Music: {allcanada} Flames' Berra beats Blackhawks in first start

Sunday, November 3, 2013

{allcanada} Flames' Berra beats Blackhawks in first start

NEW (Deluxe Edition) - Paul McCartney

CHICAGO – Calgary Flames coach Bob Hartley didn't mince words Sunday when asked about giving rookie goaltender Reto Berra his first career start on the road against the defending Stanley Cup champions.

"He wants to play and I'll never try to hold back a thoroughbred," Hartley told reporters after the morning skate at United Center. "This guy was probably the biggest free agent in the Swiss League and he didn't even sign any contracts over there, [or] any deals. His mindset was to play in the NHL. He came here for a reason, and that's why he's in [this] game."

Berra, acquired by Calgary in the trade that sent defenseman Jay Bouwmeester to the St. Louis Blues last season, made 42 saves on Sunday night in 3-2 victory in overtime against the high-powered Blackhawks at United Center.

Kris Russell's blast from the blue line 1:32 into OT appeared to hit a Chicago player's shin pad and get past Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford (27 saves) to end the game and give Berra his first career win in as many outings.

A day after being called up from Abbotsford of the American Hockey League, the 26-year old kept the high-powered Blackhawks at bay most of the game, including no goals allowed on 18 shots in the first period.

Mike Cammalleri and Curtis Glencross scored the other goals for the Flames (6-6-2), who snapped a 10-game regular-season losing streak in Chicago and ended a two-game losing skid this season. Patrick Kane and Marian Hossa scored for Chicago, which had won three games in a row.

After a scoreless first period in which T.J. Galiardi misfired on a penalty shot for the Flames, Kane opened the scoring 6:25 into the second to give the Blackhawks a 1-0 lead.

He scored his eighth goal of the season and fourth in the past six games by carrying the puck from circle to circle in an arc and firing a wrister from the left circle that went through traffic before evading Berra. It was Chicago's 23rd shot of the game and rewarded the Blackhawks for keeping the rookie goalie busy from the start.

The lead only lasted 50 seconds, though.

Cammalleri tipped a point blast by Dennis Wideman past Crawford while standing in the low slot at 7:15 to knot it 1-1, after a video review upheld the goal by showing the puck was contacted below the crossbar.

That's the way it stayed until Glencross put the Flames in front 2-1 at 2:16 of the third by taking a nice outlet pass from Chris Butler and, after carrying into the zone, zipping wrist shot from the left circle past Crawford's glove into the upper right corner.

It was the second goal in as many games for Glencross, who has scored in three of his past four games and has points in four straight.

It looked like that might be the way it stayed until Hossa tied it 2-2 on a power-play with 4:17 left in regulation. Hossa scored his sixth goal by beating Berra on the short side with a one-timer set up by Kane's feed one second after Butler got out of the penalty box to end a 5-on-3 situation.

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