CALGARY, Alberta -– This isn’t the first time the Calgary Flames have given a team fits, and it certainly won’t be the last.

The Chicago Blackhawks got a first taste in a 2-1 overtime loss Oct. 15 at the United Center, and Thursday’s meeting at Scotiabank Saddledome came right down to the wire after the ever-resilient home side charged back from an early 2-0 deficit.

The Flames just don’t quit.

Fortunately for head coach Joel Quenneville and the Blackhawks, the same can be said of Patrick Kane on nights like this.

“Sometimes you've got to take over,” said Kane, who scored his seventh goal of the year, breaking a 3-3 tie just shy of the midway point of the third period. “You want to be coming on [the ice] in third periods to produce and make plays. I feel I can do that.”

And that he did. Kane was double-shifted late in an effort to produce offense and help protect the narrow lead in the latter stages of the contest.

“He likes playing and we like using him,” Quenneville said with a laugh.

“He was great tonight -- as good as he can be. A lot of puck possession, a lot of zone time. ... That line [Kane, Kris Versteeg and Brad Richards] in back-to-back games has been very good.”

Added Kane: “I’m fortunate to be playing with such skilled players right now. They’re putting me in good situations and there’s definitely some excitement with how things are going for us. Hopefully we can continue that.”

Recalled Wednesday, Adam Clendening got things started, scoring his first NHL goal on his very first shot four minutes into his big league debut. “Shocked” to have gotten second-unit power-play time, the 22-year-old showed why, launching a shot past Jonas Hiller for the icebreaker.

“I didn't know it went in, but as soon as Hoss [Marian Hossa] put his hands up, I knew it was in -- and I couldn't believe it,” Clendening said with a mile-wide smile. “I had a lane, so I tried to shoot it as hard as I could. It ended up finding a way.”

The Flames rallied after Daniel Carcillo made it a 2-0 game near the seven-minute mark of the first period.

The Hawks’ league-leading penalty kill, operating at a 92.3 percent clip coming in, was uncharacteristically off early, surrendering two power-play markers on back-to-back opportunities near the midway mark of the opening period.

The pair came in a 52-second span on back-to-back penalties to Marcus Kruger and Niklas Hjalmarsson.

Paul Byron deftly deposited the first at 13:44, capitalizing on a plump rebound kicked out into the slot by the right pad of Corey Crawford, while the second -- coming hot off the stick of the offensively gifted Dennis Wideman -- eluded traffic en route, bringing the game back on even terms at 14:38.

But when the Blackhawks needed it the most, the penalty kill came up big. Among three others, the Hawks scotched a Hjalmarsson minor with less than four minutes to play, all but sealing victory.

“Huge kill,” Quenneville said. “They had a lot of good zone time and a great presence at the net, with some quality shooters at the point. ... Our PK needed to step up and it did.”

After Brent Seabrook gave the Hawks a 3-2 lead with a wrister from the high slot midway through the second, there they came again -- those gnat-like Flames, burrowing their way back into the game with a gutsy effort to tie it up, setting the stage for another one of their patented third-period coups.

Calgary came into the night with 27 goals for and only 12 against in the final frame in 20 games this season. Better yet? They’d outscored their opponents 6-0 when the teams are tied heading into the third.

Silence. Until Kane.

“It's a good start [to the circus trip],” he said. “We had a great start and obviously they got a couple quick ones after we took back-to-back penalties, but those things happen. You've got to fight through the adversity and you have to find a way to come out with two points.

“We hung in there and got the job done.”

Late hits: Patrick Sharp has not yet skated since suffering a right knee injury, but according to Quenneville, he could be back on the ice in the next day or two. Sharp might join the Hawks at some point on the trip -- which finishes Nov. 29 in Los Angeles -- but is “doubtful” to suit up for game action.