Morgan Frost scored in regulation and added the deciding tally in the shootout as the Calgary Flames defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 5-4 on Tuesday night, despite being eliminated from playoff contention earlier in the evening.
Nazem Kadri, Mikael Backlund, and Adam Klapka also found the back of the net for Calgary, which extended its point streak to seven games. Rookie goaltender Dustin Wolf turned aside 38 shots through regulation and overtime in his eighth consecutive start.
The Flames (40-27-14) entered the day still in the Western Conference wild card hunt but were officially eliminated when both the Minnesota Wild and St. Louis Blues won. This marks the third straight season Calgary will miss the playoffs.
Brandon Saad led the Golden Knights (49-22-10) with a goal and two assists. Pavel Dorofeyev, Nicolas Roy, and Tomas Hertl also scored for Vegas, now 10-2-2 over its last 14 games. Ilya Samsonov made 24 saves for the Golden Knights.
Vegas has secured a postseason berth for the seventh time in its eight-year existence and will face the Minnesota Wild in the opening round.
Game Takeaways
Golden Knights: With the Pacific Division title already clinched, head coach Bruce Cassidy opted to rest several key veterans, including Jack Eichel, Mark Stone, and Alex Pietrangelo.
Flames: Frost’s goal was just his third in 31 games since arriving from Philadelphia in a trade that also brought Joel Farabee to Calgary. Farabee has scored only three goals since the trade and none in his 17 appearances.
Key Moment
Despite learning midgame, they had been eliminated from playoff contention, and Calgary stormed back in the third period. Kadri scored just 32 seconds in to cut the deficit to one, and Backlund tied it at 1:04.
Key Stat
Calgary remains unbeaten at 16-0-0 when scoring four or more goals in a game this season.
Looking Ahead
Golden Knights: Close out the regular season Wednesday night against the Vancouver Canucks.
Flames: Wrap up their season on the road on Thursday versus the Los Angeles Kings.
