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Saturday, Nov. 4 10:00pm ET
Brathwaite states case for being starter | |||||
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CALGARY, Alberta (AP) -- Fred Brathwaite is making a strong case to be the Calgary Flames' No. 1 goalie. Brathwaite was outstanding Saturday night, making 31 saves, as the Flames escaped with a 1-1 tie with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Brathwaite stopped Jaromir Jagr with just over eight minutes left in regulation after Jagr stepped around rookie defenseman Toni Lydman and broke in alone. "We're a desperate team right now and playing a team like Pittsburgh, getting a point from them is a great accomplishment," Brathwaite said. Brathwaite was unofficially bumped to No. 2 status after the Flames' offseason acquisition of veteran Mike Vernon. Based on performance, the places might need to switched. Vernon is 1-7-0 in eight starts with a league-worst .847 save percentage. Brathwaite is 2-2-2 with a .923 save percentage. "The only time they had a real good chance was on the power play, but our guys did an excellent job in front of me of shutting them down," Brathwaite said. "There were times where I wasn't in position to stop the puck, but we had guys diving in the way of their shots. "It was really a desperate effort by us and we need these points right now." Brad Werenka scored for Calgary (3-9-2-0), which halted a four-game losing skid but remains winless in its last seven (0-5-2). Rene Corbet scored the lone goal for Pittsburgh (6-5-2-0), which improved to 4-1-2 on the road. "Getting three points on this road trip is a good effort for us, we're going to go home happy," Corbet said. Garth Snow started his second straight game for Pittsburgh and stopped 21 shots. One of Snow's best stops came in the first minute of overtime when he got in the way of a close-range deflection by Dave Lowry. Brathwaite was at his best during the second period when Pittsburgh outshot the Flames 14-4. The Penguins were especially dangerous during a power play midway through the period, but Brathwaite kept them at bay. He stopped Jagr on a one-timer from the faceoff circle. "Freddie played well, he did make two unbelievable saves on a power play, but all their guys chipped in and played very hard," said Corbet, a former Flame who was dealt to the Penguins last March in a trade that brought Werenka to Calgary. Calgary had a chance to take the lead in the second, but Cory Stillman -- leading a two-man breakaway -- had the puck knocked off his stick from behind by a diving Alexsey Morozov. The Flames opened the scoring 3:35 in when Stillman's centering pass from behind the Pittsburgh net hopped over Jarome Iginla's stick in the slot. Werenka moved in from the blue line and fired a rising shot just inside the goal post. Pittsburgh tied it at 10:54 of the first. Milan Kraft's lead pass sprung Corbet loose down the left-wing and Corbet raced past defenseman Wade Belak and flipped a high back-hander over Brathwaite. Game notesFormer Calgary forward Joe Mullen was honored before the game for his upcoming induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Now an assistant coach with Pittsburgh, Mullen spent five seasons with the Flames from 1985-86 to 1989-90, scoring 190 goals and adding 198 assists. ... LW Ian Moran returned to the Penguins lineup after missing seven games with a knee injury. ... Pittsburgh's Robert Lang has scored all seven of his goals on the power play to lead the league. | ALSO SEE NHL Scoreboard Pittsburgh Clubhouse Calgary Clubhouse RECAPS Los Angeles 2 New Jersey 1
Pittsburgh 1
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