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Rookies lead way as Flames fry Senators

CALGARY — Markus Granlund’s first NHL goal helped fellow Finnish rookie Joni Ortio record his first NHL win Wednesday night as the Calgary Flames beat the Ottawa Senators 4-1.Granlund scored 2:04 into the first period.
Joni Ortio
Calgary Flames goalie Joni Ortio

CALGARY — Markus Granlund’s first NHL goal helped fellow Finnish rookie Joni Ortio record his first NHL win Wednesday night as the Calgary Flames beat the Ottawa Senators 4-1.

Granlund scored 2:04 into the first period.

Max Reinhart, on his first NHL shift of the season, neatly stripped the puck from Zack Smith at the Senators blue-line. As he moved in, his attempted shot deflected into the slot where Granlund buried a shot past Craig Anderson.

The Flames would never look back as Ortio, in his second NHL start, made 30 saves.

Paul Byron, Joe Colborne and Mike Cammalleri also scored for Calgary (24-31-7). Rookie Sean Monahan chipped in with two assists. The Flames have won six of their last seven games at the Scotiabank Saddledome.

Kyle Turris with his 20th of the season scored the lone goal for Ottawa (27-25-11). The Senators, who have lost four of their last five, will wrap up a four-game road trip in Winnipeg on Saturday.

The game came after a busy NHL trade deadline day in which the two teams went in different directions.

Ottawa was a buyer, adding Ales Hemsky from the Edmonton Oilers earlier in the day. After scoring twice against the Senators on Tuesday night, the 30-year-old had two shots in 15:55 minutes of ice time, playing on a line with Jason Spezza and Milan Michalek.

Calgary, meanwhile, was a seller, trading goaltender Reto Berra and winger Lee Stempniak. As a result, the Flames line-up featured seven rookies.

Ortio was excellent all night, especially in the first period.

While he wasn’t busy early as Calgary piled up the first seven shots on goal, the Senators turned things around in the second half of the first period beginning with Bobby Ryan’s dangerous chance.

As the Senators rattled off eight shots in a row, Ortio did well to preserve the Flames 1-0 lead headed to the intermission.

The Flames took a 2-0 lead at 9:12 of the second period on Byron’s first goal in 20 games as he neatly redirected Mark Giordano’s point shot.

Calgary surged in front 3-0 at 17:13 of the second period on a pretty set-up from Jiri Hudler who got the puck from Monahan in the corner and spun and sent a pass across the slot to Colborne who put a shot into the top corner.

Turris ended Ortio’s shutout bid at 10:24 of the third banging in a loose puck from in front. Ortio lost his debut last week 2-0 to Los Angeles.

Anderson had 24 saves for Ottawa to fall to 20-14-8.

Reinhart, linemates with Granlund most of the year in the AHL, was called up by the Flames along with Corban Knight earlier in the day. Granlund, recalled last week was playing game No. 4.

It was fitting that Reinhart set up Granlund considering they two had been linemates much of the year with Abbotsford. Reinhart had set up eight of Granlund’s last 11 goals.

The Flames lost two players to injury. Dennis Wideman (upper body) finished the second period but did not play in the third. In the opening minute of the third, Hudler (upper body) was lost after he was knocked heavily into the boards by Clarke MacArthur. Down for a couple of minutes, he slowly left the ice under his own power.

The Hudler hit sparked a minor melee with Byron and Chris Butler — two unusual guys to be in the middle of a scrum — for the Flames with MacArthur and Erik Condra for Ottawa.

Notes: Knight was playing his first NHL game... Calgary was without LW TJ Galiardi, who was injured at practice on Tuesday. Also absent was David Jones (upper body), who is out indefinitely. Matt Stajan (personal) is also away from the club... Ottawa LW Cory Conacher is off to Buffalo after being claimed by the Sabres off waivers... The Flames 12 forwards dressed had a combined salary of $17.5 million - $10 million of that was Mike Cammalleri and Jiri Hudler... Calgary won for the first time in nine tries, wearing its third jersey, which is new this year. They lost the previous eight games — all of them on home ice.