Calgary Flames center Matt Stajan (18) celebrates with defenseman Mark Giordano (5) centre Hunter Shinkaruk (49) and defenceman Dougie Hamilton (27) after scoring a goal during the third period against the Detroit Red Wings at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit on Nov. 20, 2016. Flames won 3-2.Raj Mehta
Mikael Backlund scored the tie-breaking goal with 7:46 left in the third period to give the Calgary Flames a 3-2 victory over the slumping Detroit Red Wings on Sunday night.
Garnet Hathaway got his first career goal and Matt Stajan also scored for Calgary. Flames defenceman Dougie Hamilton had three assists, and Chad Johnson stopped 21 shots.
Tomas Tatar and Anthony Mantha scored for Detroit, which lost its fourth straight game. Jimmy Howard made 23 saves.
Backlund broke a 2-all tie when he slammed Michael Frolik's pass from the left circle past Howard and into the open side of the net for his second goal.
Mantha tied it 2-all 7:59 into the third with his first of the season. He put a snap shot under the crossbar on the short side after bringing the puck out from behind the net.
Stajan gave the Flames a 2-1 at 2:31 of the third with his first goal of the season. He tipped in Hamilton's slap shot from the right point.
Hathaway tied it 1-all at 3:40 of the second. Hathaway, who was beside the net and battling with a Red Wings player, got the shaft of his stick on a high shot by Hamilton from the top of the right circle and deflected it into the empty side of the net.
Tatar gave Detroit a 1-0 lead 8:06 into the game. He blindly slid a puck toward the net from the high slot that beat Johnson. It was Tatar's third goal and only his second in 14 games.
Howard was forced to make a couple of saves in close after Red Wings giveaways deep in their zone.
Detroit defenceman Alexey Marchenko left with an upper-body injury after taking a hit from Calgary's Michael Ferland with a little less than 5:30 left in the second period.
NOTES: Detroit LW Thomas Vanek returned after missing 11 games with a hip injury. The Red Wings were 3-7-1 without Vanek and averaged under two goals per game. He had four goals and eight points in seven games. . Calgary forward Johnny Gaudreau missed his second game after sustaining a broken finger from a slash by Minnesota C Eric Staal. Gaudreau will miss six to eight weeks. . Red Wings C Darren Helm missed his second game after dislocating his shoulder. He also will be out six to eight weeks.
UP NEXT
Flames: Visit the Buffalo Sabres on Monday night.
Red Wings: Visit the Sabres on Wednesday night.