Mikael Backlund broke a tie with 4:29 remaining, securing a 3-2 victory for the Calgary Flames over the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday night.
Elias Lindholm and Tyler Toffoli also scored for the Flames, while Jacob Markstrom made 19 saves to help Calgary improve to 3-0 and hand Vegas its first loss of the season, dropping them to 3-1.
Jonathan Huberdeau, who was acquired in an offseason trade with Florida, assisted on Calgary’s first two goals. Nazem Kadri, signed as a free agent in August, also had an assist.
“These guys work really hard,” Flames forward Jonathan Huberdeau said. “They created so many opportunities and put us on the power play three or four times in a row in the second period. That momentum helped us get back in the game. The first two lines weren’t going well, and these guys came in and got us going. That’s what we’re going to need all year.”
William Carrier and Brett Howden each scored their first goals of the season for Vegas. Logan Thompson made 37 saves in his hometown.
“We’ll definitely respond,” Thompson said. “It’s a veteran group here, right? We know what we’ve got to do. We’ll be better, we’ll get back to practice and get back to work.”
Backlund scored the winner after the Flames killed off two hooking penalties in the third period. Blake Coleman collected the puck off the glass and passed it to Backlund, who was positioned right in front of Thompson.
Vegas newcomer Phil Kessel played his 986th consecutive NHL game, leaving him three games shy of Philadelphia defenseman Keith Yandle’s record set in April.
UP NEXT
- Golden Knights: Host Winnipeg on Thursday night.
- Flames: Host Buffalo on Thursday night.