Flames secure playoff spot with help from Oilers, then thump Coyotes 9-1 – Calgary
An NHL playoff berth secured within the hours earlier than Saturday’s puck drop, the Calgary Flames turned a quiet begin to a sport right into a goal-fest in a 9-1 thumping of the visiting Arizona Coyotes.
Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk every scored twice and had two assists for the Flames, whereas Elias Lindholm additionally posted a four-point evening with a objective and three assists.
Calgary missed the one level wanted to safe a visit to the post-season Thursday in a 6-1 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights.
It was their archrival Edmonton Oilers serving to lock Calgary into the post-season Saturday by beating the Knights 4-0 in regulation earlier than the puck dropped at Calgary’s Saddledome.
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The Flames, 46-20-9 atop the Pacific Division, grew to become the third Western Convention membership to nail down a playoff spot following the Colorado Avalanche on April 6 and the St. Louis Blues on Saturday.
“It’s actually troublesome to make the playoffs,” mentioned Flames head coach Darryl Sutter. “Solely half the groups within the league do it. We made the playoffs with two weeks left within the season.”
The Avalanche secured first within the Western Convention on Saturday with a 7-4 win over the Carolina Hurricanes.
Calgary has seven video games remaining of their common season, together with two at residence.
“We nonetheless have loads to play for,” Tkachuk mentioned. “We all know we’re ready now the place we’re going to play a group that’s going to have been enjoying properly going into the playoffs to make it. Residence ice is big. We’re enjoying for that and attempting to play good hockey going into it.”
Arizona scored within the first minute of the sport to steer 1-0 after a interval, however the Flames exploded for 4 targets in a span of two minutes 33 seconds beginning 38 seconds into the second interval.
4 targets in three minutes 11 seconds was the third-fastest 4 targets to begin a interval in NHL historical past and the quickest in 45 years, in keeping with the league.
“It was thrilling not just for us. Assume the followers are fired up. We have been fired up,” Gaudreau mentioned. “At that time, it’s solely a three-goal sport and we would have liked to maintain pushing.”
Because the Flames saved filling Arizona’s internet, the Saddledome chanted “we wish 10.”
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Gaudreau’s four-point evening elevated his complete to 105 this season. Tkachuk and Lindholm collected their thirty ninth targets and Gaudreau his thirty sixth in entrance of 16,823. The final Flame to crack the 40-goal mark in a season was Jarome Iginla in 2010-11.
Dillon Dube additionally scored twice with Andrew Mangiapane and Blake Coleman Calgary’s different objective scorers. Flames starter Jacob Markstrom stopped 25 of 26 pictures for the win after he was pulled in two straight video games for Dan Vladar.
“I needed Markstrom to get sharp, firstly, proper, get an entire sport underneath his belt,” Sutter mentioned. “I don’t put an entire lot into the primary interval or any of the remainder of it, to be fairly sincere. It was about successful a sport.”
Nick Ritchie replied for Arizona (22-48-5), enjoying out the string within the NHL’s basement.
Coyotes starter Harri Sateri was pulled for Karel Vejmelka after giving up 4 targets on 4 pictures to begin the second interval, however returned to the sport and stopped 24 of 31 pictures general within the loss.
Vejmelka turned away eight of 10 pictures in 16:49 minutes of labor.
“Clearly goaltending’s a difficulty for them,” Sutter mentioned. “They used one man twice.”
Since dropping the Stanley Cup ultimate in seven video games to the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2004 — with Sutter additionally behind Calgary’s bench then — the Flames have exited the playoffs within the first spherical seven instances and have been ousted within the second spherical in 2015.
Calgary missed the playoffs in 2021.
“It’s an enormous accomplishment for our group from the place we have been at the very least 12 months to this 12 months,” Gaudreau mentioned. “Pleased with the fellows within the locker room, however work begins now.
“We’ve received to try to put ourselves in a great place for the remainder of the 12 months. Perhaps attempt to get residence ice for a lot of the playoffs if we will and prepare for spherical one.”
The Coyotes scored 30 seconds after the opening faceoff on their first shot of the sport, which was their first objective within the first minute of a sport this season.
NOTES: The Flames’ report for the quickest 4 targets scored is one minute 21 seconds set by Theo Fleury, Gary Suter, Chris Lindberg and Ron Stern in a 1993 sport in opposition to the San Jose Sharks … Flames defenceman Nikita Zadorov reached a profession 100 factors with the primary of his two assists … Mangiapane’s two factors gave him 51 this season, which is a profession excessive.
