Kopitar said. "If we manage the puck up the ice it usually results in better possession in our offensive zone and we can create chances off that. We did a pretty good job of that tonight."

The Kings, who are just 4-7-5 on the road this season, will try to halt a three-game slide as the guest. Their last came on Dec. 11 in Ottawa.

Quick is expected to start tonight against Hiller. L.A.'s No. 1 is 9-5-3 with a 1.73 goals against average against the Flames for his career, while Hiller is 10-8-3 with a 2.33 GAA in this matchup.